The Volkswagen Golf GTI is celebrating 50 years

When engineers decided to create the Golf GTI it was a success, it was a crazy version of an ordinary car that almost everyone could afford. This gave it two uses, and while comfort was compromised, the car as a whole was still accepted – and respected.

So you know what happened next: The Golf GTI became a legend that is still alive 50 years later. It is now in its eighth generation and performance has been increased as much as possible, but the core values ​​of the Golf for everyday driving have been retained as much as possible. Or? The future will show whether it is possible to progress even further.

Golf GTI Edition 50 is the name of the version that was developed for the 50th anniversary and which I will now drive. With 325 hp (compared to 265 hp in the standard GTI) and 420 Nm (370 Nm in the standard GTI) of torque, it is closer to the Golf R’s big brother, but should still be well suited for everyday use.

So let’s start with The drive from the airport to the Castellolí racetrack and the road there is a mix of city traffic, country roads and motorways. Perfect for getting a feel for how the car behaves in everyday use.

Since this is a Volkswagen Golf that is suitable for almost everyone, finding the right seating position is easy. This is done manually, which I appreciate as changing seats with electric controls can take an agonizing amount of time for me, being small. When I sit down the car starts and the engine hums somewhat pleasantly, but as soon as I put it in drive something happens. It’s as if the car was resting, but now it’s really coming to life. It doesn’t take much, just a little step on the accelerator and the car starts moving.

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But once you’re on the road and you’ve reached the right speed and you just stick with it, the car falls asleep again. Not in a bad sense, but to offer me and all passengers the best possible comfort. You can still push it if you want, but if you want to drive comfortably, it’s as if the car senses it and obeys. There is some noise from the tires at highway speeds – they are semi-slick tires, which we will come back to – but the suspension and shock absorption are well adapted to the high speed.

Just like the regular Golf, the updated GTI now features the same screens and infotainment system as the ID cars. The system’s native navigation is difficult to read on the Spanish roads around Barcelona, ​​which are full of confusing exits and entrances, so we end up driving the wrong way a few times. But otherwise it’s easy to fiddle around in the menus and find your favorite settings. The buttons on the steering wheel, which are back after public criticism, also work well.

Time to give up to the racetrack and then the GTI cars are equipped with a performance package that includes special rims, an R-Performance exhaust system and titanium exhaust pipes. The package means a weight saving of 25 kilos. This anniversary version also received a specially developed chassis with adapted shock absorbers and springs to cope with racetrack use better than its predecessors. To achieve this goal, they also selected semi-slick tires for this particular GTI car in collaboration with Bridgestone.

The car accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.3 seconds, compared to 5.9 seconds for the regular Golf GTI and 4.6 seconds for the Golf R. Okay, now let’s drive.

Since I’m new to track driving and this is my first time driving on the Castellolí circuit, I decided to let the car do the shifting itself. It’s of course possible to shift gears yourself using the paddle shifters, but the focus has to be on the performance of the car and how it handles the stresses I want to put it through. The well-known seven-speed DSG transmission from Volkswagen is installed in the car.

First a few warm-up laps behind an instructor in the Golf R station wagon, who is always in front for safety reasons, and then we can accelerate. The reason I mention the instructor is because it turns out to be easy to drive at the same pace as a Golf R – which only has eight horsepower more than the GTI Edition 50. At first I drive slowly to get my bearings on the track, but the more I give it with each lap, the more the car obeys my commands. It’s basically just “panting and turning” and braking in the right places.

What impresses the most is the grip these tires provide. It is possible to take corners with the necessary force and in return you get a squeaky tire but at the same time a very stable car. The chassis behaves phenomenally and despite the fact that I don’t really get much support in the chair (which is slightly curved), I still don’t fly around. Maybe it’s my beginner’s style, but I drive the last “fast” lap beyond my own abilities – which I trust myself to do because the car is extremely forgiving. How can you drive beyond your own abilities? I feel like I’m a little scared, but I trust the car enough to handle the power, cornering, braking and steering.

They’ve really nailed the steering feel, it’s easy to handle but heavy enough for track driving. The brakes are suitable for racetracks in Sport mode and are slightly softer in Comfort mode so that they don’t brake as hard in everyday life.

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Everyone knows that the Golf GTI is still a front-wheel drive car, making it quite different from its big brother, the Golf R, but the engineers have conjured up everything possible to make it as eye-catching as possible. In some corners around this track, some pro racers may miss rear wheel drive, but for me that’s fine and dandy. If there’s one thing I have to complain about, it’s that the car doesn’t always upshift on time, sometimes I feel like upshifting manually (but not because that’s what I set out to do in the first place).

Another review of the car Sheep is that it can be driven in a way that makes me feel sick behind the wheel. Yes, it is possible to get the crap out of it if you can express yourself so bluntly. You always know where you have it, everyone knows what it’s like to drive a small Golf.

I didn’t think about the back seat or trunk once that day, as they shouldn’t be used for this type of driving. But I already know they’re good for the size of the car, and on the way back to the airport I notice how ordinary the car feels as we stand in the queues. The fact that two completely different personalities can come so close is wonderful. The balance between everyday comfort and sport is incredible. The fact that they always manage to push the boundaries and achieve something even worse than before, without compromising everyday comfort, is truly impressive.

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