315-HP VW Golf R Estate Wagon Serves Performance, Practicality, and a Drift Mode

• Volkswagen has released a station-wagon version of the Volkswagen Golf R, which uses the same 315-hp turbocharged inline-four as the hatch.

• The Estate reaches 62 mph in a claimed 4.9 seconds. With the R Performance package, which also adds a Drift mode, VW says top speed reaches 168 mph.

• The Golf R Estate is only for the Europe market, where it will cost the equivalent of $60,835.

In the United States, where crossovers currently reign supreme, the performance station-wagon market is restricted to the top-end models, with the 591-hp Audi RS6 Avant and the 603-hp Mercedes-AMG E63 S wagon as the only two options. Over in Europe, however, there's a breadth of sporty wagons, also known as estates, and the latest addition joins the lower end of the spectrum. Meet the Volkswagen Golf R Estate, which is essentially a longer version of the Golf R hatchback we drifted through the snow in earlier this year.