With a kerb weight of 1,454 kg, it has a power-to-weight ratio of 179.5 BHP/ton and a torque to weight ratio of 254 Nm/ton.
Driving the Volkswagen Golf GTI 2.0L Turbo Petrol 7-speed DSG
Featuring on the Golf GTI is VWâs workhorse engine family, the EA888. This is however the EVO4 version of the engine that was introduced in 2022 on the Mk 8 Golf GTI and the R. On this Mk 8.5, the engine gets a power bump and produces 261 BHP @ 5,250 â 6,500 rpm and 370 Nm @ 1,600 â 4,500 rpm. It is mated to a 7-speed DSG automatic transmission that sends power to the front wheels:
This is the part that most people are curious about â How the Golf GTI feels behind the wheel. Being one of the OG pocket rockets, it packs a serious punch while being light on its feet. With a kerb weight of 1,454 kg, it has a power-to-weight ratio of 179.5 BHP/ton and a torque to weight ratio of 254 Nm/ton. Fire up the engine and you hear a nice growl from the exhaust. Once settled into a smooth idle, you can get going. Unfortunately, our driving experience was limited only to the track and we couldnât drive it on normal roads. There were 2 parts to our track drive experience. Firstly, the high-speed track and secondly, the handling track. We had 2 laps each for ajmat and me around the high-speed oval track (11.3 km with 4 lanes). The aim was to hit the top speed and hold it.
Decided to launch the car from a standstill, so went through the usual rituals. Engaged Sport mode, switched the traction control mode to Sport (can turn it off completely as well), left foot hard on the brake, right foot burying the accelerator, saw the revvs climb to 4,000 rpm and hold with the MID showing âLaunch Control Program Activeâ and then dumped the brake pedal. With a bit of wheelspin, the car lunged forward and the speedo kept climbing. Upshifts kept happening at ~6,500 rpm and we hit the top speed of 267 km/h in just under a minute. The claimed 0-100 km/h time is 5.9 seconds which is very much believable.Â
We also got to drive the GTI on a short patch of the handling track for some time where we tried to simulate some of the day-to-day driving conditions. The throttle response is sharp and you have to be gentle with it. Part throttle inputs are all you need for most of the city driving conditions. The bottom-end is strong and thereâs no unnecessary lag at low revs. You have instantaneous power delivery and youâll get up to speed very quickly. The mid-range is addictive and post 2,000 rpm thereâs a strong surge of power that stays till over 5,000 rpm. The gearbox upshifts on its own at 6,500 rpm and doesnât hold on to the gear in manual mode. In automatic mode, the gearshifts are super quick and you wonât find anything to complain about. In the time that we were pushing the car on the handling track, the gearbox managed to stay in the right gear all the time.
Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH)
The GTI comes with twin tailpipes at the back which are loud. The higher Clubsport variant which is available internationally, gets Akrapovic sports exhaust as a part of the optional Performance package, but we donât get that. This exhaust has a nice raspy note to it which is addictive. You can also hear pops and bangs on lift off. I bet most enthusiasts will appreciate this exhaust as it does everything you expect it to. It is worth noting that the GTI comes equipped with ‘Electronic engine sound’ which uses speakers to amplify the engine noise in the cabin. In terms of road noise, we didnât drive it on regular roads, so we wouldnât comment on that. The wind noise started to creep in post 100 km/h on the high-speed track.
Bonnet gets insulation underneath:
Mileage & Fuel economy
The exact fuel efficiency numbers havenât been revealed yet. The UK spec Golf has a WLTP-claimed fuel efficiency of 16.92 km/l. Given how enjoyable the Golf GTI is to drive, I doubt anyone would be reaching anywhere close to that figure.
The Golf GTI has a fuel tank capacity of 45 litres:
Suspension
The Golf GTI gets independent suspension all-round with McPherson struts up front and four-link axle at the rear. It has 18-inch alloy wheels shod with 225/40 section tyres. Our test car was running on the Bridgestone Potenza S005 tyres.
One of the most asked questions on the forum when the news about the Golf GTI came out was whether it gets adaptive chassis control or DCC. Unfortunately, the car that will be brought to India wonât get adaptive chassis control. What it essentially does is react to the road surface and driving situation to optimize the dampers for comfort or handling. What we do get on the Golf GTI is an electronically controlled front-axle differential lock which optimizes grip and handling. Thereâs also a vehicle dynamics manager, albeit with limited operations compared to the version with DCC.
From theory to practice, on the handling track, we had a small section to test out the GTI. Unfortunately, due to certain restrictions, the whole handling track wasnât available. We ended up doing rounds up and down the allotted section which included a long U-bend and a chicane with a couple of short straights. The turn-in is sharp and you can point the car into a corner aggressively. The chassis is quite capable of handling the power on tap.
The Golf GTI feels light on its feet and quick direction changes are handled very well. In fact, itâs very easy to place the car into a corner. We were trying different lines through the small section of the track and it was holding its own quite well through various scenarios. At no point in that short stint, the car felt like it was losing grip and was unsettled. Of course, there was tyre squeal, but you could tell all the technical wizardry working underneath to keep the car on track. Our test car did encounter an EPS unit error while driving on the handling track. We did the old Microsoft restart and the error went away. But there was a bit of resistance from the steering wheel in one section when taking right turns, so we asked the technical team to give it a check and hopped in another car.
On the high-speed track, the car was extremely stable as you can see from the video above. The stiff suspension kept the car glued to the road. But then again, thatâs a purpose-built track and we will have to drive it on our regular roads as well for more observations.
Steering
Another trick up the sleeve of the Golf GTI is progressive steering. It basically has a variable steering rack and pinion gearing which reduces the effort at low speeds. In fact, lock to lock for this steering is just under 2 turns. The turning radius is 5.45 meters. When driving enthusiastically, the steering felt fairly direct and predictable. In sharp bends, you donât have to turn the steering all the way around.
Braking
Big 17-inch discs on all wheels of the Golf GTI. The braking is top notch and the pedal feel is progressive as well. Driving at slow speeds, you have to be really gentle with the brake pedal to stop smoothly. On the track, the car sheds speed very effectively giving you good confidence in the corners.
Continue reading the discussion on the Volkswagen Golf GTIÂ we have forum.
