New Volkswagen Golf GTI in-depth review: is it hot enough?

The Volkswagen Golf GTI is a motoring icon, one that’s responsible for kickstarting the hot hatch market over four decades ago. This eighth-generation GTI is a smart evolution of what we’ve come to expect on the outside and fully digital inside. A number of tweaks have been made to the way it drives compared with the previous model and the switchable driving modes make it equally at home on a B-road blast or the school run. However, rivals like the Renault Megane RS and Honda Civic Type R have more power, so is the standard GTI hot enough to take on the competition? Nicola Hume puts it to the test to find out.

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00:00 - Intro
01:14 - Design
01:58 - Interior and technology
03:39 - Performance and specifications
04:24 - Driving and handling
06:55 - Fuel economy and CO2 emissions
07:33 - Rear seats
08:04 - Boot space
08:21 - Dealmakers and dealbreakers
09:13 - Verdict

[CarsGarage]

The short answer is YES!) But if you want to know why, watch the full review.

[SamAustin]

I have driven all the MK8 hot Golfs on my channel but never the entry level GTI. If you had never driven the Clubsport or the R the standard GTI is more than another for 99% of people. I think it is a great car and I love the enthusiastic review here! 👍

[overclockorange]

Nice review, i ordered a manual Gti, leathers, 19's and HK system. Cars a lot quicker than i thought it would be given its weight and it handles so good. Brilliant to drive in a manual, you can drive it like a hot hatch and have way more fun with it.The interior and exterior light up lovely at night! Took a couple weeks to get used to the sliders but 2nd nature now, dont know what all the fuss is about!. Plastic door trims can scratch a bit easy though, and even nicer to drive when you switch off that awful fake engine sound that comes through the speakers! Won't be long before a remap will take it to Clubsport power for even more of a hoot!

[StephenFogarty]

Great review.
Nicola nails it.
She is spot on with what she says.
Gti is a great all round hot hatch.
Not a one trick pony.
Big breadth of capability, and the best daily driver.
As she says, if u want more performance etc
Buy the Clubsport or R model.
🚗 💥 💨

[matthewhirst]

I have a golf 8 and the climate control is perfectly fine and easy to use. I don’t get why everyone goes on about it.

[peter.russell]

Well I don't care what other people think, GREAT REVIEW Nicola, keep up the entertaining style and, nobody, but nobody loves a chunky

[nathans]

Love your review. First time watching your review and loved the hot, extra hot and garlic/herb analogy. I like the hottest piri piri type ideally but the GTI is a good compromise and hopefully I can convince my other half to say yes to this car when changing our car next year! Thank you Nicola.

[johnjackson]

Great review! The clubsport should be the "regular" gti in today's standards. This gti is more like a gt and is more comparable to cars in the smaller class like a fiesta st.

[Nyle]

🔥🔥🔥

Car is still 🔥 too, but not as much as previous GTIs.

[worthington]

Tried it but hated the total reliance on info screens to control everything. The screen on my mk7 GTI failed twice (£2500 each) and you suddenly realise how much you need a simple button to do a simple thing. Such as turning the instrument lighting down at night time to stop them glaring in the windows.

[marinoint]

This is noticeably more expensive than the new Subaru WRX in my country, so I don't think I'll get this one.
To me FWD cars really need to be significantly better than a RWD or AWD car for me to justify the higher price.

[alexdalgleish]

Previous Model Golf R with DSG and some change I think. GTI had it's day.

[anthonystevens]

A great review Nicola, a neat well built Golf that has plenty of oomph, which is nice. As a cooking version of the Golf it's fine but I have to agree where does the GTI model fit these days. and as you say paying a bit more every month on a finance package you can get something a tad more bonkers. This leads me to another conundrum in that I wonder what the value retention would be compared to the hotter Golf models but my crystal ball has gone cloudy suddenly so I have no idea until I contact its previous owner Claire Voyent (she something crop up and had to leave unexpectedly), she probably saw me coming.

[Jay-B]

I like how they have kept the traditional "peak" over the top dashboard, unlike the awful Aclass/CLA tablets slapped on, cracking review as always!

[Mogsyuk]

cracking review as usual Nicola, GTI is over-priced and under-powered, feels like too many £££ cuts/compromises (all touch controls, no gas strut for bonnet), Rivals offer a bit more for less.

[Ekaterate]

Let's be fair - chunky front seats are not a drawback, because when you sit in the car, you'll probably be more interested in your smartphone rather than the road (and some people - even when they sit behind the wheel).

[lash]

She’s on point. It looks like VW are broadening the appeal of the standard GTi but then again they’ve done that since the mk3

[michaeljohnson]

I am keeping my Mk 7 gti with heated red leather seats. Just nice rotary switches and buttons for on or off. No way am I going to get any make of car with a confusing and dangerous to operate Touch Screen ?!

[irving_g]

"There are hot hatchbacks that are more powerful and more 'focused' than de GTI" 😜

[dsinghr]

Reviewer is quite energetic and peppy. Interesting review but boring car (for the money)