Volkswagen Golf GTI Receives Top Safety Pick Rating From IIHS
If a vehicle doesn鈥檛 earn top scores for safety, it should be an immediate concern. In today鈥檚 automotive industry, automakers are working relentlessly to add the most intuitive and advanced safety systems on their vehicles to ensure consumers are always protected. Volkswagen does just this with its fleet of vehicles and the 2019 Golf GTI recently earned a Top Safety Pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 鈥淲e are so pleased to receive the IIHS Top Safety Pick award for the GTI,鈥?said Derrick Hatami, Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Aftersales for Volkswagen of America. To be considered for a Top Safety Pick rating, a vehicle must earn specific ratings in a collection of tested categories. It must earn a 鈥淕ood鈥?rating in the roof strength, head restraint tests, moderate overlap front side, side, and driver-side small overlap front areas as well as a 鈥淕ood鈥?or 鈥淎cceptable鈥?rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. Additionally, the vehicle must receive an 鈥淎dvanced鈥?or 鈥淪uperior鈥?rating for front crash prevention and a 鈥淕ood鈥?or 鈥淎cceptable鈥?rating for headlights. The award-winning 2019 Volkswagen Golf GTI earned 鈥淕ood鈥?ratings in five of the crashworthiness evaluations and an 鈥淎cceptable鈥?rating in the passenger-side small overlap crash test. When equipped with the available Forward Collision Warning and Autonomous Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Monitoring (standard on all models but the S), the GTI earned a 鈥淪uperior鈥?rating in front crash prevention.
It鈥檚 an all-new, all-aluminium, 1332cc turbocharged four-cylinder (codenamed M282, engine geeks) and replaces the 1.6-litre four used in the previous A200. The overall shape is not far removed from the outgoing A-Class, but the body panels have been de-creased in line with Merc鈥檚 current design philosophy, gauchely named Sensual Purity. Apparently Merc鈥檚 designers came to realise what everyone else already knew, that their cars were getting a bit over-styled, so the new A has followed the CLS in getting ironed out. Good for aero, they say, and it鈥檚 a look that may age well, but to our eyes the new A-Class has lost a bit of its predecessor鈥檚 visual drama. Even the AMG Line trim can鈥檛 really help it - particularly at the rear, where it just looks anonymous, not helped by subdued paint. Our Golf is in the sportiest spec you can get this side of a GTI. The range starts with S, and passes through SE, SE Nav and GT before reaching this car鈥檚 R-Line trim (and then you鈥檝e got the performance and electrified variants).
R-Line spec does a better job of making the Golf look athletic than AMG Line manages with the A-Class. It doesn鈥檛 have the seriously sporty Golf R鈥檚 quad pipes, but it achieves some of the same muscular simplicity with its black-trimmed bumpers, more aggressive side and rear valances and subtle badging. It鈥檚 a handsome thing (although the Turmeric Yellow of our test car seems at odds with the low-key, mature vibe that characterises R-Line). And here comes the CAR curveball. If you鈥檙e looking at leasing a new A-Class or Golf, the XC40 becomes a serious alternative. The sums add up, there鈥檚 novelty value and strong emotional appeal; something about the smallest XC makes people smile. For pretty much the same outlay that will get you either of these two turbocharged hatches with an automatic transmission, you can get a turbocharged Swedish crossover with a manual 鈥檅ox. The XC40 has two diesel (D3 and D4) and three petrol options (T3, T4 and T5) to choose from and three main trims: Momentum, R-Design and Inscription, all with their own supplementary 鈥楶ro鈥?configuration that adds in some bonus kit.
Our R-Design Pro contender uses Volvo鈥檚 new T3 three-cylinder turbo engine, a manual gearbox (the only transmission available with the T3) and front-wheel drive. There鈥檚 widespread agreement that this is one very good looking car, especially with the contrasting roof. The interior is a masterclass in functional but highly stylish and slightly quirky design, too. Inside and out, this has to be one of the most attractive crossovers of any size. Volvo could have downsized the current XC90/XC60 template to create a perfectly decent XC40, but this is something else again, and all the better for it. And it鈥檚 very well insulated, with none of the skimping that often leaves smaller cars feeling and sounding like poor relations. Get moving in the XC40 and you quickly become keenly aware of small, oft ignored noises like the palms of your hands gripping and sliding across the soft leather wheel and the subtle creak of leather against jeans. It鈥檚 just so peaceful in here, the value of which you appreciate keenly whenever you find yourself in slow, urban traffic.
