And here's the mega mega hot hatch group test
https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/comparison/2020/hot-hatch-megatest/
If you look carefully they do mention the gti.
There are some other interesting angles in that article that contradict what everyone else says...the S3 is apparently great for example.
That test is a bit bizarre, presumably it's down to the exact mix of cars they could test at a given time. Why test the m135i against things like the gti and the focus for example.
Just read this article fully. It is interesting!
Hugely diverse bunch of cars, and no clear definition of what makes " the best hot hatch".
To me, that was always- fun, practical, comfortable, cheap.
There's a £56k motor car in this group- that was supercar money not too long ago.
It's also becoming pretty clear to me that there is a complete lack of objectivity from the motoring press in relation to the GRY. There's something a bit like groupthink going on here.
I think it'll win every group test going from now and forever more- because of the engineering, the backstory, and it's ability.
And as a result- from when the first reviews came out in November- lead time has leapt up from a few weeks to several months.
I drove it this week to find out-
1. Is it a good car for daily use.
2. Is it fun to drive on the road.
Answer to both questions, in my view, is "no". I would say it's a poor hot hatch
There's hardly any mention of the turbo lag- you'll never complain about the throttle mapping in a golf after driving one of these. ( In all honesty I was slightly disorientated when I got back in my golf- I had to check I wasn't in my 205
!)
The fake noise is terrible. I thought my 6 year old was in the back screaming "brrrm brrrrrr".
Pi55 poor. At least in the golf you can virtually turn it off.
And did I have fun driving it? No.
It's a monster of a car. Frightening rather than fun.
You don't need to slow down for anything and there's a complete lack of engagement as a result.
I'd be as quick as Tommi Makinen driving one of these on the public road, because how fast you go has nothing to do with ability and more to do with how antisocial you are. In fact I suspect, the usual asbo types would be considerably quicker than Makinen.
If you leave aside the fact that it is too capable to enjoy on most public roads, it's a car that can't really be enjoyed at lower speeds- and that's the biggest issue for me. It's got some nice weight to it's controls but just doesn't have the feel of the best drivers cars- certainly not at road speeds.
On the other hand, half way down this article, the golf is described as " a deeply talented hot hatch" . "It would be bothering the podium if we were looking for the most all round capable hot hatch". Well what are you looking for if not that???
I'm no VW fanboy- I've only ever owned 1- but I wouldn't hesitate to buy the mk8 if I was in the market now. Reading between the lines of some of this nonsense, it's still the best.
And I think there will be many people offloading their GRYs a year or so from now- yeah some will use on track, some have access to some great roads. Most won't.
