10 Jul 06
Engine aside, the GT is marked out from regular Golfs with a new grille - designed to look like the GTI's but without the all-black dressing and red pinstripe - 17" mutli-spoke alloys, 15mm lower suspension and a twin exhaust. It manages to look purposeful without being overly aggressive. It's a regular Q-car - people won't know what to expect from it, especially if you tell them that it's only a 1.4.
Even with the lower suspension, the GT does pitch and roll around like lesser Golfs - it doesn't have the stiffened suspension of the GTI to make it a true B-road basher. But there's no torque steer when gunning the throttle and the standard ESP keeps you out of trouble.
The Golf GT is a well sorted package - the engine delivers surprising performance while being easy on your pocket with its impressive fuel economy. It'll also be cheaper to tax - with 175g/km of CO2 it falls into the E VED tax rating, one down from the old 2.0-litre FSI's company tax banding. You may have to have a word with your fleet manager about your mileage claims, because even though the TSI is an economical 1.4 it isn't as thrifty as an unblown 1.4.
At £18,095 the Golf GT is hardly a bargain, with VW claiming its usual premium over common-or-garden small family cars. But we're sure the novelty of that unique combination of supercharger and turbo will find a ready audience. And the best bit is, this is a novelty that actually works...
