Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance 2016 Review

Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance
Road Test

The Golf hot-hatch range is expanding at a fast rate — there are now four models under the GTI or R banner, including this, the GTI Performance that offers all the goodness of the standard GTI but has a front diff lock that’s really clever… most of the time. The Golf GTI Performance is $46,490 (plus on-road costs).

The Golf GTI has come a long way since its birth in 1976. Not only do you have the regular Golf GTI, but also the Golf R 4MOTION, the limited edition Golf GTI 40 Years and here, the Golf GTI Performance.

There wasn’t always such a cornucopia of GTIs. We first got the Golf GTI in 1990 with its lame Jap-spec 77kW engine and it was a softly-sprung excuse of a ‘hot hatch’. Nine years later and the update wasn’t worth the wait, either. That woeful chassis and a tepid 2.0-litre turbo-petrol did not a GTI make.

Climbing NSW’s Macquarie Pass in 1992 in my (private import) ‘82 Golf GTI will remain as one of my most memorable drives. That car was so alive, so engaging. It made the hairs stand on the back of my neck. I’d never driven anything like it before.

Fast forward to the 2005, and the Golf GTI Mark V, and we could finally sample a ‘real GTI’. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Golf GTI Performance differs from the derivative thanks primarily to its electronically con-trolled mechanical front diff lock, bigger brakes, (the fronts with GTI logo on the calipers), 19-inch alloys , tartan cloth/Alcantara seats and a 7kW power increase (to 169kW).

Torque remains 350Nm, albeit over a 200rpm-wider rev range (1500-4600rpm). Only the dual-clutch transmission is offered, which is a shame — it’s not a bad transmission but a manual offer-ing would’ve been great.

Heading out of town on the freeway, the Golf GTI Performance settled into an easy cruise. The test car had a low-frequency humming noise between 105-110kmh, and it wasn’t due to tinnitus. Otherwise there was next to no wind noise while road noise is only boosted on coarse-chip bitu-men.

Leaving the freeway and heading for the hills, I got the first glimpse of what that tricky diff can do. Accelerating quickly from a standing start from a T-junction, the GTI P seemed to have been caught on the hook of an enthusiastic fisherman. It was reeled into the traffic gap on the main road with the same eagerness you’d expect from a hard straight-line start. It was uncanny.

Then into the twists and turns of a mountain pass, this GTI P really came into its own. It reminded me of that Macquarie Pass run all those years ago, only this time with so much more power and the ability to pull out of corners like no other front-wheel drive — or all-wheel drive — car I’ve driven.

The dual-clutch transmission revels in such work, and in Sport mode it shifts more quickly, the en-gine audio ramps up and the suspension and steering firms up. It’s such a tactile, entertaining, for-giving and quick cornering tool – a true hot hatch.

It was hard to pick the 7kW increase or the 200rpm-longer torque span though. You wonder why Volkswagen didn’t tweak the engine a bit more to make more of a point of difference between this and the regular GTI. That’s not to say that this engine wasn’t anything special — it had only minor turbo lag, a long-lasting wave of torque and continued on with an exhilarating burst to red-line.

Just as I’d thought I had found GTI nirvana, I pulled over for a moment, to let slow traffic shuffle off ahead enough for me to reel in some more corners.

Taking off on the slippery gravel on part throttle, the GTI axle-tramped until it reached the bitumen. I put it down an over-enthusiastic launch and the patchy surface.

Later, back in town on wet roads, it happened again. Accelerating quickly off the mark or from a rolling start, once the engine hit turbo boost it would axle tramp. Traction Control would eventually come in to stop the wheel’s fight with the road, but I soon learned to feed in power gradually in those situations.

The GTI P has a nice, rigid body and the suspension in Comfort or Normal mode was supple. Yes, it thumped when faced with big lumps or holes in the road, but it wasn’t a jarring experience.

The dual-clutch transmission has always been a mixed blessing, and here it was no different. It is such a great gearbox in most driving situations, especially for its fast gearshifts when you’re going for it. In the opposite, more mundane operations of city driving, it is still frustrating. On a steep driveway the grabbing and releasing of clutches as you try to slowly reverse out made it an ungainly, stuttering manoeuver.

Of the GTI Performance’s five driving modes, Sport mode was too keen to hold a lower gear, so you wouldn’t use it unless you’re up it. The fussy ride becomes tiresome around town too. In Comfort mode, the steering is too light, and the engine feels a bit doughy down low, because the transmission appeared to hold a higher gear wherever possible. Individual mode was set-up with Comfort suspension and Sport transmission, the ideal compromise for quick point-to-point drives on rough back roads. We didn’t try Eco, but the Normal mode seemed the best compromise for around town.

The cabin is typical Golf fair, with tactile controls and everything well-made and put together. It takes a few days of fumbling around to find the Driving Mode button, on the front passenger’s side of the gear lever, but once you’re used to it, it’s easy to operate. The bolstered front seats were supportive but not overdone. This is not a track car so it doesn’t need lock-you-in buckets.

The tartan cloth upholstery is a love-it-or-leave-it deal. I loved it, because it recalls the original Golf GTI’s seat pattern. However, when asked about the seats, those closest and dearest to me did that face they do when they’ve smelled something bad.

The Golf’s idle-stop system is one of the better ones around, because at standstill, the engine shuts down, you take your foot off the brake (the brakes remain on) and when it’s time to move you apply accelerator pressure. It’s quick to respond so you’re never left there as the car fumbles a start and the traffic ahead has moved away. It can be disabled on each start-up if you don’t want it too.

We extracted 7.7L/100km out of the Golf in a 50:50 mix of urban and country driving.

The Golf GTI Performance is for the better part a great bearer of the GTI name. The locking front diff, while not perfect, allows the Golf to corner in a way that a front-wheel drive just shouldn’t be able to do.

A fantastic engine, practical interior and rock-solid build quality just adds to the lustre.

2016 Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance pricing and specifications:
Price: $46,490 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 169kW/350Nm
Transmission: Six-speed dual-clutch
Fuel: 6.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 153g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP)

Also consider:
>> Ford Focus ST (from $38,990 plus ORCs)
>> Peugeot 308 GTi 270 (from $49,990 plus ORCs)
>> Renault Megane RS 275 (from $53,000 plus ORCs)