ABDC: Volkswagen Golf GTI

There was a lot of pressure on the Volkswagen Golf GTI in Tasmania. After all, here was a car that had taken all before it, winning Best Car gongs all over the world. In short, it carried high expectations. Perhaps a little unfairly, but when you’ve been good for a long time… Well, you better bring your A-Game every time.

Front-wheelers were always going to find the going tough in the horrid conditions the team faced for most of the Australia’s Best Driver’s Car (ABDC) test period.

So it was with the GTI, with grip at a premium, particularly when exiting tight corners, the car’s electronic suite of driver aids was working overtime. And some found the electronics too intrusive, experienced racer competitor Greg Crick saying: “It’s a nice, comfortable and quick car, but it felt a little nose-heavy through Hellyer Gorge. There was poor grip on exit of tighter corners, and poor racetrack performance owing to the overreaction of electronics.”

The numbers support the on road experience. At 162kW at 6200rpm, the car was the fourth least powerful on test. But with torque figures at 350Nm over the spread of 1500-4600rpm, low down pulling power, front wheel drive and conditions Mawson would have stayed home in, getting that power to the blacktop was fraught.

Perhaps VW’s GTI Performance may have fared better. We’d have happily found out but the GTI+ wasn’t available for testing.

Of course, in better conditions, the car offered a different experience. After a slightly damp run, one tester put it like this: “The GTI is a capable all-rounder. I liked the torquey, responsive engine.”

There’s that term ‘all-rounder’. A little like being told you have a nice personality…

The GTI comes packed with a remarkable standard of specification. You get BlueMotion fuel-saving technology (including idle stop-start), satnav, a reversing camera, electro-mechanical parking brake, electrochromatic rear-view mirror, rain-sensing wipers and safety technology that stretches to seven airbags, auto-flash brake lights for emergency situations and driver fatigue detection, in addition to all the usual active electronic aids.

A true manual (DSG twin-clutch is optional), the transmission was met with pretty universal affirmation for its usability, ratios and precision.

“Love the gearbox. Golf ball shifter is cute, but shift feel and clutch are delightful. Far more involving than I anticipated,” one tester commented.

There were a couple in our midst who simply loved the car and were happy to heap praise on it.

“Very good torque spread, precise gearshift, good ratio spread. Well balanced and a joy to drive. Excellent driving position is able to be achieved with seat/column/wheel adjustments. Very refined (high) quality interior.”

But a proper driver’s car needs to deliver more. Has the GTI become a victim of its own refinement? It seems some of our crew thought just that.

“It’s refined, quick, cultured, but is it involving enough? I'd like a bit more edge, a bit more sport in my GTI. I get the GT, but where is the 'I'? Can we have one with a bit more mongrel please?”

Golf GTI price and specifications:
Price: $41,990 (as tested, plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 162kW/350Nm
Transmission:Six-speed manual
Fuel: 6.2L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 144g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP