All the excitement wasn't expected in 1975 at the Frankfurt Motor Show when a Golf with a few little additions was introduced to the public. It took until 1979 for the steering wheel to be available on the right but, by then, the recipe had been perfected and the seed sown; the GTI was born.
Success was unexpected, and since then the UK has always been one of the most important areas for the Golf GTI outside of the German home market. Regardless of this, the design did differ from the original a little too much in the 1990s - perhaps as people grew up and the market briefly thought it wanted comfort and the red grill disappeared.
But the red grill is back. uk-mkivs.net went to see what else this youngster had to offer.
Invited to Millbrook, one of Europe's premier automotive test facilities, we intended to give the New Golf GTI a good looking at and perhaps a quick drive about to get a feel for it; take some photos and look under the bonnet and see how comfy the seats were. Volkswagen UK had differing plans. We got to experience the car through some amazing test areas such as the high speed bowl and the Alpine circuit with a professional driver.
The car has evolved once again - rather being a radical rebuild - the changes are purposeful and give the right results. The interior in the Golf V always came to blows with opinion because of its perceived quality and this has been addressed with a new interior which is a much nicer, quieter place to be. Comfortable and supportive seats carry the distinctive GTI cloth design thats been slightly modified this time round and the blue dials have been replaced with white. Also the trademark features of the black headlining and leather steering wheel remain.
Under the bonnet the traditional four cylinder petrol sits but now the engine is a new 2.0-litre turbo unit that's got 208bhp (11bhp more than the last GTI) and is cleaner and more economical and can now do 38mpg instead of 35.
The new GTI does 0-62mph in 6.9sec and normally this can be beat if you opt for the DSG 'box instead of the six-speed manual
Our test car was a manual with ACC- adaptive chassis control. We headed straight out onto the high speed bowl at Millbrook for out first taste. A perfect circle, it was designed to test high speed capability but it was a perfect test for the ACC. The instant the button is pressed to change the setting the results are felt in the ride. Comfort is perfect for the motorway and this kind of controlled straight line environment and was utterly smooth. Press for the sport setting and rather than it solidifying the ride, it firms it and remains tolerable.
Sport still selected we headed to the Alpine circuit to test how the chassis had been developed for the corners. And developed it is; the previous model was an excellent cross country car but it's been improved - I expect minor adjustments rather than vast re-designs. High levels of grip and even when being aggressive and allowing for weight transference through corners it grips and carries on.
As a performance based Golf forum the introduction of a new GTI is always a big thing but time is always needed to allow it to settle in. The initial rejection wains and the criticism fade. Its may look like a V, but I can assure you it really is number six- the red grill is back.
by Gary Cundliffe
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