Volkswagen Returns To Iran After 17 Years' Absence
German car giant Volkswagen said Tuesday it was returning to the Iranian market for the first time in 17 years due to the lifting of economic sanctions. The company, maker of brands including VW, Porsche, Skoda and Seat, said it would resume selling cars in Iran from August after signing a deal with local importer Mammut Khodro. Anders Sundt Jensen, project manager for the Iranian market at Volkswagen. The deal will initially cover VW's Tiguan and Passat models "to gain an insight into current market needs, establish the Volkswagen brand in Iran, and offer Iranians modern technologies 'made in Germany'," the company said. VW first started selling cars in Iran in the 1950s but pulled out of the market in 2000 due to the levelling of international sanctions against the Islamic republic. It cited Iranian government estimates that there will be some three million new registrations in the overall passenger car market per year in the medium to long term, up from about one million currently. European firms have been hungrily eyeing opportunities in Iran since a nuclear deal with world powers came into force in January 2016, lifting many sanctions in exchange for tight controls on the country's atomic programme. VW's announcement comes one day after French energy giant Total defied US pressure by signing a multi-billion-dollar gas deal with Iran, the first by a European firm in more than a decade.
HORSEPOWER/TORQUE: 228 hp @ 4,700 rpm/258 lb.-ft. LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT: 168.0 x 70.8 x 57.8 in. CARGO CAPACITY: 22.8/51.2 cu. FUEL TANK: 13.2 gal. CURB WEIGHT: 3,186 lbs. BOTTOM LINE: The VW Golf GTI is a fun car out and out, with good power and great handling. When it comes to automobiles, I am schizophrenic. My demographic group and my hair color lead me to large, comfortable American sedans. However, I was weaned on small British sports cars and the thrill of driving a fun small car is still in my blood. The Volkswagen Golf GTI definitely fits into the latter category. Unlike the sports cars that drove my passion many years ago, the GTI will fit four passengers in relative comfort. Okay, the rear seat is tight, but not as tight as in my MG. VW鈥檚 first Golf (The Rabbit) debuted way back in the last century and it was a decent compact car.
It was a total change for VW, being a water-cooled front-engined front wheel drive sedan after decades of the air-cooled rear-engined rear wheel drive Beetle. Over the years, the Golf has undergone several name changes, from Rabbit to Golf to Rabbit and back to Golf again. The GTI is the sporty version of the pedestrian Golf. The GTI sports a nice roomy cabin. Front seats offer good side support, that is needed when you do spirited driving. I could do without the plaid seating surfaces, but you can鈥檛 have it all. Under the hood is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four that is up 8 horsepower from last year to 228. This is more than enough for this little pocket rocket. I had an odd week with little high speed driving, but plenty of miles on back-country winding roads and hills. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I also felt fully in control all the time, although there were instances where I pushed my limits. The shifter for the 6-speed manual gearbox has a nice feel. While six speeds are nice, in reality I needed only five because of the roads I chose.
We had weather in the single digits during the week the GTI was in my driveway. Thankfully, the GTI has a great climate control system. With the heated seats we were soon dialing back the temperatures. Thankfully, the GTI has simple HVAC and radio controls, and a good clean infotainment screen tells you what鈥檚 going on. The Rabbit Edition is equipped with the Composition Color unit, featuring a 6.5-inch capacitive touchscreen display. The infotainment system also offers sD card and USB multimedia interfaces as well as a rearview camera and Bluetooth technology for compatible phones. In addition, the available VW Car-Net app for smartwatch allows drivers to control several security and service features. Owners can keep tabs on their cars from distances, remotely locking and unlocking doors and viewing the status of doors, windows and sunroof. I remember the original FWD Rabbit/Golf that replaced the Beetle and pushed VW into a whole new world. The GTI is the ultimate expression of that new world with power and handling unmatched by previous Golfs. It still looks basically there same (VW sticks with good designs forever, it seems), but it drives like a totally different car. Even if you don鈥檛 buy one, try to snag one for a test ride if you can. You鈥檒l never regret the experience.
It now stands as an automotive icon, but does the drive still match the image? 15 Nov 2018 by Richard Berry Just how special is the Volkswagen Golf R Special Edition? We threw it into the deep end of a very wet racetrack to find out. 21 Aug 2018 by Malcolm Flynn It might look like a sedate family hauler, but Volkswagen's Golf R wagon Grid Edition is hiding a ferocious secret under that understated bonnet. 9 Feb 2018 by Matt Campbell The 2018 Volkswagen Golf GTI Original is here to offer buyers a stripped back - but not stripped out - hot hatch experience. 27 Nov 2017 by Matt Campbell Less and more - that seems to be the rationale behind this flagship Golf GTI, which has two fewer doors but plenty of extra grunt. 18 Sep 2017 by James Cleary It might look like a regular VW Golf. Even one with the flavour of the sporty GTI. But, like Clark Kent, this mild-mannered GTE hatch has amazing superpowers hidden under an unassuming exterior.
