2019 Volkswagen GTI Expert Reviews, Specs And Photos
The Volkswagen GTI is a high-performance sibling of the Golf. It comes as a two- or four-door hatchback, both with an optional Autobahn Package that consists mostly of interior upgrades. The GTI is based on the VW Golf, and both received new exterior styling a few years ago that made them more angular and menacing. The GTI has some unique features, including a thin, blackened honeycomb grille with two red outlining stripes; different front and rear bumpers; side skirts; and GTI badging. It also rides slightly lower than the Golf. The GTI can seat up to five. Bolstered sport seats are standard in front, and there鈥檚 a 60/40-split bench in the rear. Seating surfaces have a retro plaid design 鈥?VW calls it 鈥淚nterlagos鈥?鈥?on the cloth trim; both front seats employ seat heaters and seat-height adjusters. Leather upholstery is optional. A turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine is standard. With either the manual or automatic transmission, the front-wheel-drive GTI can hit 60 mph in less than 7 seconds, Volkswagen says.
We knew that the 2018 Volkswagen Up GTI was probably going to be the greatest car ever made last May. A year later, and after a week of driving it across Europe, I鈥檓 happy to confirm that the 2018 Volkswagen Up GTI is, in fact, the greatest car ever made forever and ever, amen. It鈥檚 just a shame that you, an American (provided you are one) cannot own one. One quick note before we begin: Volkswagen styles Up with an exclamation point at the end, like 鈥渦p!,鈥?which I actually love, but looks weird in writing. So I鈥檓 going to go with 鈥淯p.鈥?It鈥檚 this attention to detail that I know you have come to rely on me for. It鈥檚 Volkswagen鈥檚 answer to the Fiat 500 Abarth, a three-cylinder beast that looks great, can navigate cities, highways, mountain passes, and (I鈥檓 assuming, though I didn鈥檛 do it) race tracks. It鈥檚 not coming to the U.S., but this car deserves to have its praises sung on our shores, and for our readers overseas. That differentiator is important because in places like Europe there are even smaller ones, like the Polo GTI and the Up GTI.
The latter, the car reviewed here, is the smallest. What I can tell you is that, despite those stats, which come straight from Volkswagen, the Up GTI just feels faster than that, perhaps because, since the car鈥檚 so light, it also feels insanely nimble. The sole transmission offered, a six-speed manual, helps. What other upgrades do we get? Many of the usual performance things, like bigger, 17-inch wheels; a stiffer suspension (but not too so stiff as to be uncomfortable for daily use); and a stiffer anti-roll bar. The GTI also sits 0.6 inches lower to the ground, while the track is slightly wider than the regular. There鈥檚 a cheeky rear spoiler, which surely maximizes the downforce. There are disc brakes up front, but, a bit surprisingly, drums in the back. Despite that, braking was assured. Let鈥檚 start with the sound. The sound in the cabin is genuinely good, a purring kitten at idle, a pleasing kitten roar with the pedal to the floor.
Now, here鈥檚 where I tell you that the sound, like most cars these days, has been designed to be great, since what you鈥檙e hearing isn鈥檛, exactly, what鈥檚 coming out of the ultra-quiet exhaust. No, it鈥檚 been artificially enhanced. That doesn鈥檛 mean you have to tell anyone that, including yourself. The car is an acrobat, capable of doing almost anything you ask of it. Do you want to punch it, and pretend like you鈥檙e some kind of racing person? Sure, give it a go: That鈥檚 what I did in Monaco, where the walls for the Grand Prix had already been erected and, for a brief moment I hit the gas and felt like a real racing person. But you expect that, since that鈥檚 what you get with a GTI. What I liked about this GTI, though, was how it excelled at everything else. It鈥檚 hill-start feature was, at first, a little quirky, but once you got the hang of it, did well in dicey restart areas, like being parallel parked on a hill.
