Category: Hot Hatchbacks 
Price Range: £23,015 to £23,600
They ooze quality and Golf iconography.
Unexciting to drive.
Good cars, but Volkswagen lost the GTI plot.
All are smooth and quiet at speed, all have excellent seats and viscous-damped grab-handles, but only the 2.3 V5 has air-conditioning as standard. The 2.0 and V5 ride well over bumps, but the ostensibly sportier 1.8T, which has lowered suspension but retains soft damping, gets tiresomely bouncy on undulating roads as it hits its bump-stops. The diesels can be a bit noisy, but ride well despite their slightly nose-heavy handling and firmed-up suspension.
Space is adequate, and the boot is carpeted like that of a much more expensive car.
The facia contains pop-out cup-holders. Own-brand VW unit is easy to use but bass is boomy and treble tizzy.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Volkswagen Golf GTI
wrote on 04 02 2008
wrote on 19 09 2007