UK Edition
VW Golf GTI Performance review: a dangerously good hot hatch
I was recently admonished by a reader for likening the Golf GTI to, among other things, a weapon. It was insensitive and I apologised, yet driving this latest update of VW's famous hot hatch, that war-like lexicon returns to mind; its caparisoned appearance, the way the front wheels carve through turns with a scalpel's precision, the rifle-bolt feel of the gearlever gate – even the engine's name, EA888, sounds like a top secret weapon with awesome firepower - oh dear...
Actually there's been a fair bit of action in this uber hot-hatch market this year, not the least with Honda's new Type-R Civic, Peugeot's updated 308 GTi and Seat's forthcoming Cupra R.
In April Volkswagen updated its Golf GTI with new bumpers, an updated touchscreen and an Active Information Display, which is effectively digital driver's instrument binnacle. While the GTI already received the update's all-round LED lamps, the new edition of the 242bhp Performance model got upgraded brakes and an electronically-activated, mechanical limited-slip differential to go with the upgraded engine.
This is the first opportunity we've had to drive the car in the UK and we received it in three-door manual form. On the road it costs £29,680 with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty, though with optional extras including panoramic sunroof, dynamic chassis control, tinted rear windows, rear-view camera, alternative 18-inch wheels and tyres and Torando red paint, the price goes up to £35,364.
There's no sop to family life here; this is a coupé in all but appearance. Those long doors allow access to the back seats, but there's not a huge amount of dignity in climbing in and it's a bit cramped back there - five doors are also available. The front seats curve round the driver, not uncomfortably, but supportive like a wing-back armchair. And they are covered in that tartan-print redolent of the original Seventies GTI. In fact it's all pretty redolent, including the Golf ball-patterned gear lever top and that feeling of the car being wrapped around you in spite of the fact that this vesion is over half a metre longer and almost 600kg heavier than the original Mk1 Golf GTI.
The digital dashboard provides a pretty good facsimile of analogue instruments, although they could have worked a bit harder on revamping the old Golf's bullet idiot lights for the 21st century. Control of it all is a little difficult at first, but it has its own logic and at least the radio volume, satnav zoom and heater controls are via separate rotary controls rather than screen pushes.
The standard 12.3-inch TFT centre screen is clear and simple to use, however. Safety stuff includes the latest braking circuitry, and radar- and camera-based active cruise control and city braking system with pedestrian recognition.
There's too much stuff on the steering wheel, though, with 18 buttons and the horn, so you need to discipline yourself about spending time with your eyes off the road. Oh, and someone's going to have to explain to me why a hot hatch needs an electronic handbrake, which is additionally complicated with a hill hold button, the absolute value of which never became truly clear.
Start her up and the EA888 mill sounds purposeful and growly even if it does boom like the back box had developed a leak. It's an extraordinary flexible engine, pulling from just about 1,200rpm, but really getting into its stride above 1,500. And there's no real character to the power delivery, just lots of it, whenever you want it. It makes the GTI feel as if it's been drawn by Pixar as a friend of Lightning McQueen; ready at any time to race up the road with a kind of giggling effervescence but without ever having to change gear.
Which is just as well, since the six-speed manual gearbox is only just OK, with a decent ratio spread and a fast action when you slam the lever through the gate, but at low speeds and around town it feels grating and obstructive, especially around the second-to-third change. Economy for a car of this performance isn't at all bad, with a Combined consumption of 43.5mpg - we drove more than 1,000 miles on test, averaging 34mpg.
The ride isn't too bad, with a supple-but-stiff address of bumps. Only the worst sharp-edged examples clatter through the stiff-feeling shell. The road surface fizzes through the controls at low speed, but that's entirely consistent with this type of car and indeed just confirms the GTI's "up-for-it" mien.
The steering, if not full of feel, at least gives a half decent approximation of what the front wheels are up to, but the smooth, almost over-finessed, feel at the wheel is highly characteristic of all Golfs. Indeed, Volkswagen's shared chassis technology, which approaches the subject of vehicle dynamics as if they were a mathematically solvable game such as chess, means all MQB-platformed VWs feel eerily similar.
This is more observation than criticism, but in sharing the same jewelled bearing-like lift from dead ahead, a characteristic lightness, lack of feedback and ultra precision, the GTI's steering isn't quite as distinctive as perhaps it should be.
Once clear of the town, the GTI feels strong, powerful and so full of potential. It carves between corner apexes with ridiculous ease and always with a bit more in reserve to go faster. Overtaking is absurdly easy and the big discs clamp down the speed powerfully and progressively.
Go faster and the limited-slip differential is gently prompted at times to reign in the loss of grip and you can occasionally feel the dynamic controls gently pulling the car back into line, but otherwise the nose pretty much goes where you want it to and the rest of the car just grips and follows.
Then comes the point where you look down at the speedometer and realise that while you are still comfortably within the car's capabilities, you are in danger of putting your licence at risk and, perhaps almost worse, you are being ill-mannered and anti-social to other road users. As ever, the hot hatch seems to encourage bad behaviour more than ostensibly faster rivals.
Keep a lid on your inner hooligan, curb your enthusiasm and this is perhaps the greatest of all cars; invisible, super quick in virtually all conditions, comfortable and practical. While the smooth Peugeot 308 GTi is perhaps the Golf's closest rival, its greatest competition comes from closer to home with the 306bhp, four-wheel-drive Golf R, which starts at £32,000 and is possibly an even more startling amount of car for the money.
So the standard of the GTI genre still flutters defiantly above Wolfsburg and long may it continue to do so. I thought this was quite an amazing car, and while it isn’t a weapon, I’d still need to give myself a good talking to before driving it.
THE FACTS
Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance three-door
TESTED 1,984cc, turbocharged petrol four-cylinder, six-speed manual gearbox, front-wheel drive with limited-slip differential
PRICE/ON SALE from £29,680 (as tested £35,364)/now
POWER/TORQUE 242bhp @ 4,700rpm/273lb ft @ 1,600rpm
TOP SPEED 155mph
ACCELERATION 0-62mph in 6.2sec
FUEL ECONOMY 43.5mpg/32.8mpg (EU Combined/Urban), on test 34mpg
CO2 EMISSIONS 148g/km
VED £200 first year, then £140
VERDICT A smooth and refined engine, terrific handling and not over-compromised ride and practicality prove that Volkswagen's GTI is still (just) the best of the hot hatches, although the competition - including rival Golf models - is not too far behind.
TELEGRAPH RATING Four stars out of five
THE RIVALS
Peugeot 308 GTi, from £28,590
Five-door only but an elegant and understated hatchback with the BMW/Peugeot 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbo engine producing 268bhp, which is a bit of stretch. Lacks the effortless mid-range of the Golf, but still very effective. It also offers a comfortable and classy cabin and well honed ride and handling.
Honda Civic Type-R GT, from £32,500
A truly great, if utterly single-minded, machine. The aero-max styling is extreme, but it's there for a purpose and it works. You could use a five-door Type R every day, but it doesn't ride well and the engine could be tiring. Get it on a track, though, and it's a superhero
Ford Focus ST-3 2.0 Ecoboost, from £28,565
Slightly shaded by the mighty four-wheel-drive RS, but the ST is a fine machine with estate versions adding a degree of practicality. The 246bhp/265lb ft Ecoboost engine gives 154mph, 0-62mph in 6.7sec, 41.5mpg and 159g/km. Good fun, fine-handling and fast.
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