Volkswagen celebrates the Golf GTI with a potent Version 50 mannequin. The non-compulsory Efficiency Bundle lives as much as its title and turns this GTI into a real agility monster. The value for this mix, nonetheless, is correspondingly steep.
Corners, clean tarmac and rain. For a front-wheel-drive automobile, that is the worst-case state of affairs. Add semi-slick tyres and straight-line understeer throughout route modifications appears inevitable. A nook is approaching quick. We’re on the wheel of a Golf GTI Version 50 with the Efficiency Bundle. “All effectively and good, however …” flashes via our minds. Then the circuit format and survival intuition take over. Exhausting braking. The red-painted calipers and pads chunk decisively. The seatbelt tightens throughout our chest because the automobile masses the entrance axle. Flip in. We brace for the basic destiny of a front-wheel-drive automobile: working large into the gravel past the left-hander. But our eyes stay fastened on the apex. After which it occurs. As if drawn with a compass, the Golf follows the steering enter exactly and heads straight for the center of the nook.
The rear axle joins in. Not rebelliously, however supportively, the tail rotates gently. Full throttle. The highest-spec GTI takes this in its stride too. No twitching, no scrabbling on the entrance wheels. “You ask, I ship,” appears to be the automobile’s angle. “Clear,” we word. There is no such thing as a time for extra. The sunshine-footed means during which the Golf slices via corners is spectacular. “With the Efficiency Bundle, we reached into the highest shelf of the MQB toolbox,” explains Florian Umbach, Head of Car Dynamics. That was obligatory, as a result of the chassis of the Golf GTI Version 50 is equivalent to that of the Clubsport. With the Efficiency Bundle, VW’s engineers wished to lift the bar as soon as extra. Mission completed. This GTI makes it simple to drive quick. Very quick.
It begins with basic tuning measures. The 235-section tyres sit on 19-inch solid wheels, and the exhaust gases circulate via the titanium efficiency exhaust system from the Golf R. The result’s a weight saving of round 25 kilograms. On the press of a button, this GTI appears like a predatory animal. On the MacPherson entrance axle, the elevated unfavourable camber of minus two levels is straight away noticeable, in contrast with minus 1.33 levels on the usual Version 50. Extra unfavourable camber will increase the usable contact patch of the surface entrance wheel in corners. The tyre works extra evenly throughout its tread, bettering cornering velocity and turn-in precision. “The extra front-end grip is the inspiration for prime cornering speeds, decreased understeer and impartial dealing with,” says Umbach. The important thing phrase is basis. By itself, this measure would obtain little.
To make it efficient, a full agility package deal comes into play. On the entrance, stiffer high mounts and a stiffer rear wishbone bushing are fitted. Together with the electronically managed mechanical limited-slip differential, this creates a refined self-steering impact in direction of the within of the nook below acceleration. The differential pulls the internal wheel extra strongly, whereas the decreased compliance of the wishbone bushing retains the geometry secure. The result’s the other of basic front-wheel-drive push.
On the multi-link rear axle, the modifications are much less in depth however nonetheless significant. In the usual setup, the monitor rod is barely mounted on one facet. With the Efficiency Bundle, it features a dual-sided mounting, considerably growing lateral stiffness. This enables the rear axle to help the entrance axle’s steering inputs extra exactly. Stiffer springs and damper mounts are additionally fitted, elevating the pure frequency to match the entrance axle and lowering roll and pitch. “Manthey would cost a number of tens of 1000’s of euros for one thing like this,” Umbach smiles. Volkswagen asks €4,200 for the Efficiency Bundle, on high of the €54,540 base worth of the Version 50. That’s severe cash for a Golf GTI, and simply €1,000 lower than a Golf R. However the enjoyable issue greater than compensates. The comparability with the Nürburgring specialists is not any coincidence: check driver Benjamin Leuchter set a time of seven:46.125 minutes on the Nordschleife, the quickest lap ever recorded by a road-legal Volkswagen.
Again on public roads, the sports activities suspension lowers the physique by 5 millimetres in contrast with the usual Version 50. In whole, that makes a 20-millimetre drop. That’s vital. Because of the usual adaptive dampers, the sharpened GTI stays comfy on nation roads and in city visitors. We principally drove in Consolation mode, which proved genuinely relaxed. This GTI is not any limousine, however lengthy journeys are not any downside, helped by the wonderful sports activities seats with basic tartan upholstery. Inside, the GTI feels barely old-school. The touchscreen has a thick bezel, the head-up show is modest in dimension, and the graphics nonetheless carry traces of VW’s troubled in-house infotainment period. But when any automobile is allowed to be a little bit anachronistic, it’s a Golf GTI. This one particularly.
Particularly since, in any driving mode, be it Eco, Consolation or Sport, it delivers severe driving pleasure. With 239 kW and 325 PS, plus 420 Nm of torque, it accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 5.3 seconds and reaches as much as 270 km/h. Precisely on par with a Golf R. VW quotes a mixed consumption of seven.74 litres per 100 kilometres. We recorded 8.3 litres in keeping with the onboard pc. One ultimate deal with awaits in Sport mode: press and maintain the menu tile and the Nürburgring Nordschleife seems, permitting you to activate a devoted setting. On this mode, the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox holds gears longer via corners to maximise drive on exit. So if you’re overtaken on a rustic street by a Golf GTI Version 50 with Efficiency Bundle and listen to the driving force shout “Pflanzgarten”, you’ll know precisely which mode is engaged.
