Volkswagen Golf GTI long-term test
Once upon a time, the Volkswagen Golf GTI was the pinnacle of hot hatchbacks, and now our deputy editor is living with the latest model to see if that's still the case...
The car Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport 2.0 TSI 300 PS | Run by Darren Moss, deputy editor
Why it’s here To see whether VW’s iconic hot hatch remains the cream of the crop in its latest form
Needs to Be fast and fun, yet pleasingly frugal, be family friendly, and comfortable on long trips
Miles covered 832 Price £42,780 Target Price £42,780 Price as tested £48,250 Official economy 37.4mpg Test economy 34.2mpg Options 19in alloy wheels (£1300), panoramic sunroof (£1250), Dynamic Chassis Control (£735), Harmon Kardon sound system (£615), Area view (£335), tracker (£270)
13 April 2025 – Max Power
In the world of hot hatchbacks, I’ve often thought of the Golf GTI as king.
Let me explain. As a younger man, my brother and I attended various modified car meetings around our home county of Northamptonshire. These typically involved the same sorts of modified small cars – Ford Fiestas, Fiat Puntos, Renault Clios and the like – revving their engines, playing loud music and, occasionally, disappearing quite quickly if the Police decided to pop by.
While those cars seemed to me both fast and furious, things were always turned up a notch when a Golf GTI rocked up to play too. Whether in terms of sheer looks, noise or speed, they demolished any competition. And I’ve wanted to own one ever since.
So here we go. Sitting on my driveway right now is the latest example of the Golf GTI breed – a Clubsport model in bright King’s Red metallic paintwork. Clubsport versions of the GTI are even more bonkers than the standard car, with power from the 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine boosted to 296bhp, which results in the 0-62mph sprint time dropping to 5.6sec. The adaptive suspension and electronic front differential – which allows the two front wheels to turn at different speeds – have been tweaked, too, with the result being that you can use more of the Clubsport’s substantial power more of the time.
Add in a firmer but more comfortable ride than the standard car, a lower weight and even more aggressive styling, and I reckon this is the sweet spot in the GTI range.
The GTI comes with most of my kit needs covered as standard, but there were a couple of options I couldn’t resist choosing when speccing up the car. The 19in ‘Queenstown’ alloy wheels give my car a more sporting look than the smaller 18in units, while the panoramic sunroof will help me to make the most of the approaching British summer.
Meanwhile, the Dynamic Chassis Control system will let me prioritise comfort or agility at the push of a button, while the area view monitor will hopefully help me to avoid any embarrassing car park scrapes. And the tracker? Well, that only seemed like a prudent idea given that, according to the most recent data, the Golf was Britain’s second most-stolen car in 2024.
I also added a premium stereo from Harmon Kardon, which I thought would be useful to keep me entertained on the long journey from where I live in London to where my partner lives in Stoke-on-Trent. But the truth is that the exhaust note from the GTI has been doing much of the entertaining so far – especially on country roads. The sound isn’t as visceral as what you get in some hot hatches, and is digitally enhanced, but it’s intoxicating nonetheless.
The early miles have certainly been fun, with agile handling and no shortage of grip through corners. The Clubsport doesn’t drag you through bends in the way that the Honda Civic Type R does, rather it’s like the car is willing you to press on, but ready to catch you if you get things wrong. I’m also enjoying the ability to wrestle control away from the DSG automatic gearbox through the steering wheel-mounted paddles, which gives me more involvement when I’m not wading through London traffic. But when I am doing just that, I’ve been happy to put the GTI into all of its most comfortable settings, and let the automatic ‘box do the heavy lifting.
It’s pleasing to see that the Golf GTI’s fuel economy is already beating that of the Cupra Formentor which I ran recently, even if I’ve some way to go before I match the official 37.4mpg.
While most of my journeys are by myself, when I’m with my partner we need to accommodate two adults, two children, and all of the luggage and general detritus which family life brings. You can’t get as much into the boot of the GTI on paper as you can into its Mercedes-AMG A45 or Civic Type R rivals, and the Golf GTI is no longer available in estate form, so it’ll be interesting to see how well my hatchback version fits our needs.
Over the coming months, I want to see if the latest Golf GTI is worthy of the somewhat hallowed status which I gave it all those years ago. And for someone who’s embracing family life but doesn’t want to let go of driving fun, I want to see if the modern hot hatch can mix business and pleasure. And perhaps, I might take myself along to a modified car meet-up too.
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