What we liked
>> Outstanding DSG/TFSI combination
>> Extensive safety package
>> Exhilarating out of town
Not so much
>> Severe dips can catch it out
>> Flawed instrument cluster
>> Boring at city speeds
OVERVIEW
The new Golf GTI could prove to be the best small driver's car to be offered to Australians since the AlfaSud Ti and the original VW Golf was ruined by local emissions rules late in 1976. From only $39,990, the new GTI also revives the car's reputation for outstanding value for money. It's even better if you spend $42,290 and dial in DSG.
There have been many hot hatches since but nothing like this. Think of it as a Renault Sport Clio 182 Cup that ran the full term of its gestation period and you start to get the picture. It is a very different, edgier car than the plusher Renault Sport Megane 225 and is therefore more faithful to the original GTI concept.
In fact, Volkswagen, without shame, acknowledges that it revisited the first Golf GTI for inspiration. This means nothing to Australians who were introduced to the first Golf only as an affordable locally-built Beetle replacement.
After winning the 1976 Wheels Car of the Year, the local Golf collapsed under high import prices and a pox of add-on air pumps, pollution valves and plumbing that caused its willing engine to choke on itself. No four-cylinder Golf since has matched the immediacy of the original Australian base model let alone the first European Golf GTI.
It's worth a second to note how good the first Golf GTI really was. Developed on the sly by VW and Audi boffins, it hit the Frankfurt Motor Show stands in September 1975. It sold ten times its planned production run in its first year thanks to a hot fuel-injected four (hence Gran Turismo plus Injection), tweaked suspension, wider wheels and low profile tyres and several clever interior and exterior tweaks.
The first Golf GTI delivered 81kW/6100rpm and 140Nm/5000rpm on high octane leaded fuel. It only had to haul 820kg for a then blistering 9sec 0-100 km/h and a 182km/h top speed. It used only 8ly/100km but elbows clashed at 1630mm wide. At only 3705mm long, cabin or luggage space was not Grand Touring class.
Today's Golf GTI packs a wicked 147kW/5100rpm and 280Nm/1800rpm for a 0-100 km/h of 7.2sec (6.9 with DSG) and 235km/h top speed. It weighs 1336kg with its substantial crash structure and six airbags, 1759mm width and 4216mm length yet uses the same 8lt/100 km while meeting Euro emissions laws that are even tougher than those due in Australia next year.
FEATURES
Even without its amazing mechanical package, the new Golf GTI has a lot going for it. Most European sports models boast more paint and less detailing which make them look more like $13,990 Korean specials to Australian eyes than the entry models. This GTI is the first recent European hot hatch that shouts you have bought the special model.
The GTI does it with its big mesh grilles and red insert, deep front airdam, extra lights, black skirts front, rear and sides, roof rear spoiler, red brake calipers, big chrome dual exhausts and wild 17-inch Denver alloys that don't look aftermarket. The base Golf styling package already has more than your average dose of attitude and the GTI picks up a stronger thread of Audi S/RS-series DNA.
It has a benchmark safety package and alarm system with interior monitoring and must be the cheapest hot hatch to have dual climate control -- all for $39,990.
There are only five colours (red, black, dark blue, white and silver), a retro check pattern cloth trim called Interlagos (which must be German for McDougall), and a pricey $2990 leather option in black or beige. There is only one engine specification with a choice of a six-speed manual or the $2300 six-speed Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG).
You can then blow $1890 on Bi-Xenon headlights and the same again on a glass sunroof. Satellite Navigation adds another $2990 and brings a large colour centre screen.
Unless you want red or white paint which look fine, you will need another $690 for metallic paint. Tick all the option boxes and you will hit $52,740, but only one option alters the driving experience. Tick only the DSG option box and its $2300 extra cost makes the GTI a bargain.
COMFORT
When it came to the GTI's new interior, the Germans must have been popping personality pills. There are colours and details not in the usual bushfire black.
The seats support you with such even pressure that you are not even conscious of sitting. With pronounced lateral support, they are outstanding. Others with very different shapes and sizes made the same comment.
The plastics are typical superior VW quality. You can't resist exploring the tactile delights in each surface. Even the plain surfaces on grab handles and armrests feel velvety, not plasticky. The GTI also passes the overhead grab handle test. Instead of flipping back like a pinball machine, they retract with the damped precision of a pick-up arm in an expensive hi-fi turntable.
The dual climate control is a valued feature in a car that will have the driver running hot and a relaxed passenger wanting some warmth. There is a six-stacker in the dash -- unless the satnav is ordered when it is then moved to the centre console bin. The clever part is the twin cupholder hidden in the centre console. The metal division that allows you to adjust the size of each hole can be removed so you can use it as a bottle opener!
The GTI bits include a beautiful leather steering wheel with a flattened section at the base. Brushed aluminium inserts are scattered about the cabin including pedals, driver's left footrest, gear lever boot and knob. The manual gear lever has an unusual squared shank, not round, to match the steering wheel's hard-edged feel. There are GTI graphics in the seats and the way the head restraints are integrated with the backrests is clever.
Luggage space is typical small hatch which means barely adequate for a family or outstanding for a weekend escape for two. The rear VW badge swivels to open it.
