The Golf GTI is mostly carryover for 2016, but I don’t think anyone will complain. The redesigned 2015 model was multi award-winning

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

after all, delivering the type of go-fast VW experience that fans of the hot hatch have rallied around since it came into existence in the mid seventies. It’s all about small, light, quick yet practical performance, and this new GTI represents one of the best interpretations of these core values in years.

The result has been more sales, with Volkswagen’s Canadian division delivering 156 more GTI’s in 2015 than the year prior, a difference of 6.3 percent, with the end result being 2,625 sales last year compared to 2,469 sold in 2014. The numbers are bigger and better south of the border where VW’s U.S. division sold 23,669 GTI’s throughout 2015 compared to just 17,362 the year before, representing 36.3-percent growth, and 2014 improved from just 13,310 sales in 2013.

From

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

a styling perspective the new GTI is clean and crisp, yet it shows off a bit more than we’re used to from Volkswagen. Particularly the three racy black strakes that poke out from its vertical fog lamp surrounds, appearing to somehow feed air to the brakes via some classic ’80s-era slant nose 911 design cues pulled from the past, these being cool albeit not required for cooling the nevertheless impressively large front rotors with sporty red painted “GTI” embossed calipers. Back up front, the upper grille is clean, narrow and wide in VW’s latest tradition, blending nicely into LED enhanced optional HID headlamps to each side. A thin red stripe stretches from side to side, also bleeding into those lighting clusters, the red matching the GTI insignia next to the passenger-side headlamp and those brake calipers just noted, the latter framed by an aggressive set of Connecticut-axe-head-shaped five-spoke alloys on 225/45R18s. A discrete rooftop spoiler hovers over the vertical rear glass, the C-pillars bending in classic Golf style and taillights

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

following that kinked outline to dagger-sharp points as has been done for more than a decade. Those lenses are filled with beautifully detailed LEDs, while the lower bumper is nicely finished off with a matte-black diffuser integrating twin-chromed tailpipes. For GTI fans this car is nirvana, while most others give it the respect it deserves.

Inside, the GTI is finished similar to its predecessors, in that Volkswagen has added classic plaid seat inserts ensconced within black cloth bolsters with red stitching. These are some of the more sporting seats in the industry, not as aggressively

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

bolstered as what you’d find in a Ford Focus RS or Subaru WRX, but supportive enough for most yet easy enough to live with.

The Golf’s usual high-quality soft touch synthetics cover the entire dash top down to the halfway point of the centre stack, plus the front door uppers. If you haven’t driven a GTI since this newest MK7 version debuted, your passengers will be missing the higher quality soft touch rear door uppers of older models, while fabric now only wraps the front roof pillars, not the B and C pillars like in years past. Likewise, some of the switchgear is made from a less-dense plastic, although the new car’s styling is modernized and I must say some of the details, particularly the steering wheel and graphic interfaces, are better than ever. While I

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

would’ve appreciated VW maintaining the GTI’s near-premium quality materials, I’d be totally willing to live with some of its downgrades to get its many upgrades.

The ideally shaped three-spoke sport steering wheel is wrapped in some of the highest quality leather available anywhere, while red stitching highlights the rim and gorgeous metallic detailing dresses up the spokes, as does some of the best steering wheel switchgear in the industry. This makes up for the hollow, cheaper feeling column stocks, plus some of the lighter weight and wiggly dials on the centre stack, while a higher quality multi-information display with some added colour brightens up the primary gauge package, and two new infotainment systems atop the centre stack are both solid moves upmarket.

Either

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

infotainment display includes Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, MirrorLink and more, resulting in one of the easier to use operating systems in autodom, plus the larger touchscreen included in my top-line tester featured proximity-sensing technology that enlarges and highlights key links when your hand gets close to the display. A great sounding Fender audio system with tweeters mounted in the A-pillars is another improvement from years past.

The GTI has always been a wonderful compact performance car, hence the legend it lives with. Even those born in the ’80s and ’90s know that it deserves their respect, especially considering many newer upstart models have come and gone. After all, where is the Mazdaspeed3? Sentra SE-R? Corolla GT-S? Any hopped-up Lancer (the Evo is even dead now)? How about an SRT-branded compact Dodge¬ (or

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

any compact Dodge after 2017-sad as the Alfa-based Dart is really a great little sport sedan)? We’ve got to pay homage to Mini for being Mini (especially in JCW-tune), Fiat for its brilliant little 500 Abarth, and Honda for staying true to its Civic Si all through the years and promising a much more powerful SR variant soon, while Ford deserves special tribute for its brilliant Fiesta and Focus ST models, the new Focus RS mind-bogglingly powerful, but VW makes the 296-hp AWD Golf R for such hyper-hatch duties, the GTI targeting saner performance fans who want to hold onto their licenses.

To that end the GTI is a wonderful highway cruiser, a car that’s so comfortable, quiet, stable, and fleet on its feet that you’ll soon appreciate that a larger vehicle is not necessary for covering vast roadways quickly. At the same time it’s one of the

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

better cars you can buy for straightening otherwise curving backroads. This is where its legend was born, way back in the mid ’70s when the only true competitor was the iconic original Mini. Volkswagen offered similar performance and much more luxury when put up against that very minimalist ride, and due to its success many imitators followed.

