New Car Review: 2007 VW GTI
The new VW GTI is very much like the original in every respect but one. It's no longer cheap thrills.At least, not if you aren't careful with the options.
The base hatchback coupe starts at $22,100 with the six-speed manual gearbox; $22,600 for the hatchback sedan. Add the optional 18-inch rims ($750), body kit ($1,650) and Sirius satellite radio and you're already up to about $25k. My test vehicle was well into the $30k range with GPS, sunroof, climate control AC, "Top Level" sport seats with leather trim and heated washer nozzles.
Is it nice? Yeah. But the GTI is still basically a hot-rodded Golf (Rabbit, nowadays) and $30k is a lot to pay for something like that -- climate control AC or no climate control AC.
Step back for minute; have a cup of coffee and think about this for a minute... .
On the other hand, all the really important stuff is included in the '07 GTI's $22k base price - turbocharged (and direct injection) 200 horsepower 2 liter engine, close-ratio six-speed manual transaxle, sport buckets, 17-inch rims, sport-ride suspension and top-notch brakes (with attractive powder-coated calipers). The same kind of gear that made the original GTI such a hit back in the '80s - when "fun to drive" and "economical" were rarely mentioned in the same sentence.
Avoid being hard-sold into a loaded-up $30k version and you can relive the experience - without relieving yourself of every spare nickel you've got.
That's the key.
On the road, the six-speed GTI's good for 60 mph in about 6.5-6.7 seconds - not as ferocious as a MazdaSpeed3, Mitsubishi EVO or Subaru WRX STi, but solid for the segment and more to the point, competitive with the $21,090 Honda Civic Si and $21,200 BMW Mini Cooper S - while being far less peaky than either of those two.
The GTI has vastly superior low-end torque (which is what gets you going), with all 207 lbs.-ft. of it available at a diesel-like 1,800 RPM - or just off idle. That makes launching the car as easy as setting a V-8 muscle car in motion. You don't have to downshift as much to extract decent performance, either - or to keep the engine from bogging.
You can even do rolling starts in second or third.
Compare that with the high-strung Civic Si; its VTEC engine only produces 139 lbs.-ft of torque - and all the way up there at 6,100 RPM. This means it's necessary to rev the engine (and keep it higher in the powerband) to get things going; it also means more frequent downshifting. Forget about rolling starts in second or third.
No question, the Civic Si's a fun "all out" performance car; but in less aggressive, day-to-day driving, the low-end punch of the GTI's direct injection four can be an advantage - not to mention a lot less work. The turbo Mini Cooper S has even less on the bottom end - just 114 lbs.-ft. of torque - and like the Civic Si, you have to constantly wind the engine (to 4,250 RPM in the Mini's case) to access it.
The GTI's very generous low-end torque also makes the optional DSG six-speed automatic a viable option - in the sense that you won't kill the car's off-the-line performance, as often happens when you connect a low-torque/high-RPM four-cylinder with an automatic transmission. This is why automatics are sometimes not even offered with high-RPM four-cylinder engines; in the 9,000 RPM Honda S2000, for example, the result would be a really noisy, really slow car; it might not even be usable on public roads. So Honda doesn't offer an automatic with this car at all. Ditto the Civic Si, which is a manual-only deal. (You can get an automatic in the Mini Cooper S, however.)
VW's also got the most horsepower of the three - edging out the 197 horse Honda Civic Si by three - and the 172 horsepower turbo Mini Cooper S by 28.
The GTI's definitely the better performer in day-in/day-out driving - and beats or meets the Civic Si and Mini Cooper in an all-out, straight-line drag race (the winner will be determined by a few tenths, at most; victory will ultimately come down to who is the best driver more so than who has the theoretically "best" car).
Where it loses some steps is in the handling department -- at least, when driven all-out - where it feels a bit heavier (and softer) compared with either the scalpel-sharp Civic Si or the lightweight, super-agile Mini. This is due to the fact that the GTI is, indeed, considerably heavier than both - 3,100 lbs. vs. 2,886 lbs. and 2,668 lbs., respectively -- and taller, with its center of gravity not as snug to the ground.
But the GTI's ride is noticeably more compliant and if you are over 30 or plan to drive the car every day, you may be perfectly happy to swap a slight edge in at-the-limit cornering ability for a ride that doesn't put you in close personal touch with every dip and imperfection on the road. The big door openings and tall roofline also provide comfortable access to the car's interior.
And, if you do want a bit more cornering ability and steering sharpness, you can upgrade your GTI with those optional 18-inch rims for an additional $750. (More aggressive "summer" tires are available as well.)
Like the Civic Si (but not the Mini S), the new GTI is now available in both coupe and four-door bodystyles - each featuring the same running gear but with the sedan carrying a starting price $500 higher than the coupe ($22,100 vs. $22,600). Adding the six-speed DSG automatic (which also includes paddle-shifters on the steering wheel) bumps the price of either model by about $1,100.
Having the extra set of doors makes the car viable for the enthusiast driver who has to have the additional practicality - especially if that involves kids and child seats -- in a way the Mini (and other compact FWD sporty coupes) simply can't match.
Both versions of the '07 GTI come equipped with specific interior enhancements, including a leather-wrapped (and flat-bottomed) steering wheel, metallic trim plates and manual bolstered sport buckets. The cabin's theme may not be as zippy as what you'd find in a new MazdaSpeed3 (which like the Mitsubishi EVO and Subaru WRX STi is only available in sedan/wagon form) or as retro-funky as the Mini - but like most German cars the GTI's interior is extremely functional and coherent, with everything located where it is for a clear reason and all of it ready for action. It's the sort of layout that will appeal to the engineers and math-types out there.
With better street manners than most of the cars in its segment, the new GTI is at least as appealing as the original was back in the day.
Just be careful with those options.
