Volkswagen Golf GTI review

Question one: is 261bhp enough? Yes, presuming you’re happy with a quick hatch, not a face-altering missile. Disappointed? Have a look at the Clubsport instead. In the standard GTI, 0-62mph takes 5.9 seconds, but the Clubsport does the same sprint three tenths quicker and as such is up there with its fastest classmates.

Either way it’s nice to be able to drive a modern fast car and be able to use full throttle for more than 0.5 seconds without featuring on your local police force’s ‘Gotcha!’ Twitter feed.

Tell me more…

Well, we’ve only driven the updated Mk8.5 GTI in its standard form, so we’ll focus on that here. Maximum power is held from 5,000rpm to 6,500rpm, and the motor revs cleanly up to the redline followed along by a flat-pitched growl. Mostly, you’ll surf the torque: a chunky 273lb ft is on tap from 1,600 revs right up to 4,300rpm. That’s a preposterous torque band. It might as well run on diesel.

There’s a fraction of turbo lag in every gear, but then the GTI just hauls, without wheelspin or torque steer robbing your attention. Very effective, very mature, and just ever-so-slightly bland. AMG’s A35 and the Focus ST sport more exciting powerplants. 

The Clubsport will likely be much the same, but the optional Akrapovic exhaust should provide a slightly more exciting soundtrack.

But what about the manual gearbox?

RIP, old friend. The Mk8 GTI’s manual was never as mechanically sweet as a Civic Type R’s or Focus ST’s and the lever was plasticky, but we still miss three pedals and shifting ourselves. It just feels right in a hot hatch. The DSG was the more popular option on the Mk8 though, and it’s a very competent, smooth-shifting gearbox. But why does Volkswagen insist on using the smallest possible paddles? At least give us something tactile to pull in the DSG’s manual mode.

How is it in the twisty stuff?

This is where the current GTI really comes good. Some hot hatches (A35, RS3) are ‘engine cars’. This is a ‘chassis car’. 

When the Mk8 GTI first launched, VW introduced us to its new computer which, of course, had a serious German name: VDM, or Vehicle Dynamics Manager. Basically, the GTI houses a sort of AI network that’ll monitor the engine revs, how much traction the tyres have, your steering angle, what gear you’re in, the electronic front differential and (if you’ve ticked the box) the optional adaptive suspension... all at the same time.

The idea is that instead of each of the car’s electronic systems making up its own mind how to help you get around the corner faster, all this data is being fed back to one mothership of a motherboard that keeps all the tech in harmony.

But really, who cares about how all that computer network stuff works? The point is, it does. And the optional £720 DCC adaptive dampers are crucial here. Instead of picking a fixed setting, you get a sliding scale on the touchscreen: you can go sub-Comfort for maximum wallow on really roughshod roads, or beyond Sport (which even VW admits is just for tracks).

Somewhere in the middle is, predictably, just right, and it all comes together in a chassis that feels taut, precise and more alive under you than the Mk7 GTI, which needed provoking with booze, high-sugar snacks and rude football chants before it got fighty. Interestingly, VW’s engineers insist they only benchmarked the Mk7 when setting up the 8, but they namechecked the Focus ST and Hyundai i30N as key rivals they want to out-handle. Tough crowd, that.

The GTI dives into corners obediently, working that standard electronic front diff to the max. It’s not a total character transplant from old: the Mk7 GTI was a very fine car indeed, and yet this is just a little bit better on the way into a corner, and tidier on the way out. It’s exactly how a front-wheel drive hot hatch should feel.

The steering uses a progressive ratio, so in town and at slow speeds it’s light and breezy, but once you pick up the pace there’s much more feel and quicker responses to your inputs. And yet, it’s preserved the superb high-speed stability. The car’s planted, comfortable, and doesn’t need to be constantly babysat on the motorway. Doing distance in here, as opposed to something more boisterous like an i30N or RS Megane, is a joy.