What Car? Car of the Year 2005 - Hot hatch

Volkswagen Golf GTi 3dr
List Price £19,995
Target Price £18,884

Volkswagen stunned the world with its first Golf GTi but that was over a quarter of a century ago. Recent models lived more on this car’s glory than their own merits.

The arrival of the fifth-generation version has set that problem to rights. Performance figures alone can’t convey the full extent of the GTi’s talents. What sets the Volkswagen apart from more frenzied rivals is the way it develops strong, usable power right across the rev range. There’s little need for a heavy right foot or hectic gearshifting to unleash the car’s potential.

The GTi turns in to corners fluidly and delivers stunning levels of grip thanks to a capable chassis and tuned suspension. It still manages to retain a suppleness few rivals can match. It boosts comfort but is never skittish and allows the Golf to flow through bends and shrug off bumps in imperious fashion.

Seventeen-inch alloys fill out the wheelarches, while a bespoke radiator grille, deep front air dam, roof-mounted spoiler and twin exhaust pipes shape the GTi’s aggressive stance.

There isn’t a model more in tune with the needs of the 21st-century hot-hatch driver.

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