Rear seat comfort is good and the cabin architecture which lifts the roof, windscreen base and pillars well out of the way, leaves a feeling of spaciousness unusual in a car of this size. Even with a sunroof, there is headroom to spare.
It's not a bad office but there are a few glitches. The centre graphics screen in the instrument panel, separate to the one in the centre console, is quite large. It leaves little room for the minor gauges, which are tiny and hard to read. At least the GTI has a temperature gauge, a feature that more German makes are eliminating -- an act of extreme stupidity in Australia where split plastic European radiators and failed thermostats are a fact of life.
VW draws attention to its special speedo graphics. Just as well, as they could cost you your licence in Australia if you don't take the time to work them out. Each increment up to 80 km/h is marked in 10 km/h intervals, after 80 km/h these markings cover 20 km/h increments and beyond 180 km/h they stretch out to 30 km/h.
SAFETY
As a Golf, you would expect the GTI to be a safety benchmark not only for $40,000 but the whole market. It doesn't disappoint with an outstanding blend of primary and five-star secondary safety features.
Upgraded suspension includes a 15mm lower ride height, firmer springs and dampers front and rear and a stiffer rear anti-roll bar. Steering, which is assisted by an electro-mechanical system, has been re-programmed for the GTI. When following a GTI, the first thing you notice is the outstanding wheel control and geometry as the wheels always seem to stay at an optimum angle to the road.
It's backed by powerful 312mm ventilated front disc brakes and 286mm solid rears. The suspension and brakes provide the foundation for an armoury of crash avoidance aids including ABS, ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation) which controls wheelspin, EBD (Electronic Brake-pressure Distribution) and Brake Assist. The Continental Teves MK60 brake system integrates these under the Electronic Stabilisation Program (ESP) which controls engine power and braking to correct a skid or counter understeer or oversteer.
If these systems can't keep you out of trouble, the GTI features front and side airbags for both front occupants plus a curtain airbag system for front and rear passengers. The front seats have height adjustable active head restraints and there are three height adjustable rear head restraints. Front seats belts are height adjustable with pre-tensioners and belt force limiters. The rear centre belt is three-point lap-sash and rear passengers are protected by deeper C-pillars and a stronger rear section than most hatches.
The step between dash and windscreen base plus the rubber framed wiper blades point to new pedestrian safety measures.
The fully galvanized body gains 15% in dynamic stiffness, 35 per cent extra stiffness under flex and a whopping 80 per cent boost in torsional stiffness over the previous GTI which was no cream puff. Most importantly, it carries a 12 year anti-corrosion perforation warranty ensuring this integrity lasts for the life of the car.
MECHANICAL
We have left the best part until last. The GTI engine is probably the most advanced engine currently available on the Australian market and that's not the biggest story.
It's Volkswagen's first (and would have been Australia's first if it wasn't fitted to an Audi earlier this year) turbocharged engine with common-rail direct petrol injection in addition to four-valves-per-cylinder, twin overhead camshafts with continuous inlet camshaft adjustment and variable charge control flaps in the inlet manifold.
With a compression ratio of 10.5:1 and a torque peak running flat between 1800-5000 rpm, you are hardly ever aware of the turbocharger. It feels like a seamless atmo engine. VW says it does not have a hint of turbo lag which for once is a reasonable claim. It meets Euro IV emissions, the next level beyond Euro III which applies in Australia from 2006.
Forged pistons with special combustion-optimised crowns, specific conrods and forged steel crankshaft with oversize flanges should ensure that it's bulletproof. The block is cast-iron with cylinder liners honed with new abrasive fluid technology that leaves no metallic imperfections behind. Camshafts are driven by toothed-belt with no less than three cams on the inlet camshaft to increase the delivery rate of the high-pressure oil pump. A chain links the crankshaft with a de-coupled drive sprocket that replicates a dual mass flywheel before driving a series of balancer shafts.
Given the emission-driven move away from manual transmissions, the Golf GTI's new DSG system has to be the most significant advance in drivetrain technology since the automatic transmission. Even the most brain-dead auto driver will find it works better and smoother than an auto. Yet for the manual driver, it offers even better control while improving acceleration and reducing fuel consumption.
How does it do it? Imagine if you attached two gearboxes behind an engine, one containing 1st, 3rd, 5th and Reverse, the second containing 2nd, 4th and 6th. And because each gearbox has a separate clutch, you could engage the first gearbox to do the work while you changed gear on the other at your leisure. When you need the next gear, you simply unhook the first gearbox then hook up the second gearbox with the correct gear already engaged. That is exactly what the GTI's DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox or Double Clutch Gearbox) does.
First offered in Audi models, the backroom boys have found a way of mounting two clutches one inside the other which then feed two separate input shafts which are also one inside the other. These separate input shafts lead to two independent gear sets which then feed a common output shaft.
In normal Drive mode, it behaves like a normal automatic, only smoother, with no break in power flow during gear changes. In Sports mode it replicates an aggressive sports driver, even blipping the throttle during downshifts.
