Perfected front and rear axle. In keeping with the enormous power of the new sports estate model, Volkswagen has specifically adapted the running gear the Golf R Estate. The sports running gear primarily lowers the body by 20 millimetres as compared to the Golf Estate. The engineers were confronted with the challenge of striking a balance between exceptional performance and optimum ride characteristics. The running gear consists of a McPherson axle at the front and a four-link axle at the rear. Both the spring rates and stabiliser rates have been increased by 10 percent as compared to the predecessor model. The set-up of the adaptive chassis control DCC has also been adjusted accordingly by modifying the system hydraulics and parameterisation. In order to allow for higher cornering speeds and improved lateral control, the engineers increased the negative camber at the front (-1°20’). This also enabled significantly more neutral handling when accelerating. At the same time, the experts managed to reduce the weight of the aluminium subframe by three kilos and make it even stiffer. The rear axle was also adapted to the sporting ambitions of the Golf R Estate by means of modified transverse link mounts and hub carriers. The balanced axle load distribution is also a major factor in terms of the excellent controllability of the Golf R Estate. It is six percent better in the Golf R Estate (relative to the ideal of 50:50) than in the Golf R. The sporty estate model also performs better in terms of drag coefficient: the cW value of the Golf R Estate is another four percent lower than that of the elaborately aerodynamically optimised Golf R.
Progressive steering. The Golf R Estate benefits from progressive steering as standard. In the new sports estate car, this reaches a whole new evolutionary stage as it is now designed to be even more direct based on new software algorithms and a new software application. While conventional steering systems work with a constant transmission ratio, the transmission ratio here is progressive.Advantage: When manoeuvring and parking, firstly there is a noticeable reduction in steering effort, and secondly less hand and arm movement is required of the driver. Thirdly, the more direct design results in increased driving dynamics in particular, especially on winding roads and when turning. In other words: the yaw response here demonstrates a higher degree of linearity right up to high speeds – this is something the driver notices all the time, and there is also more “road feedback” when cornering. Technically, this works based on variable gearing of the rack and pinion as well as a more powerful electric motor in the basic steering system. unlike in systems with a fixed steering ratio, which are always forced to compromise between driving dynamics and comfort, the teeth of the steering rack vary significantly over the range of the steering movement.
The Vehicle Dynamics Manager Volkswagen uses a new driving dynamics control system in the new Golf R Estate and in the new Golf R – the so-called Vehicle Dynamics Manager. In the Golf R, the intelligent system not only closely integrates the electronic differential locks (XDS) and lateral dynamics-related elements of the optionally controlled shock absorbers in the adaptive chassis control system (DCC), but also – for the first time – the 4MOTION all-wheel drive system with R Performance torque vectoring. Electromechanically adjustable running gear systems once again significantly enhance the balance between maximum dynamics and the highest levels of comfort. The Vehicle Dynamics Manager coordinates the electromechanical functions of the all-wheel drive system, the electronic differential locks (XDS), and the lateral dynamics-related elements of the regulated shock absorbers (DCC) during every driving manoeuvre. The result is an adjustment of wheel-specific damping for particularly agile and precise handling.
Targeted braking interventions. The Vehicle Dynamics Manager also enables exact calculation of perfect clutch control for the selective wheel torque control function to further optimise the agility and stability of the Golf R. In parallel to this, targeted braking intervention on the vehicle side on the inside of a bend also further reduces understeer in the transition and limit ranges. In addition, the controlled dampers are capable of minimising body roll; by linking DCC and 4MOTION with R Performance torque vectoring, the sports estate model responds more quickly to even the slightest steering movements. Meanwhile, traction is improved by an increased locking torque in the selective wheel torque control. As a result, Understeer – something that is rather unpopular with sports drivers – is minimised. If a driving manoeuvre causes the Golf R Estate to understeer too heavily on a corner and results in the front end being pushed outwards – for instance during spontaneous acceleration ahead of the apex of the bend – the Vehicle Dynamics Manager closes the selective wheel torque control clutch on the wheel located on the outside of the bend. This creates a yaw moment at the rear axle, enabling the sports estate car to turn neutrally into the bend. The control of the Vehicle Dynamics Manager also optimises yaw and load change damping at high speeds via 4MOTION with R Performance torque vectoring and DCC.
Adaptive shock absorbers. Adaptive chassis control DCC is optionally available for the new Golf R Estate. This system continuously reacts to the road surface and driving situation while taking into account steering, braking and acceleration manoeuvres, for example. The lateral dynamics components of the DCC chassis are coordinated and optimised with the help of the Vehicle Dynamics Manager. By means of the set driving profile, the driver can influence the reduction in body motion as desired. The required damping is calculated for each wheel 200 times per second before it is adjusted at the four shock absorbers. The result: optimum driving dynamics and the best possible ride comfort in all situations on the road. The conventional and DCC running gear are explicitly designed for the Golf R Estate with its extended wheelbase and distinctly sporty axle load distribution.
A total of six driving profiles. The driving profiles Comfort, Sport, Race and Individual are available as standard in the Golf R Estate. The optional R Performance package includes the Special and Drift extended profiles. The Comfort profile is fully designed for optimum comfort in terms of the parameters of the engine, transmission, shock absorbers, steering and R Performance torque vectoring, while the ESC operates without restriction. Sport is the basic mode of the Golf R Estate: here all parameters are geared towards a sporty response. In the Race profile, all connected systems are even more incisive, but ESC is fully active (as in Sport and Comfort too). The coasting function (freewheeling without drive power) is switched off, however. In the Individual profile, the driver can precisely adjust and save their own driving profile using a digital slider. ESC is always activated when the engine is started and a button allows the driver to adjust it to their needs at two levels. In the submode ESC Sport, the ESC thresholds and ASR slip thresholds are increased to reduce the intensity of interventions. In ESC Off mode, experienced drivers can additionally deactivate ESC altogether for all driving situations. However, Front Assist and Swerve Assist reactivate the full ESC system in emergencies. The two additional driving modes included in the optional R Performance package are profile extensions of Race. Among other things, they ensure optimum traction on demanding race tracks such as the Nürburgring-Nordschleife (Special) and simplified drifting for all those who enjoy it.