New VW Golf GTI – Iconic hot hatch makes India debut | First Look

At long last, after years and years of speculation and anticipation, mostly from enthusiasts and motoring journalists like ourselves, the New VW Golf GTI is here. And what’s more, it’s here in 265 horsepower GTI guise.

Now, Volkswagen has brought us down to Natrax here outside of Indore to put it through its paces and that review will drop on May 26th at 11:00 AM, so come back for that.

In the meantime, until then, my lips are sealed, we’re under embargo, so I can’t tell you what I think about the Golf GTI, but I can take you for a quick walk around the car.

So let’s check it out. But first things first, a little bit of housekeeping. Just what is a Volkswagen Golf and why is it so important? Well, this car is actually the spiritual successor to the Beetle.

So yes, a very big deal for Volkswagen. But that was back in 1974, and these days it’s grown into a big premium hatchback. It’s 4.3 meters long with a 2.6 meter wheelbase. That’s about the size of a Hyundai Creta in terms of length and wheelbase.

And as such, it rides on 225/40R18 Bridgestone Potenza tires. But now, while we in India might not be so familiar with the Golf brand, we are kind of familiar with the GTI brand.

Remember, Volkswagen had launched the Polo GTI some years ago, and this is that car’s bigger sibling. So what makes it a GTI? Well, let me start at the front.

A signature GTI trait is the red line down there, which in this car is illuminated as well, and the Volkswagen logo is illuminated too.

Down here you’ll find a honeycomb pattern with the ADAS radar sensor down there, and an LED pattern in the honeycomb mesh over there in the front bumper. Up to the headlamps, the red accent continues over there, and you’ll find what Volkswagen calls its IQ Light intelligent LED headlamps.

What is On VW Golf GTI New Features

Finally, at the rear, you will find more Volkswagen IQ lights with these LED tail lamps that are in a black-colored housing. On the tailgate you’ll find another red GTI badge, and if you pop the Volkswagen logo, you’ll come up to a 380-liter boot, under which there seems to be a recess for a spare tire, but this car does not have one.

Lower down in the bumper you’ll find a pair of real dual exhausts, and this is what they sound like. On the inside, the first thing we have to talk about are these seats.

They are the GTI seats, fixed headrest, fabric upholstery, GTI stitched into the backrest, but most of all, the tartan or plaid pattern down the center.

What about the rest of the interior?

Well, the dashboard has soft touch materials on the top, ambient lighting that can be adjusted to 30 colors in between, and this sort of woven-looking texture on this trim piece on the dashboard here.

Moving down, another Volkswagen Golf GTI signature used to be the golf ball pattern on the gear lever, but that’s gone now. What you get is this gear selector switch, toggle switch, uh, start-stop button that pulses red before you start the car, park, parking brake, auto hold, and over here you’ll find a rubberized storage area that says Golf.

If you flip this up, that’s where the wireless charger is. Moving back a little bit over here, that’s what the key looks like. Here are some cup holders and a bit of storage down there.

Steering wheel’s similar to what we’ve seen in other Volkswagen cars, but this one has a GTI logo over here, and there are paddle shifters back there.

VW Golf GTI Digital features

And let’s talk screens. That is a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display, which is configurable, and over here you’ll find a 12.9-inch touchscreen. On the equipment front, here’s a look at some of the equipment you get in the Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Now, while the last GTI in India was the Polo GTI and it was a three-door car, which means access to the back was not great, this is the Golf, it sits a segment above, and it’s a five-door, so this is what the rear seat space looks like.

That’s the knee room, that’s the head room, there’s an armrest with cup holders, there’s AC vents with a third climate zone, uh, USB type C ports. These are the windows.

There is a sunroof, but it’s only for the front, it doesn’t come all the way to the back. And these are a set of LED reading lamps. Now this right here is where the magic in a GTI happens.

It’s a two-liter TSI engine putting out 265 horsepower and 370 Newton-meters of torque. Volkswagen says that’s good for a 0-100 kph time of 5.9 seconds. And all that power goes to the front wheels through not just a seven-speed DCT DSG gearbox, but also a clever electronic differential.

One last piece of trivia before we go, the name Golf. If you think it’s a grassland sport like Polo, yes, you’re not wrong, but actually the name is derived from Gulfstream, the Gulf Stream current, as was the case with a lot of Volkswagen cars at the time.

Now, the price, we don’t know that yet. We suspect it will be around the time that we release the review. What do you think about that price? What do you think the price will be? Let us know down in the comments. And that does beg the question, this or a Tiguan R-Line? Let us know.

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