Volkswagen Golf GTi 2.0 – Review
By Liam Bird
A quick tally this evening reveals that of the 25, it may be 26, cars I’ve owned over the 34 or so years I’ve held a driving licence, seven have been Volkswagens, five of which were Golfs. I’ve regularly recommended Volkswagen Golfs to both friends and family when they’ve been thinking of either buying or changing their cars and thus over the years have driven what must amount to dozens of examples, good, bad, and in some cases battered, of what must surely be Wolfsburg’s most famous export.
The Golf is the biggest selling model in Volkswagen history with over 37 million having been sold worldwide, 2.3 million of which were registered here in the UK. The Golf GTi is the biggest-selling performance model in Volkswagen history, and since its launch in 1976, over 2.3 million have been sold worldwide.
“The Golf that got away”
We’re around the same age, the Golf and I. It had its international launch in 1974, whereas I was… err… launched in 1973. The Golf GTi first saw light of day, officially, in 1976.
I’ve never owned a Volkswagen Golf GTi. Bizarre perhaps, especially so for someone whose parents lovingly described them as car-daft, and whose formative years coincided with the hot-hatch boom of the mid/late 1980s. Not to mention the fact that in the UK alone nearly a quarter of a million Golf GTis have been registered. I have been to look at more than a few, but I never could quite afford the insurance…
I decided it was time to take a much longer look at the “Golf that (for me) got away”. Not long after an email was sent to Nicki, Volkswagen’s brilliantly efficient PR lady, a delivery driver turned up in the latest version of VW’s perennial hot-hatch. I do like German efficiency.
By new, I mean version 8.5. The Golf 8 wasn’t particularly well received, thanks mainly as result of a frustrating infotainment system which was blighted with early software issues, a cabin that simply wasn’t up to the usual Golf standards, and suspension that some drivers declared too hard. Volkswagen listened. All such niggles have now been addressed.
“Virtual Cockpit dashboard”
Gone are the touch-sensitive, nee oversensitive, buttons on the steering wheel. They’ve been replaced with proper buttons (hoorah!), a-la Golfs of old (or in the case of the GTi, cheaper Golfs, those of lower social standing), so no longer will you find yourself inadvertently changing radio station, cruise control setting, or dashboard display whilst parallel parking. Alas, the touch bars for the temperature and media volume have been kept, but at least they’re now illuminated, and whereas before you had to carefully slide your finger across them to alter anything, now you just have to tap them like the button they ideally should be.
Talking of tech, the Golf’s dashboard is now dominated by VW’s 12.9-inch Discover touchscreen, which although still not entirely intuitive is significantly better than what was offered in the Golf 8. A smattering of shortcut buttons below it also help speed up access to certain functions – does anyone not switch off lane assist as soon as they can? When the Discover system is combined with the Golf’s 10.5 inch Virtual Cockpit dashboard you can sometimes suffer from a little information overload. But perhaps that’s as much down to my personal set-up preferences as much as it is anything else. After all, you don’t really have to display the temperatures of every fluid, the average mpg, the compass bearing, and your preferred radio station if you don’t want to.
“Probably one of the best there is”
Elsewhere, the Golf GTi’s cabin is very much Golf GTi business as usual; Tartan sports seats? Check! (Pardon the pun). Excellent multi-adjustable – albeit manually – driving position? Check! Red stitching and interior lighting? Check! Room for five and a decent-sized boot? Check! There’s even room for a space-saver spare wheel. Dimpled golf ball-like gear knob and a six-speed ‘box? Sadly not.
Today’s Golf GTi is available only as seven-speed automatic – at least you get paddles. VW say the demand for the manual was so low that they decided not to offer one (What is wrong with so-called car “enthusiasts” these days?). To be fair, VW’s DSG auto is probably one of the best there is, and it does a sterling job of managing the 2.0-litre turbocharged four’s 261bhp and its overall economy – I saw over 44 mpg on a morning motorway run. Nevertheless, you’ll need to select Sport mode if you want your downshifts before a corner rather than after one (so annoying), and on a Welsh mountain B-road, as a driver, there are times when not being able to change gear yourself, properly, means you can feel a tad redundant.
“Comfy cross-country ally”
That said, the ride is good even on the optional 19 inch alloys, there’s grip aplenty, the steering is quick and precise, and thanks to Vorderachsquersperre (I had to get that in!) or “front axle lock” – which uses a clutch pack external to the differential to lock one driveshaft or the other, in effect mimicking the action of a limited-slip differential – the Golf GTi still makes for a swift, very capable, and comfy cross-country ally.
And there lies the Golf GTi’s trump card. Or should I say trump cards? I’d really rather not say trump at all to be honest. I digress…
The Golf GTi may not be the most focused of hot hatches (See Civic Type R), and it may not be the fastest either; VW themselves will even sell you a sprightlier Golf should you so require (See GTi Clubsport). Nevertheless, it remains the consummate all-rounder. Regardless of whether you’re on the school-run, the tip-run, the shopping-run, or your first run on a track day, the Golf GTi can cope with whatever you demand of it.
Now we’re both deep into middle-age, one of the few benefits of which is cheaper car insurance, I’ve been scouring the small ads. Maybe it is time I spent even more time with a Golf GTi. (If, that is, I can find a nice example of one of the last ones with a manual gearbox).
Volkswagen Golf GTi 2.0 litre 265 PS 7-spd DSG (MY’24)
Engine: 1,996cc 4Cyl 16V turbocharged petrol
Transmission: 7-speed DSG automatic, front-wheel drive
Power: 261 bhp
Torque: 272 lbft @ 1,650–4,500 rpm
0-62mph: 5.9 sec
Max Speed: 155 mph
Gross Vehicle Weight: 1,950 kg
CO2: 162 g/km
MPG: 39.6 (WLTP combined)
Price: from £40,025 OTR (as driven £44,890)
