Facelift not required

Give the latest generation GTI a miss and save £14k

THE VOLKSWAGEN Golf GTI is the greatest hot hatch ever. Why? There’s no embarrassingly big wing, no lairy paint job, no £50k price tag because millions have been spent squeezing 400bhp out of its engine. Rather, it’s based on the best hatchback about, and with each generation the GTI becomes better and better to drive, VW managing to turn up the wick without impinging upon what makes its icon so damn great.

Prices for a new Mk7.5 Golf GTI start at over £29k, but there are plenty of near-identical pre-facelift Mk7 models starting at around half that. There aren’t yet many examples for sale privately but supply in VW’s Das WeltAuto approved-used network is plentiful. We found a red three-door with the manual ’box, tartan seats and 20,000 miles for £15,295 – options like the DSG dual-clutch gearbox, leather seats, the widescreen sat-nav and two back doors each carry a premium. Our key choices would be the Performance Pack and Dynamic Chassis Control – VW-speak for adaptive dampers. Together they give you a package that can harry a Megane RS or Civic Type R, but one that is so much more pleasant to live with.

Forget about the limited-edition Clubsport models – they’re expensive, and for the same money you could have the faster and better-all-round Golf R. Instead you want a regular Golf GTI with the Performance Pack. A £980 option from new, it added 10bhp and bigger brakes, but most importantly an electronically controlled limited-slip differential.

In Comfort or Normal mode it drives like a Golf, any Golf, but in Sport the trick diff comes alive, dragging you out of corners as it juggles the power between the two front wheels. You’ll have to look about for one, though, as not many fleet managers would sign that off…

Thanks to VW specialist VAGtech (vagtech.co.uk)