Volkswagen Golf GTI 2.0 TSI DSG 5dr (A) Review

“Boys dream about it, men drive it”.

That’s the chosen tag phrase by Volkswagen to put through its various marketing channels and it begs the question, why only do men drive this car? And then the second question beckons, what makes this car the fancy of pre-national service boys? Both of which we’ll answer at the end of this article.

For the benefit of those who haven’t been keeping track of the GTI’s presence here, the last car was a global hit. It came complete with handsome, inoffensive looks, 17” alloy rims that screamed for your undivided attention, one of the best seating positions in the business, eye-misting handling and probably the best sounding exhaust note in its segment, stock of course.

So how do you improve on something most have dubbed the epitome of a hot hatch?

For one, you don’t start from scratch. So you work from the existing PQ35 platform the previous car was built on, making sure you keep the dimensions similar. You pay attention to the right spots, the G-spots of the car if you will. Hitting them right will yield results the guys at VW could toast over a crisp Pilsner at the local pub and customers could find reason enough to slap that goofy smile on their face every time they’re in, and each time they step out of the GTI.  

The changes

The sixth GTI isn’t so much of a generational leap than a bettering of the last version, a version “five-point- two”.

The most obvious of changes came in the form of the car’s new look. The front mug of the car, once eager and happy, now has carved a sleeker, more aggressive image for itself with a sweeping headlamp design with both the bulbs individually housed by an over-sized chrome surrounding that helps keep the front neat and angry. The grill sitting between them gets a redesign as well with the big gaping yaw of the past replaced with a much leaner one, outlined by the signature red that differentiates this animal from the rest of the humble Golf range.

Past the front section, the middle portion spanning the A to C-pillar hasn’t really seen much change besides the thinner side-view mirrors with the indicator lamp.  Move to the rear and there’s a new rear lamp design that, if you look closely, spots a similar cluster to the previous GTI. The lamps are now less bulbous and encroaches slightly more into the rear-lid.
The rear spoiler has been kept the same but probably the most welcomed change on the outside comes in the form of those menacing twin pipes that sit on either side, nestled under the absolutely gorgeous rear diffuser. It’s of such a simple design, yet adds almost twice as much aggression to the car when viewed from the rear. 

The mechanical lump that has managed to score much admiration from international bodies when it debuted in the fifth GTI has been scraped in place of a new unit. Although the statistics for both the new engine (EA113) and the one on the previous GTI (EA888) are almost identical, Volkswagen assures us that it’s a whole new engine, with the new one being more efficient and more powerful than the one it replaces.

Inside, the GTI has been treated to a redesigned dash that is well, as good as the last one in my opinion. The cluster of buttons in the middle section around the display monitor have been rearranged to make things neater but it’s not much of a step up from the last. One major benefit of the redesign are the air-con vents that now have a nice sporty chrome trim that matches the chrome insets on the new steering wheel. Still flat-bottomed, the new wheel gets a sporty red stitching on the inside and much better looking steering-mounted control function buttons.

How does it handle?

You’d be hard pressed to try and differentiate this from the last car. The handling of the brand new GTI is, as the last one, just exquisite. You’ve got MINI-like capabilities in changing directions and that injects a whole world of confidence in you taking the turns faster than you normally would in a lesser car.

And to fully integrate this animal into today’s societal norm of multi-faceted individuals who work hard for the money in the day and gyrate the night away in the evenings, the new GTI comes with VW’s very own DCC (Dynamic Chassis Control) system. The system gives the driver a choice between “Sport”, ”Comfort” and ”Normal” settings and, depending on the chosen identity, will adjust the damper characteristics, acceleration speed, shift points and even the power steering accordingly.

Hitting “Sport” firms out the ride and the steering, while the obligatory stomp on the accelerator yields the rpm needle all the way up to a 7,000 rpm climax. If you continue with your foot planted on the floor for 6.9 seconds, the 210 bhp, 2.0-litre forced induced TSI engine rushes 100 km/h up courtesy of the highly-successful six-speed dual clutch box.

If you’re the kind who puts some importance on the periodic relaxing drives home, you’ll be happy to note that all of the GTI’s 289 Nm of twist action kicks in at a very low 1,700 rpm. So cruising on the highways and overtaking on them will be a pretty simple and straightforward affair.
Why this car would leave you breathless and wanting more

For two very very important reasons. A reworked sound system and XDS.

The new car benefits from the burble-fetish engineers over at Volkswagen who took what everyone loved from the last car, it’s infectious “pop” exhaust note, and amplified it into something of an experience of its own. Essentially making it part of owning a GTI. It’s the most abrupt break of acceleration between gears that you’ll ever hear coming from the rear-end of anything on the road, and it’s insanely beautiful.

The XDS system is VW’s effort at a differential lock system. If you’re going into a corner at too fast a speed and the inside wheel starts to lose traction, the system independently builds up added braking pressure at that same wheel to give the driver the optimal grip level in taking the corner. So with the system, the front-wheel drive GTI is cured of its inherent understeering capabilities that results in a much more precise and predictable driving style we’re familiar with in other all-wheel driven cars.

 So why, again, would men own this and boys dream about this?

If you’re not impressed by the new aggressive mug of the GTI, or those delicious 18”-ers, or the malicious twin exhaust pipes sitting comfy in the arms of the handsome rear diffuser, or the new interior and the matching red stitching on the steering wheel , seats, handbrake and gear-lever, then the reworked exhaust system will bowl you over.

You’d have to be deaf to not like this car. Notice I said deaf, because personally I don’t think the new look of the car is going to win VW any design awards. Instead it’s going to be the new invigorating exhaust habits and the fact that you won’t hear any signs of suffering from the tyres or even body roll if you’re going through corners at 80 km/h courtesy of the XDS system that will be bringing in potential customers from across the nation and placing an order for one. My only gripe were that the DCC selection button felt pretty cheap to the touch and also the fact that I couldn’t fit my new Ray Ban’s into the sunglass holder.

So answering the question of why only men would own it and boys dream about it. Well, I’m guessing a large part of that will be due to the cost of the GTI. At $131,300, the new GTI is almost $20,000 more than the car it replaces, so unless papa or mama is buying their son or daughter a birthday gift, only grown-ups with a grown up wallet will be actually signing on those dotted lines.

At the launch VW was already due to deliver 20 units to local customers (mostly in red). Is it worth the money? You bet it is.