What_Car_UK_-_August_2020

HondaCivicTypeR

Ourcurrent

championis hugely

fastandfun,yet

comfortableand

practical,too.

Hyundaii30N

Notasfastas

somerivals,butit

handlessweetly

andis wellpriced

andequipped.

RIVALS

14 August 2020 whatcar.com

FIRST DRIVE

THEREARETIMESwhenbeingapassenger is

preferable to doing the driving: when you’re

sprawled out in the back of a luxury limousine,

for example. But while the first taste of a new

Volkswagen Golf GTI most definitely isn’t on

that list, a chance to be driven around VW’s

Ehra-Lessien development track in a late

prototype was an opportunity not to be missed,

so we could see and feel how this reincarnated

hot hatch is shaping up.

Power comes from an updated version

of the outgoing car’s turbocharged 2.0-litre

petrol engine, now producing 241bhp in

standard form. That’s 13bhp more than its

direct predecessor and the same as the old GTI

Performance model, so 0-62mph should be

possible in a little over six seconds.

The engine is pleasingly raspy under

acceleration and there are crackles when

you lift off. Plus, with options to include the

Akrapovic sports exhaust system that so

dramatically improves Volkswagen’s sporty

T-Roc R SUV, you should be able to make the

finished car sound even better.

A limited-slip differential is now standard on

the Golf GTI, boosting traction out of corners.

As before, you can choose either a six-speed

manual gearbox or a seven-speed dual-clutch

automatic with steering wheel-mounted shift

paddles. The four driving modes (Comfort,

Eco, Sport and Individual) are also familiar, but

Volkswagen has added extra steps between

them in an effort to give the GTI a broader

range of driving characteristics.

We’ll give you our verdict on all of the

settings once we’ve tried them, but we can tell

you now that body control is a real strength

when Sport is selected. There’s still a degree of

lean in slower corners, but it’s more progressive

from the point where you first turn in than in

the old car. Indeed, if we had to pick just one

word to describe the new GTI, it’s ‘composed’.

Even when our driver entered a tight, bumpy

bend uncomfortably fast, the car held its line

instead of sliding across the road or bouncing

off line. And when he lifted halfway through

a fast, sweeping bend before mashing the

accelerator into the carpet again, the GTI’s rear

end remained remarkably stable.

The ride has an understandable firmness to

it, but on our car’s 18in wheels (standard on UK

cars; 19s will be an option) it never felt harsh.

Impressively, when you soften the springs in

Comfort mode, things are still well tied down,

with vertical movements kept to a minimum.

This ties in to one of the GTI’s traditional

strengths: that it has always been easy to

live with. More controversial, though, is

Volkswagen’s decision to do away with the

majority of the Golf’s dashboard buttons;

instead, you get twin digital screens (one for

instrumentation, the other for infotainment),

and a Siri-style voice control system.

Sporty touches that mark the GTI out

include red on-screen graphics, a flat-bottomed

steering wheel and the traditional tartan-

trimmed seats. Other standard equipment

includes keyless entry and start, lane-keeping

Volkswagen Golf GTI

Our rst experience of this much-anticipated hot hatch suggests that it fully

deservestheiconicGTI badge On sale Autumn Price from £32,000 (est)

MORE

DOORS

For the rst time in

more than 40 years,

the new GTI – and the

Mk8 Golf line-up as a

whole – is available

only in ve-door

format.

Greg Kable

[email protected]