Wednesday 13 January 2010

Volkswagen 2010?

2010 Volkswagen Golf GTI Review


Golf GTI_005_M

I’m somewhere in the Victorian Alps with about forty-kilometres of clean, windy road ahead and I’m driving the new GTI at eight-tenths with former F1 driver Hans Stuck on my tail. Make that nine-tenths.

I’m carrying an awful lot of speed into these curves, and yet even in the tighter sections, the GTI is seemingly unflappable.

I mean I’m pulling a ninety-degree lock on the steering wheel through this hairpin, with more speed than I wanted with the right pedal still buried, and the GTI is refusing to understeer.

Hans BTW GTI 6

It shouldn’t be this easy, but the laws of physics as I know it, are being ripped apart by some new technology in this car.

Golf GTI_018_M

Meet the latest and greatest Golf GTI, the sixth generation of what has surely become an automotive icon, ever since the Mk I GTI kicked off the hot hatch segment, when it first appeared in front of tens of thousands of fans as a pace car at Nurburgring in 1975, prior to its official public debut in 1976.

orig GTI

This was the first time that an average people throughout the world could afford a proper performance car, and one which made the right statement on the road.

Hans Stuck said, “ Whenever a person had a chance to drive a 911, it was a real experience. And then of a sudden this experience was possible in the GTI too. Clearly on a different level, but affordable for everyone”

Golf I GTI could hit 182km/h and trump 0-100km/h in 9.0 seconds flat. Not bad going for a car, which developed only 81kW and 140Nm, driving through a four-speed manual gearbox.

From 1976 to 2009, 1.7 million GTIs left the showroom floor, making it the most successful compact performance car of all time.

There wasn’t a lot wrong with the Golf V GTI, maybe not quite as sharp as those track day enthusiasts had hoped for, but at $39,990, it was for many, the best and only choice as the perfect daily drive.

Rest assured, if you had any reservations about the Mk V (you could count them on one hand), a quick test drive in the latest edition should silence the harshest of critics.

Golf GTI_015_M

But if you’re worried about the softer lines on the new GTI, don’t be it’ll grow on you.

No one’s going to deny that this GTI doesn’t have quite the same aggressive look as its deep grille predecessor, but its closer to the styling heritage of the original Mark I than any of the modern iterations.

Mostly it’s about the red horizontal lines inside the low profile black grille and the tartan fabric seats, both of which were distinctive on the original GTI.

Hans with two GTIs

Walter de Silva Head of Group Design for Volkswagen said of the new GTI, “ We wanted a consistently clear GTI design, a car that has power, but style as well.

white GTI rear

“Also cast in stone was the goal of evoking the character of the first GTI a bit more…and that is why it was decided that – with the exception of the aerodynamically important rear spoiler – the new GTI would not have a single exterior add-on.”

B;ack and silver 1

Volkswagen Australia brought the full range of the GTI VIs to this launch, and despite the fact that I would normally lean towards either of the three-door models with DSG or the six-speed manual, I’ve ended up in the more practical five-door hatch variants on both drive stints.

If you want a definition of ergonomic, just plant yourself in the stock standard GTI sports seats, for one of the most comfortable pews in the business.

Golf GTI_026_M

With a welcome overdose of side bolster, ripping through this kind of twisty alpine terrain is a joy, as your frame may as well be velcro’d to the “Jacky” pattern seats.

The fully-moulded, slightly flat-bottomed leather steering wheel is a treat and a half, with red cross-stitching and superb grip and feel. It’s also decidedly similar to that in the Audi RS4.

steer 1a

I’ve grabbed a DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox) fitted GTI and within minutes we’re quick-shifting via the steering wheel mounted, paddle shifters. I say quick, that’s 80 milliseconds from one gear to another, which is multiple times faster than any human being could ever hope to achieve using a manual transmission.

AddThis

Bookmark and Share