VW HATCHES A NEW PLOT

After 40 years of performance Golfs, the maker picks a higher gear and gets the drop on coming rivals

To fend off fresh competition, Volkswagen has reached for everything at its disposal for the midlife update of the world’s biggest selling hot hatch, the Golf GTI. More power and technology are the headline acts but there are also a couple of price-leading models to lure buyers on a budget.

The regular GTI gets a power bump to 169kW/350Nm from its turbo 2.0-litre fourcylinder engine.

The Performance edition — dubbed GTI-P — gets a further boost to 180kW/370Nm and adds bigger brakes front and rear, an electronically controlled mechanical limitedslip diff, a new seven-speed twin-clutch auto, a digital widescreen instrument display and 19inch alloy wheels.

The GTI-P is a three-door for now; a fivedoor is about 12 months away.

At about $60,000, the R variant has 213kW/380Nm thanks to a larger turbo and unique engine tuning, making it the most powerful Golf sold in Australia.

The engine is matched to a seven-speed auto and the 0-100km/h time is trimmed to a claimed 4.8 seconds — putting it on par with its Audi S3 stablemate. A six-speed manual is optional but slower (5.2 seconds).

The R gains intelligent LED high-beams that mask oncoming cars, digital widescreen instrument display and a larger central touchscreen, although it lacks a volume dial.

If all of the above are out of your price range, it will pay to be patient. A cut-price Golf R “Grid” edition starting from a little more than $50,000 drive-away is due at year’s end with the same power, performance, wheels, tyres and brakes, but deleting such mod-cons as radar cruise control, digital dash and high-end audio.

Further down the price range — and arriving about the same time — will be a stripper edition of the GTI three-door dubbed “Original”, starting at a little more than $40,000 drive-away.

The revised line-up is designed to counter the coming raft of hot-hatch rivals in the $40,000 to $60,000 price bracket, including the next-generation Ford Focus ST, Renault Megane RS, Hyundai’s i30N hot hatch and the final edition Focus RS.

The Golf performance range has a keen buyer base. Between 20 and 25 per cent of local Golf sales are performance models; the global average is 5 per cent.

Women account for almost one in four GTI buyers in Australia; two out of three are young couples. The average age is 42, much lower than the industry average for new-car customers, 51.

Clearly the Golf performance models are not only for the young at heart.

ON THE ROAD

The Golf GTI is easy and relaxing to drive when you’re not in a hurry. Some might even label it as boring. But that’s the genius of it.

Its personality changes seamlessly into a

serious hot hatch as soon as you floor the accelerator. The grip from the tyres, the accuracy from the steering and sharp response of the brakes endow a feeling of constant contact with the road and conditions.

It’s remarkable that after more than 40 years of hot-hatch production, few can match the GTI’s breadth of ability.

Renault can make a sharper track weapon, Ford can create more power but no one does the one-size-fits-all hot hatch like Volkswagen.

When Renault responds to criticism that the VW is better to live with day to day, it makes the Megane’s suspension and steering too soft and dilutes its DNA. Ford hot hatches come close dynamically but lack the Golf’s luxury and comfort.

Whatever VW is paying its engineers, it’s not enough.

There is a caveat. The R’s super-low-profile Continental tyres on 19-inch wheels aren’t suited to Aussie back roads.

On perfect road surfaces the Golf R is sublime but on bumpy back roads it’s less composed. This is the price for alloys the size of Ferris wheels on such a small car — bumps that seem harmless can create an almighty thump through the front suspension.

The GTI-P’s 19-inch Pirellis have as much if not more grip but are less susceptible to sharp bumps.

The sweet spot is the regular GTI on 18-inch Bridgestone rubber — proving that it doesn’t cost a fortune to get one of the best driver’s cars on the market.