What hot hatch shoot out would be complete without the latest iteration of the Golf GTI? It’s been a presence in the segment for some time now – is it too long in the tooth to keep up with the competition?
The GTI’s styling shows a subtle, but very effective, evolution from the standard Golf V with such features as two-tone 18-inch alloys, a revised front bumper and a gaping front air dam with a honeycomb grille and signature red lip in the upper section denoting this car’s performance potential.
The interior is similarly subtle with a hint of performance-orientated menace about it. Satin metal trim inserts, aluminium pedals, and a flat-bottomed, leather-bound steering wheel are among the highlights of what is essentially the comfortable, practical cabin of a popular hatch model.
Beneath the bonnet lurks VW’s turbocharged 2,0-litre engine with direct electronic injection. This unit develops 147 kW at 5 100 r/min and 280 N.m of torque between 1 800 and 5 000 r/min. This equated to a 0-100 km/h time of 7,67 seconds and a top speed of 225 km/h in a CAR road test.
The GTI’s underpinnings feature firmer springs and stabiliser bars that are 20 percent stronger than those of the standard car. The steering also receives a specially revised electro-mechanical power steering module that makes the car easier to pilot.
It may have blitzed the Opel Astra GSI back in 2005, but the field has advanced a lot since then. Can the Golf GTI still raise a few eyebrows when it takes to the track at Killarney?
You can read South African circuit racing stars Hennie Groenewald and Philip Kekana’s track appraisals of the Volkwagen Golf GTI in the January 2009 issue of CAR magazine, in which we put 18 of South Africa’s hottest hatches to the test at Killarney.
Listen to hot hatch exhaust notes.
Download wallpapers from the Track Shootout here: Batch 1, Batch 2 and Batch 3, or Batch 4.
Watch two Ultimate Hot Hatch Shootout videos
You can also view the behind-the-scenes or the Franschhoek Pass Shootout galleries.
Buy a VW Golf Gti on South Africa’s most trusted car marketplace.
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