Its key to its success is the control it has over the engine, which shuts down between changes so fast that you could never match it in a manual. Because DSG is so accurate, it doesn't need a torque-converter's slip to hide any mismatch in revs and speed so the drivetrain has the razor sharpness of a good manual.
If this is the way of the future for sports cars, bring it on now. I suspect the only holdup will be to find a way to make the twin clutches and input shafts strong enough for big engine applications. Porsche is understood to be developing its own DSG and my drive of a Golf GTI DSG suggests that a Boxster S with DSG would be heaven with a paddle.
COMPETITORS
The Subaru Impreza WRX ($40,440) is the established performance benchmark but as an auto it slips far enough behind to give the Golf DSG a clear advantage if all wheel drive is not critical. The WRX is not as cohesive and is now looking dated.
Volkswagen lists the Honda Integra Type S ($42,990) which is a worthy performance rival but only to those buyers who see a tight coupe as interchangeable with a roomy five-door hatch. The Renault Sport Megane 225 ($42,990) is right in the Golf GTI's ball park but on the road the Megane feels bigger and slightly more isolated from the action, which places it ahead as a dual family/fun package providing you don't need an auto.
The BMW 120i ($41,900) has rear drive in its favour but the GTI's extra grunt, chassis balance and control are so good that it is not the big advantage that it would normally be. It needs an M-series to exploit its fine chassis. The Mini Cooper S ($38,500) is also on the radar. Some will choose it for style and character which it has in spades but its drivetrain is not in the same class as the Golf GTI, a deficit that BMW won't allow to continue for much longer.
Because of VW's rapidly improving local image, the Golf GTI has the goods to tempt owners of the Mazda 6 Luxury Sports hatch ($39,800) and the Subaru Liberty Safety 2.5i, both of which are show ponies compared to the GTI. It might also prompt Alfa 147 and 156 buyers to question what they are getting for their money. The Audi A3 Sportback with the same DSG drivetrain at $49,950 but no cruise control or alarm and option prices almost double those for the same features in the Golf GTI, suffers by comparison.
ON THE ROAD
Volkswagen has already posted a whopping 47% boost in local sales by the end of April on the back of the new Golf and the GTI reflects the same fun and value for money priorities driving this turnaround. Welcome back original Golf GTI, you have been missed.
The Golf GTI launch has been the first sports model in memory where colleagues have not raced to the manual version. Sitting in the passenger's seat in Canberra's rush hour with eyes shut, you could be in a smooth and torquey medium sized sedan as the DSG slurs through the gears. This car is so capable and so quick, that it is boring around town. The upside is that it will never intrude unless you want it to. The downside is that you will need to make time to get out of town to remind yourself why you bought it.
Out of town, the engine wakes up and screams with the most delightful, thoroughbred noise you could imagine but that's not the best part. Shifting the DSG transmission selector across to the left takes you into a stargate of new experiences. The paddles behind each steering wheel spoke come alive and for once, they are intuitive.
One of the most pleasing mechanical experiences in today's high tech world is the high quality index gear shifts on an expensive bicycle. If you have ever raced through the gears on a modern pushbike, just lifting ever so slightly as the chain flies down the gear cluster before you apply full power as it clicks into gear, you already know the thrill of DSG. That's exactly how DSG feels, only better when 147 kW is being processed with the same anticipation and seamlessness.
Even the paddles, right side for upshifts, left side for downshifts, replicate the action and sequence of a high tech bicycle. This is one self-shifter that keen drivers won't leave in Drive.
On the open road, what initially seemed like an inert chassis comes alive. Some drivers commented that it could easily have been all wheel drive or rear drive. While I wouldn't go that far, it's so adjustable, so responsive that it doesn't matter. It has just the right amount of lift-off oversteer to tighten a cornering line to perfection.
Under power, there is no torque steer or front tyre scrub in corners. It just goes then turns only if you want it to.
Within minutes, I was dropping it into an apex as late as I dared, lifting off abruptly to bring the back around, flipping the down paddle as fast as I could, then launching straight out with a gear shift that was so quick there wasn't time for it to unsettle the chassis. Volkswagen used the Canberra driving range with its evil road circuit and skid pan to highlight how much control DSG delivers.
The only flaw is the GTI can bottom out under severe dips, at which point it loses some composure for an instant. Because this wasn't consistent, it may have been the dampers fading, not the lack of suspension control or travel.
There is another bonus. As you work it hard through each gear, there is that delightful pop that borders on a "whoof" during each shift to remind you that the engine is being shut down and excess fuel torched off. If you have ever heard a peripheral port rotary back-off with a loud pop as flames leap from its exhaust, it's the same principle. Providing it does nothing to harm the cat converter, it's a sound to be relished as it's part of the process that makes DSG so enjoyable and efficient.
The manual GTI suffers by comparison. Its lift-off throttle response is better than most European engines but if you were hoping to relive the instant throttle action of the original GTI or an early 1970s Alfa twin-cam, it will disappoint.
If the Golf GTI with DSG is the only way that future emissions standards can be married to the crispness and instant throttle adjustable handling of a 1970s manual sports model, then so be it. DSG and the Golf GTI have just confirmed that driver pleasure is no longer a defunct concept.