To start, there are only 5,000 mk4 R32's in the U.S. which was the first time vw made them. The mk4 golf came in a 1.8t and a plan 2.0l. The R has a 3.2l, awd, and a 6spd tranny. It's just completely different from the others. I hope this helped.
They are also one of the best sounding cars in stock form.