Golf GTI is now, and has always been, one of my favourite cars.

My only hope was that Golf 8 wouldn’t see the GTI formula fiddled with. It is one that made the MK 7 and 7.5 the most successful Golf GTI ever, but I need not have

First, the look

Golf 8 GTI is beautiful.

Most punters probably won’t notice much of a difference between Golf 8, and its much-loved predecessor. A closer look sees LED headlights that have slimmed down. In fact, there is LED lighting all-round. 5 LEDS are mounted in a X shape, to form a fog light /cornering light, and a bar of light joining both lights, and the VW emblem. Fancy-Schmancy.

Rear lights are all dark and brooding until called into action. They then light up like a Vivid Festival exhibit.

The good stuff is all under the sexy, yet conservative, skin. And, that’s why I’ve always loved about Golf GTI, it isn’t all butch and shouty. Looking at it gives me yearnings right down in my inner sanctum.

Before we move inside, it would be churlish not to mention the automatic walk-up unlocking, but it seems odd that walk-away locking isn’t also included.

Get the full Specifications and brochure HERE.Golf_Brochure

Above: This Week 2021 Golf MK 8 GTI Full Review

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ABOVE: All New Golf 8 GTI

Inside:

Tartan is back, baby!

I wanted bigger, bolder tartan, but this’ll do. Seat hugging in a sports car is essential, Golf 8 GTI hold you tighter than a Bunny-Boiler.

The cabin is a triumph. Once you’re sitting down, you need to take a moment to breathe it all in.

The dash, doors, seats, and infotainment screen, are all new. At first, it feels so terribly foreign. The thing is not to be afraid. Get in, get amongst it. Give the menus a jolly good feel-up. Explore the settings, set your favourite (am/fm only) stations, and pair your phone for Wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto.

The digital dash has had a makeover, but the HUD is part of a pack, and is not standard. One of the views gives you the option of displaying how many Killer-Wasps you’re using. I like that a lot. You can customise the view further, by giving the steering wheel a bit of a touch-up.

The steering wheel and centre stack are from the Starship Enterprise, and Golf 8 GTI is so cutting edge, it doesn’t even have a gear lever. I’m lot in love with buttons to select gears, and VW read my mind, by giving you a tiny nipple with which to change gears.

Pull the  little stump back dfor drive, and a second time for Sport Mode DSG. There’s auto brake hold and an electric parking brake. No doubt the lack of a manual brake will have purists gnashing their teeth. Let ‘em gnash! This is fab.

The rest of the buttons have been banished, leaving only a few touch controls in their wake.

A small group of touch buttons give direct access to the stuff you regularly use, but everything is at least 2 touches away, except for temperature. The rest is within the delicious touch screen. It works like a mobile, so if you can use an iPhone, this system is a doddle. It doesn’t even need explaining,  such is the intuitive nature.

Steering wheel controls likewise, however the touch controls got in the way during enthusiastic cornering. This kept popping up on the digital dash, and was very distracting. They take a lot of getting used to, because they slide and swirl and press.

The Drive:

Wow, wow, wow.

IQ drive almost takes automation to the point of turning the bloke in the big seat into a passenger. Don’t be horrified, we are quite a way off that yet, and we’ll go into that in the video and full review.

For now, I’ll just comment on the drive itself, which is just astonishing. Fancy adjustable suspension is controlled by drive modes, once you find them. Daily driving is dispatched with the comfort of an arm chair. Ride is magic-carpets smooth, with limo-like supplenes. What is all this nonsense? Hot hatches rearrange your organs on all but billiard-table-esque roads, right? Well, apparently not any more.

Handling is pin sharp, with the familiar neutrality that electric steering is famous for. Some like it, some don’t. I love it, and the Golf 8 GTI goes where you point it, predictably, and without complaint.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly disappointed with the 180kw engine. It sounds the part, and a 6.4 0-100 is nothing to be ashamed of, but I had wanted just a smidge more. Golf R will slide in over the top, and I do like something sliding in over the top, because it gives you something to aspire to.

You’re reminded that Golf 8 GTI is Front Wheel Drive fairly regularly. The wheels get a bit skipiddy-do-da at take-off. It’d be easy to light ‘em up, were it not for nannies tapping them on the shoulder to get them to behave.

The not-so-good

The touch controls are in the “to be confirmed” camp. I like them, and I hate them.

There is no standard DAB, which in a 52 grand car, is utterly unforgivable. There is brilliant wireless Apple CarPlay, but “het Siri” doesn’t seem to work. We’ll fiddle with it to see what’s gone wrong.

Sound from the speakers is disjointly sub-par. You can coax a little more feeling by turning up the bass/treble, so my advice would be to insist on the Sight and Sound package for around $1500. It also brings an HUD, and DAB, which along with CarPlay, should be in every new car.

Conclusion:

Golf 8 GTI looks stunning, yet is subtle and unassuming. The drive is spectacular, with hot-hatch hugability. There is plenty of room, and the cabin looks tailored and tidy, with materials and design that scream quality.

Golf 8 GTI mercifully lacks the hard edge of Golf R, and blitzes the competition on technology.

Let’s see how we feel after a week in the saddle, remembering our wings are Covid-Clipped.