Test Drive: 2016 Volkswagen Golf R (04:51)

"The Volkswagen Golf is a good car in its own right," says Motoring TV's Graeme Fletcher.

"However, even it has to take a back seat to its evil twin."

And that evil twin would be the 2016 Golf R, a 292-horsepower, all-wheel drive hot hatch that is about the closest thing to a sleeper you can get in the segment.

"It remains a stealth machine that tends to slide by all but unnoticed," Graeme says, "which is always a good thing given its overt potency."

That potency is certainly evident under the hood, with the Golf R powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder that makes 292 horsepower and 280 lb.-ft. of torque.

All that power goes to all four wheels, rocketing the five-door from 0 to 100 km/h in as little as 4.9 seconds.

This segment originally appeared on Episode 14 of Motoring 2016.