ROAD TEST:IT IS hard to find a car that really does everything just right, but Volkswagen seems to have cracked it with the latest GTi, writes PADDY COMYN
Mondays, in the world of a motoring hack, are a busy day. Traditionally it has been the day of change. The car that you have just spent a week getting to know is no longer in your charge and just as you have finally figured out how to turn on the indicators without switching on the wipers, your car is gone. You change from a Korean brand to a German brand and have to relearn where everything is.
Our job is to tell you what a car is like, for the most part, not because we were born with some special gene for car assessment, but more so by virtue of compare and contrast. The thing is that most cars have things about them you like. Some have good looks but fall down on handling. Others might be comfortable, but have poor steering. Like the porridge that Goldilocks eventually settled on, you seldom get one that is just right. If we happen to be at a posh dinner party, or more likely, down the pub, we often get asked the question: “well what car would you buy?” The answer is invariably the Golf GTi.
This is the slightly new one, a follow on from the brilliant fifth-generation GTi. It was and remains a really delightful car to drive. Few cars, especially those with quite a lot of power and front-wheel drive, had the ability to be so forgiving, so good natured and so effortlessly cool. It has been a huge seller and even though it has lost out to many cars in the horsepower war which followed its arrival (to cars like the Astra OPC, Civic Type R and even its cousin, the Seat Leon Cupra R), it remains probably the coolest of the hot hatches.
Golf Mark VI has been a bit of a non-event if the truth be told. Few were really taken in by what were little more than a facelift and some minor changes and rumour has it that VW is already working on yet another new version of the Golf.
So we know that the Mark V GTi was very good, so news of another, new GTi to follow the “new” Golf is bound the cock the ear of the car’s many fans.
The difficulty is that there hasn’t been much change to the new version. However, it is a much better looking car. The front end is way more aggressive than before. Gone is the smiley face, this has a snarly grille, with more pinched, angry headlamps. It is better looking at the rear too, with smart-looking rear lenses and, because it is lower than before, it looks much more squat; ready for action.
Our test car, in white, with optional 18-inch alloy wheels looked stunning. Aside from the problem of the larger wheels, which looked like they would get kerbed just by parking near a footpath, the first thing you notice about getting into a GTi, regardless of whether you have spent time in one before or not, is just how instantly familiar it all feels. There are nice touches, like the flat-bottomed steering wheel, like you get in RS models from Audi. The leather wheel feels good, as does the gear knob, handbrake and seats. The audio system was touch screen – intuitive and easy to master. Before you have even left the car park you feel like you know where everything is.
The 2.0-litre TFSI unit is the same one that you find in the Scirocco and now gives the GTi 207bhp, and while it doesn’t have a ferocious bark; it does have plenty of bite.
The whole point, the whole raison d'êtreof the GTi is that it does power with refinement and that is why it is a masterpiece. We have spent time recently in the Ford Focus RS, a car which itself is a work of genius and could be bought for the price of the GTi. But comparing the two cars is like comparing glamour model Jordan with supermodel Christy Turlington. Sure they are both models and successful business people, but one does their job with infinitely more finesse.
The Focus RS would eat up and chew the GTi for breakfast, but would belch loudly afterwards. There is no point in comparing the two car’s performance for many reasons. Ford will sell you a Focus ST, arguably a better performance car than the GTi, but a better all rounder? No. Besides, VW has an answer to the Ford Focus RS coming early in 2010, when the 267bhp Golf R arrives, with four-wheel drive in its arsenal.
We would be hard pressed to think of many better all round cars than the GTi. Let’s look at the evidence. You could own this car in your 20s because it looks good and goes fast. In your 30s because it will cope with child seats and has a decent boot for a buggy. In your 40s it won’t embarrass your impressionable teenagers and in your 50s – and beyond – it is refined enough to offer good levels of comfort, but enough power to be a rewarding driver’s car. There are few cars which perform to such a high level in so many areas.
A word on the DSG gearbox, which many people, their opinion coloured by Top Gearand their hatred of "flappy paddle gearboxes" seem to overlook. DSG is brilliant. It offers the best of both worlds, changing as an automatic should you want it to be and if you prefer to change gears yourself it does so with such speed and such smoothness that, unusually, if offers better 0-100km/h times and better fuel consumption than changing gears yourself. Some will say they prefer a manual, and that is fine, but don't make up your mind until you have tried DSG.
As most of us spend our time stuck in some form of traffic, the fact that the GTi can be so docile and comfortable is what makes it stand out. But when you do want to tackle a few corners, there are few cars which so flatter the novice. This is a car with tons of grip and thanks to an electronic differential – and in our car the three-stage ACC adjustable dampers, which allow the car to be changed to a sportier set-up at the push of a button on the centre console – this is now a more complete driver’s tool than ever before.
If we were to grumble, it would have to be about the price. This is a nice car, which was always considered to be one of the more affordable sports hatches, but our five-door DSG model was fitted with extras like leather upholstery and climate control as well as xenon lights and adaptive chassis control which brought the price up to a scary €47,325. The thoughts of spending close to €50,000 on a Golf seems a bit silly, especially when you look at how much you pay for a good used one.
However, the improvements to the GTi are palpable making it sound better, look better and feel better than the Mark V. It is a much more focused car than before. VW have thrown a spanner in the works by offering a diesel version, the GTD, which will offer better fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions, while just a fraction slower than the petrol model for less money. We’ll bring you the verdict on that at a later stage. GTi Mark VI isn’t a revolution, it’s barely an evolution: just a fine tuning what was an already superb car into something that is brilliant.
Factfile
- Engine:4-cylinder 207bhp 1,984cc turbo petrol engine putting out 207bhp @ 5,300rpm and 280Nm @ 1,700rpm
- Specification:Standard equipment includes 17 alloy wheels, Cruise Control, Top Sports seats, GTi specific fog lights with cornering lights, XDS electronic differential lock, curtain airbag system for front and rear passenger, alloy and leather steering wheel with tilt and telescopic adjustment, semi-automatic air conditioning, front and rear electric windows, electronic traction control, electronic stability control. Options include:alarm (€384); Park Distance Control (€740); Parallel Park Assist (€879); multi-function steering wheel (€444); adaptive chassis control (€1,254); bi-xenon lights (€1,935); electric sunroof (€314); leather Trim (€2,182); climate control (€1,065); 18 alloys (€823); metallic or pearl paint (€549)
- L/100km (mpg):urban - 10 (28); extra-urban - 5.9 (48); combined - 7.4 (38)
- CO2 emissions:173 g/km
- Tax:VRT - 28 per cent; motor tax - €630
- Price:€39,665