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Sound engineering. Image by VW.

Sound engineering
Such is the refinement of the latest Golf Volkswagen has had to engineer in its sporting soundtrack.

   



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| First Drive | St Tropez, France | Volkswagen Golf GTI |

Some will outgun it for power, while others will turn heads more readily, but Volkswagen's new Golf GTI retains its inherent class, solidity and driver appeal. If you're in the market for an everyday hot hatch it's difficult to argue against Volkswagen's iconic GTI.

In the Metal

Just as the current Golf could only be a Golf, the GTI is unmistakably the next model to wear those so-important three letters on its grille and bootlid. The trademark red pin-striping is obvious around the honeycomb effect black grille and there's a hint of a quad lighting set up within the Golf's large single headlamp units. Meanwhile, inside there is black red and white tartan sports seats, a chunky red-stitched and bottom cut-off steering wheel and piano black trim panels. Seventeen-inch alloys (18s as an option), twin tailpipes and a rear 'diffuser' complete the exterior package.

While it's obviously a bit more sporting than its non-GTI brethren, VW's hottest Golf (for now - there's a four-wheel drive super Golf due later in 2009) retains all the classy styling restraint of the basic car upon which it's based. That's always been part of the GTI's appeal and understandably Volkswagen hasn't messed with it here.

What you get for your Money

The GTI gets all those styling enhancements mentioned above as well as two-zone climate control. Under the bonnet there's a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine that produces 207bhp and 206lb.ft of torque from 1,700-5,200rpm. Helping control that grunt is the new 'XDS' system that's incorporated into the ESP and traction control, helping reign in understeer by braking the inside, unloaded wheel when cornering. There's loads of safety kit too, the GTI coming with enough airbags to keep it afloat.

Driving it

The basic package for the GTI is fantastic in standard form so you can forget ticking all those options on your order form. We'd have to face a ridiculously congested daily commute to the office to pick the DSG over the standard manual, regardless of how quick and seamlessly it shifts. We like to blip our own downshifts here, thanks. Although the numbers don't suggest it the manual car feels quicker, the throttle response crisper and the interaction with the slick-shifting six-speed gearbox such an integral part of the driving experience it's the one to have. Not that 50% of buyers will agree, as half of the GTI's UK buyers opt for the DSG with its two-pedal, paddle-shift set up. Shame on you.

Like its predecessor, the 2.0-litre engine in the GTI is turbocharged. That brings with it the advantage of a plateau-like torque curve, the peak 206lb.ft it offers being available over almost the entire rev range of the four-cylinder unit. The result is easy, any-gear acceleration, though it's not at the expense of high rev eagerness, the GTI's unit enjoying reaching its soft limiter well past where the numbers on the tacho are red. It's a wonderfully flexible and responsive unit, which is so refined that VW's engineers have fitted an electronic sound generator that amplifies specific engine frequencies into the cabin.

The engine noise might be false, but the rest of the driving experience is very real. There's decent weighting to the steering, it's responsive and accurate to input but a bit short on genuine, crisp feel. The chassis is beautifully poised, the Golf resisting understeer and even allowing line-tightening with mid-corner throttle lifting, the transition to oversteer gentle and predictable. The ESP system is never fully deactivated but it's not intrusive when it does intervene. The Golf's high levels of grip and inherent balance make it a car that's hugely entertaining at all speeds, the ride also balancing comfort and precision to ensure the GTI retains its all-round ability. The brake pedal offers nice feel, though sustained hard driving results in longer pedal travel even if the stopping power doesn't reduce too much.

Worth Noting

It's not cheap, the three-door manual car costing £22,410; adding the twin-clutch, two-pedal DSG automatic increases that to £23,715. Add two doors to either and you'll need to find another £585 while extras like satnav (circa £1,600), Bluetooth (£350) and VW's Adaptive Chassis Control (ACC) £700, 18-inch wheels at £350 will quickly see you spending a whole lot more on your GTI. That's pricey compared to something like Ford's Focus ST.

The recent trend for DSG equipped cars to be quicker and more efficient isn't replicated here. Opt for the DSG and you'll not only pay more for it, but you'll pay more at the pumps, it dropping half a mile per gallon off the manual car's 38.7mpg. The self-shifter is correspondingly worse regarding emissions too, CO2 rising from 170g/km in the manual to 173g/km. It is no quicker to 62mph either, recording the same 6.9 seconds as the manual.

Summary

We expected nothing less than what Volkswagen has done with its sixth Golf GTI. It was never going to break new ground; instead the new car builds on its tremendous ability to both thrill and cosset in equal measure. It easily fills the GT role of its badge yet delivers an intense driving experience when the roads and your mood demand it. It does everything you'd expect a Golf GTI to do then, in all its tartan-seated glory. Buy the manual though, as it's the far more involving drive.

Kyle Fortune - 27 Mar 2009



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2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.

2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.



2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.
 

2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.
 

2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.
 

2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.
 

2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.
 

2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.
 

2009 VW Golf GTI. Image by VW.
 






 

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