From a handling perspective this latest MK7 is the best GTI I’ve ever driven. It comes stock with a cross differential system VW dubs XDS, which enhances road-holding with a type of pre-emptive traction control utilizing ABS to reduce understeer in a similar way to how stability control limits oversteer. It’s brilliant when things get slippery, but noticeably adept in the dry too.

While

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

I’d prefer a base six-speed manual for performance driving this dual-clutch automated six-speed DSG, with a precise set of steering wheel-mounted paddles, would make for a difficult decision if it came time to buy. Its response to shifts so quick and immediate, plus the result of VW’s new 220 horsepower 2.0-litre turbo four so thoroughly assertive that it’s breathtaking off the line, when downshifting before a corner, or anywhere else, the wonderful growl emanating from the aforementioned twin pipes at its backend only heightening the adrenaline rush. That’s the most power ever offered in a GTI and unique to my tester’s special Performance trim that gets a 10 horsepower bump over the regular 210-hp 2.0L TSI GTI mill, while torque remains the same at a robust 258 lb-ft. I’ve got a feeling this model is very popular, while its very reasonable five-cycle EnerGuide fuel economy rating of 9.4 L/100km city and 6.9 highway with the manual or 9.5 and 7.4 for DSG is certainly friendlier on the wallet than most performance cars. 

I

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

should mention that VW offers the GTI in two body styles and three trim levels, the two-door, dubbed 3-door in VW-speak, available from $28,595 plus freight and dealer fees, and four-door getting the 5-door name, a hardly unusual way to differentiate a hatchback from a sedan. After the base GTI model that’s only available with the 3-door, a second-rung Autobahn trimmed model is available in either body style with pricing at $33,095 for the 3-door or $33,995 for the 5-door, as is top-line Performance trim priced at $37,195 and $38,095 respectively. The DSG gearbox adds $1,400, bringing my tester very near the $40k threshold with an MSRP of $39,495.

Another Performance perk is VW’s Dynamic Chassis Control with Comfort, Normal, Sport and Individual settings, while additional Performance kit includes those red “GTI” embossed brake calipers that actually bind down on larger 340-mm front and 310-mm rear rotors, summer performance tires (all-seasons

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

are available at no-cost), a locking front differential, autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist, autonomous parking assist, plus front and rear parking sensors, while the proximity-sensing 8.0-inch Discover Pro high-resolution colour infotainment system I noted earlier gets added to the mix, improving on the base 6.5-inch display’s standard reverse camera and navigation system.

By the way, the active safety features that come standard in Performance trim earn the GTI a best-possible IIHS Top Safety Pick + rating, whereas all GTIs are good enough for a 5-star NHTSA crash test rating.

As you may have guessed, much of the Autobahn model’s standard kit gets grandfathered up to Performance trim (Autobahn being the base 5-door model), these

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

premium-level features including auto on-off HID headlights with adaptive cornering capability and auto high beams, LED signature DRLs, LED fog lamps, rain-sensing wipers with heatable washer nozzles, heatable and power-adjustable side mirrors with integrated LED turn signals, proximity-sensing keyless access with pushbutton ignition, illuminated “GTI” scuff plates, ambient cabin lighting, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a leather-wrapped multifunction “GTI” sport steering wheel, a colour multi-information display, cruise control, dual-zone auto HVAC, Bluetooth phone connectivity, satellite navigation and two SD card slots for the infotainment system, the Fender audio system featuring eight speakers plus a sub and satellite radio, eight-way adjustable front sport seats with heatable cushions, a powered panoramic sunroof, 60/40-split rear seats with a handy centre pass-through, a variable cargo load floor, hill hold assist,

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

autonomous post-collision braking, a Sport mode for the stability control, plus all the usual active and passive safety equipment.

Options available with my Performance trimmed model include black Vienna leather upholstery with red accents and a 12-way powered driver’s seat for $1,110, which if included with my tester would’ve pushed its price up to $40,605 before freight, dealer fees and, of course, taxes.

Even without the leather upgrade any GTI model feels more premium than the usual mainstream volume branded compact, and as noted earlier it’s a very livable day-to-day commuter. The GTI’s seats are some of the more comfortable sport buckets

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

you’ll find in the compact class with good inherent back support plus superb lateral support due to those deep bolsters noted earlier, but not so much that larger bodies will feel cramped or otherwise uncomfortable. Additionally, the rear seating area has plenty of room for average-sized adults, plus the seats are also comfortable with good lower back support. Still, I appreciated the size of the cargo area most of all, especially when the rear seats are lowered. So configured it becomes a little SUV, with ample room for loading multiple bags of luggage, small pieces of furniture, sports equipment or what-have-you. By the numbers it offers up 490 litres (17.4 cubic feet) when the variable-height cargo floor is placed higher for a flat loading floor or 670 litres (23.7 cubic feet) when lowered, or alternatively 1,520

Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press

litres (53.7 cubic feet) of capacity becomes available when the 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks are laid flat.

Yes, the 2016 Golf GTI continues to be one of the best all-rounders for those who really love to drive. A regular Golf will more than satisfy if performance is secondary to practicality, a Golf wagon even more so, but for those who tend to tackle the cloverleaf highway onramp at double-digit speeds on the way to the office, take the longer more circuitous route home after work, and get all excited when the words “road trip” are uttered, few cars can match the all-round goodness of a Golf GTI.
©(Copyright Canadian Auto Press)