Automotive Trends

The GTI has been rewarding drivers with a hard-to-beat combination of performance and practicality since day one and we are thrilled to report that the new seventh-generation polishes the package to near perfection. The turbo four now makes 258 lb-ft of torque starting at just 1,500 rpm so the car provides a smooth and refined punch away from every stop. Add in the Performance Pack hardware like a trick electronically controlled differential and larger brakes and the GTI is a very willing dance partner when the back road traffic disappears. The interior has been bumped up a level to shame anything else in the sub-$30k class and you can still order your hot hatch with a true clutch pedal six-speed manual. Volkswagen truly has the GTI formula figured out. We’re hoping they never change it.

The Almost Audi?

    This is not your run-of-the-mill Volkswagen Rabbit. This is the so-called friend of Fast VW GTI. No cute face here. Like the racy Volkswagen Jetta GLI that we spent some time in last fall, the face is familiar but the demeanor is polar opposite. The question is does the Rabbit-based GTI produce the smile-per-mile quotient that the GLI did? Read more…