Gti Reviews

[Guzzle]

I guess we'll see. Some on here had a ridiculously long wait when the Mk7 was launched, added to reduced COVID capacity in the factory doesn't bode well. Could well be a case of taking what (if anything) is available for those that can't wait. 

[Guzzle]

Top Gear speed week

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/speed-week-2020/speed-week-2020-vw-golf-gti-vs-mini-gp?amp

[king monkey]

Volkswizard review will possibly be live at weekend. Meanwhile here’s a photo of the front end. That light bar is, errrm, interesting....

[Ubique]

It’s certainly dazzling. Tbh why not? It might help with moving Audi’s out of the way on the A12. 😂

[Yusee]

Interesting head to head in this week’s autocar, mk8 gti v focus st- by Andrew Frankel- who is a big hot hatch and Golf GTI fan. He’s picked the ST essentially because the golf seems to have moved away from what it does best. I think it probably just means ride is a bit too firm.

[fredgroves]

Interesting head to head in this week’s autocar, mk8 gti v focus st- by Andrew Frankel- who is a big hot hatch and Golf GTI fan. He’s picked the ST essentially because the golf seems to have moved away from what it does best. I think it probably just means ride is a bit too firm.

Their GTI review is here:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volkswagen/golf-gti

They are driving the same LHD unit that VW demoed to the press in Wales the other day.

It was manual and with DCC on 19's.

In that article he says basically its more hardcore handling than the Mk7. Which is both good and bad. Its good if you think the Mk7 wasn't hardcore enough, its bad if you enjoyed the mild nature of the Mk7.

He even says that with DCC dialled right back, its still noticeably hardcore still.

I do wonder if the 19's aren't part of that.

Our fellow forum member's test drive write up of a non-DCC 18 equipped one said its a harder ride though.

[Yusee]

Yes it all boils down to where your priorities lie. It’s still as excellent a car as the mk7.
He does say “it would be interesting to try the golf on standard rims and passive suspension.. it could be the better choice “

[fredgroves]

Its all down to the design decision to make it handle better.... handling better means moving away from the "trifle on a plate" setup.

There is a thing in car design they call "head toss" and its describing how suspension reaction effects the occupants heads. Too much head toss is considered a poor marketing feature for normal people. Its a feeling thing though, not a measurable one.

Anything that has noticeable head toss is not a mass market car, its a performance car with racing characteristics.

Is that bad for a car with a "GTI" badge? Probably wouldn't be if they hadn't sold them for years as just a top end model. I don't suppose anyone commented when a Type-R or Megane RS is more hardcore, but they always were not considered a normal model....

[Yusee]

Interesting.The gap between the base models and the top performance models does seem to have widened- in terms of engineering, technology, and price.
That isn’t a good thing if the car is predominately to be used on the public roads, for daily duties.
For me, it’s always a golf first, a gti second.

[fredgroves]

Oh absolutely. I bought my first mk7 gtd for the options not the performance. It was cheaper than a similar spec r line and I'm sure a lot of sales come like that. I don't think people buy megane RS's like that.

Audi have S vehicles that are performance and RS ones that are headbangers...I'm surprised vw have done this. I'd not have been surprised if the Club sport was like it but not a good old GTI.