Australian first drive: 2021 Volkswagen Golf GTI track test

As a hot hatch consistently regarded as the consummate all-rounder, the Golf GTI hasn’t needed to set racetracks alight.

The heritage-heavy hatchback’s success has been based on a seemingly inimitable formula: fun-to-drive five-door (sometimes three-door) with everyday usability over single-focused ability. Or, where refinement and subtlety beat rawness and rowdiness.

As we find ourselves at Sydney’s Luddenham circuit for the local launch of the eighth-generation GTI, the “brains over brawn” approach – to use VW’s words – is even more emphatic.

While the Mk8 GTI carries over the same 180kW/370Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder from its predecessor, the Golf’s chief new trick is a driving dynamics computer.

The Vehicle Dynamics Manager (VDM) is designed to keep the GTI’s limited-slip front diff, ESC-based electronic diff and adaptive suspension all synced through corners rather than operating independently.

43

There are significant componentry changes, too. Front suspension alterations include an aluminium subframe that increases stiffness while reducing weight by three kilograms. Spring rates are also increased front and rear – by five and 15 per cent respectively.

The Mk7 GTI, particularly in Performance guise, gave a respectable account of itself on the track, though multiple laps of the short-and-sweet Luddenham Raceway point to a hot hatch that is now even sharper.

You can drive the GTI with the kind of smoothness that matches the car’s trademark civility, though you can also get a little more ambitious – a little sillier – with corner entry speeds and still have some hope of staying in the vicinity of your desired line.

There seems to be a bit more going on underneath this GTI to pique a hyper-keen driver’s interest.

Through Luddenham’s best corner – a medium speed, uphill right-hander that tempts you to be greedy but is tighter than the initially wide entry suggests – the GTI’s chassis feels alive as it four-wheel slides across the apex, adjusting to subtle lifts and nudges of the throttle pedal.

The GTI’s chassis feels alive as it four-wheel slides across the apex, adjusting to subtle lifts and nudges of the throttle pedal

43

Drivers again have access to a range of drive modes that influence steering, drivetrain, and suspension. The GTI Mk8 takes the variable dampers to another level. Up to 15 of them. The multitude of damper settings are accessed via the Individual drive mode and presented as a conveniently clever sliding scale on the centre touchscreen.

The settings go beyond both the Comfort and Sport defaults. The car doesn’t become sloppy even in its softest setting, but it indubitably feels at its tautest and sharpest in its stiffest set-up.

Drivers can also vary the interventions of the stability and traction control systems, though the ESP Sport and ESP Off modes are less intuitively located – requiring a press of the touchscreen’s Vehicle Settings button then a swipe down.

More helpfully, the ESP and Suspension screens will stay selected for as long as the driver wants them visible.

ESP Sport allows some movement without the electronics feeling overly intrusive. ESP Off is described by VW as a mode for “ambitious drivers”, though while the GTI’s rear can step out slightly with a mid-corner lift, there’s nothing spooky about the handling.

43

Although Luddenham isn’t the most demanding track for heavy braking, the GTI’s stoppers (inherited from the former Golf R) performed with consistent feel and strength for successive laps where they were required.

Our test car’s 18-inch Bridgestone Turanza tyres complemented the action with consistently good grip.

The GTI gets its power down neatly, too, with neither excessive wheelspin nor torque steer when accelerating hard out of slower corners.

In GTI tradition, the steering isn’t especially communicative but serves the driver well with its accuracy and medium weighting. It remains quick, too, at 2.1 turns lock to lock.

VW’s mid-range hot hatch doesn’t feel any quicker than before, nor is it in claimed acceleration figures. The 6.4 second 0-100km/h time is unchanged for a car that, with no extra kilowatts but about 32kg extra mass, has a slightly inferior power-to-weight ratio than before.

Performance from the EA888 engine is still enjoyable. Minimal lag, linear delivery, and a hearty mid-range. It revs cleanly towards higher rpms, though an earlier upshift always feels more productive to exploit a wide torque band covering 1600 to 4300rpm.

And there’s no missing the bright red central rev counter, complete with GTI logo, provided by the new standard digital instrument cluster (which includes a lap timer as an alternative view).

43

With limited demand killing the local business case for a six-speed manual, paddles and a seven-speed dual-clutch auto are the driver’s tools for switching between gears. The levers are small but well-positioned on the steering wheel, making upshifts easy even when there’s some steering lock applied.

The EA888 four-cylinder continues to sound purposeful, though exhaust theatrics seemed a bit subdued.

A more thrilling soundtrack would undoubtedly be expected from the faster and more powerful Clubsport 45 available in the UK and Europe, though for now VW Australia isn’t planning to import that 221kW/400Nm variant.

It’s almost certain that some form of special edition will eventually follow the likes of the GTI 40 Years and GTI TCR brought here previously, though the regular model’s price is already a bit of an elephant in the pitlane garage.

With an RRP of $53,100 before on-roads, the Mk8 GTI is priced more than 10 per cent above the last Mk7.5. Only three years ago, you could buy a three-door manual GTI Original from $37,490, with the five-door costing from $41,990.

Factor in on-road charges and buyers are looking at about $58,000.

43

There’s never been more standard equipment in a GTI, however. Even over the well-equipped 7.5, the latest model’s gains include metallic paint, privacy glass, three-zone (rather than dual-zone) climate control, wireless smartphone charging, 30-colour customisable LED ambient interior, and a 10.0-inch infotainment touchscreen (where even a 9.2-inch display was previously optional over the standard 8.0-inch screen).

The Digital Cockpit Pro also brings a sharper and brighter instrument display over the former Active Info Display.

And an expanded driver assistance suite includes a warning system to stop occupants from opening doors into oncoming traffic (Exit Warning), auto-braking in the event of turning across an oncoming car (Intersection Assist), and partial autonomous steering (Travel Assist).

There are still a couple of option packs, which can further embellish the interior with various items but have no influence on the way the GTI drives. Not even 19-inch wheels are now offered, with VW Australia believing the 18s provide the perfect ride/handling balance.

For now, we only know how the Mk8 GTI drives on a track, and it ticks that box in a convincing way. But to truly understand how good a GTI the Mk8 is, we’ll need normal roads and the everyday grind to fully test its roundedness.

Editor's note: As a crowded track test, we have left this review unscored. To see how the new GTI scores, watch for our comprehensive reviews in the coming weeks.

43