LIFE HASN'T BEEN EASY FOR THE MK8 Golf GTI. After the heights of the Mk7, which was superbly rounded and one of the best GTIs there's ever been, things came tumbling down when Volkswagen decided that the Golf needed more digitisation and more screens to move forward into the current decade. We won't beat what is a very dead horse here, but if you've ever tried to tap, poke and stroke your way around the eighth-gen Golf's interface, you'll know just how much of a blunder that was.
But it wasn't just the HMI system. When it launched in 2019, the Mk8 Golf no longer felt like the class benchmark for quality, while as a hot hatch there was a sense that it had lost some of the polish and slickness of its predecessor.
Yes it was more powerful and could carry immense speed down a road, but it somehow wasn't as satisfying to own, live with and drive as the Mk7.
Perhaps we would've looked at the Mk8 GTI more fondly if Hyundai hadn't come out of nowhere to produce the outstanding i30 N a year earlier. In many ways Hyundai's first hot hatch felt like a modern reincarnation of the Mk5 Golf GTI, with an addictive, pugnacious attitude and all the sensibilities you need in an everyday car. An archetypal hot hatch, in other words, and so much more exciting (and significantly cheaper) than the Golf. Shame you can't order a new one anymore.
Now Volkswagen is having another go at reclaiming the market it has traditionally been at or near the top of by launching an updated Mk8.5 GTI. Or, more accurately, one last go. An electric Mk9 Golf arrives later in the decade, which makes this the final combustion-engined GTI and one with enormous weight on its shoulders. No doubt there will be a number of run-out specials at some point to join this and the more powerful Clubsport, but for the GTI to go out on a high, the base car needs to be good.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
TYRE 2024 TEST
Want to fit the very best tyres to your performance car? The annual evo Tyre Test identifies the cream of the current crop
HONDA ACCORD TYPE R
A liberal sprinkling of Honda Type R fairy dust on the late-'90s Accord produced an unlikely evo icon and a genuine performance bargain
TOY STORY
Where best to store some of Toyota’s most prized and valuable racing superstars? Under the wind tunnel at its Cologne HO, of course...
POWER PLAY
It develops 819bhp. It has no turbochargers, no hybrid assistance. Ferrari describes it as the most complete GT it's ever made. And it’s so proud of its mighty V12 engine it’s named the whole car after it. This is the 12 Cilindri
THE FIRST SAMURAIS
Japan has been responsible for many of our favourite driver's cars of recent decades, but their ancestors are often much less well known. We take a look at where the big manufacturers began their performance car journeys
DEFINITELY. NO MAYBE
Three Japanese performance icons - Lexus LFA, Subaru Impreza 22B and Nissan GT-R. Over three days on some of our favourite roads we explore what makes each uniquely thrilling, but also the car culture that unites them
1V3.0
F1, P1... and now W1. The next chapter in McLaren's Ultimate Series is the British firm's challenger to the forthcoming new Ferrari hypercar and a £2million, 1257bhp, hybrid-powered, technical tour de force
Thornley Kelham European RS
One man’s dream to build the perfect Porsche 911 has resulted inthis aaticMously restored and enhanced classic. We delve into the details and take it for a drive
Bentley Continental GT Speed
The new Continental GT is the most powerful Bentley ever, and the beginning of anew plug-in hybrid era for Crewe. But is it still a benchmark grand tourer?
