When the Golf GTI was introduced to the world back in 1976, two years after the standard model entered production, it effectively launched the hot hatch class. Yes, that first GTI had a mere 108 hp (110 PS) but the first-gen Golf was a small and light car by today’s standards and it was enjoyable to drive.
Now in its eighth generation, the Golf GTI still has a very large, and very faithful, following, and who better to explain this than Jason Cammisa, the voice of Hagerty that has owned two Mk7s, gifted one to his mother, and convinced several others to join the Golf army.
And who can blame him? The GTI has never been pretentious. It was a car that looked rather plain and simple but possessed hidden capabilities that could put a smile on any enthusiast’s face when they drove it, and that is exactly how VW intended it to be.
Watch: Another VW Golf Mk7 Owner Lists Why The New Golf Mk8 Is Flawed
When VW’s then Chairman Ferdinand Piech introduced the Mk4 in 1997, he was convinced that the Golf was ready to play in the upper classes as he boldly announced that the fourth generation of Golf would do one better than Mercedes. People may have laughed, but the joke was on them. Several years later, Mercedes would delay its W205 C-Class because it couldn’t compare to the world’s best $50k car: the Golf. By now, it’s understood that the Mk8 has a lot to live up to, but does it?
Starting off with the exterior design, while the Golf GTI Mk8 might carry some of the ‘futuristic’, spaceship style design that most car manufacturers seem to be going for these days, it presents itself quite well as a compact hot-hatch, a concept that may have been forgotten by some other players in the market. The beautiful example in this video sports a vibrant Kings Red paint. But the truth is that VW focused more on cost-cutting than anything else, and while that might not be a bad thing in certain areas (sustaining the cast-iron engine into what may be its last generation), you might come across some cheaper parts-bin specials that aren’t entirely specific to the Golf.
See Also: Eighth Generation VW Golf GTI Unveiled
Of course, the new GTI is still a performer, with its 241 hp turbocharged four combined with a seven-speed DSG or six-speed manual. But, when it comes to the actual drive, Jason contests that the GTI might not be all that much the playful toy that VW claims it is, and he would know, considering the fact that he had the chance to test the car quite vigorously.
The lack of improvement continues in the cabin of the GTI. Once again, cost-cutting has led the interior of the new GTI to be a little inferior to its predecessor, though not by too much. It all goes south, however, when it’s time to start playing with the new infotainment system. Despite the concept proving to be a disaster for virtually every other carmaker who’s tried to go down the button-less route, VW too has decided to eliminate every single physical button or switch inside the GTI, and — as you can see — it’s far from ideal, to say the very least.
So, did the Golf fail to retain its basic principle of form always following function? Jason Cammisa seems to think so. Perhaps it is a sign of a passionate Mk7 owner unwilling to accept change, but at the end even Camissa accepts that at its very heart, the Mk8 is very much a GTI.
