Thirty years ago, Canada got its first taste of a new kind of flavour: the hot hatchback. Released in 1976 in Europe, it took nearly a decade to reach our shores, and even then it came in a slightly watered-down version.
It didn't matter. This plucky little lightweight hatchback promptly set everyone's pants ablaze with its scampering chuckability. You could fling it into a corner like a skipping stone and come out the other side with a grin so wide the top of your head was in danger of detaching.
And ever since then, the GTI's gotten fatter and faster with every generation. A more powerful four-cylinder engine, a narrow-angle V-6, and finally turbocharging all debuted underhood, but the demand for greater refinement and more space caused this once-small car to balloon.
But no more. Here is the seventh generation GTI, and curb weights are on their way back down again. Power is up, chassis stiffness is improved, the interior is upgraded - the king of the hot hatchbacks is back.
Design
In many ways, the GTI is the Porsche 911 you can actually afford. If you scroll all the way back to the twobox shape of the original, you can still see the same lines here: an upright stance, a large greenhouse, a usefully proportioned hatchback shape.
Compared to rivals like the Focus ST or the Mazdaspeed3, the GTI is considerably more subdued. A thin red strip accents the front end from headlight to headlight, and foglights peek out from behind the side strakes. The back sports dual exhausts, and there are small, tasteful red GTI badges on either side.
The large, five-spoke 18-inch alloys tend to say the most about this car's sporting intent, but the rest is a collection of performance hints, rather than shouty plumage. If you'd prefer to fly under the radar, this is that sort of car.
Environment
Inside the GTI, we find much the same story. No red seatbelts or endless swaths of tacked-on carbon-fibre trim here: just an all-black interior that's a little too austere, if anything.
The steering wheel is the best-looking one this side of a Porsche Macan Turbo, a flat-bottomed, hefty helm with metallic spokes, and a GTI badge worked into the metal. The rest of the cabin now cants towards the driver like a 1980s BMW (in a good way), the red-stitched seats are comfortable and well-bolstered, and there's a more modern looking touchscreen for audio and navigation functions.
There's also quite a lot of room for a car that debuted as the performance version of the tiny little Rabbit. The trunk space is larger than that of a WRX sedan to start with, and then the split-folding rear seats and pass-through come into play to create an evenmore-flexible cargo area. Or, leave it all buttoned up, and fit a rear-facing child seat or four adults with ease.
Performance
But that's just the level of practicality that makes the regular Golf such a hot seller overseas. Built on the bones of a European family car, the GTI also needs a bit of steam for when its driver is alone on some winding back road.
That shove comes from a familiar powerplant: a 2.0-litre four-cylinder featuring direct injection and turbocharging. Here, redesigned to incorporate the exhaust manifold directly into the head, it makes 210 horsepower at 4,500 r.p.m. (not much of a bump there), and 258 foot-pounds of torque at just 1,600 r.p.m. That's an extra 50 footpounds of low end grunt over last year's model, and it makes the GTI much more tractable and willing at street speeds to haul itself out of a corner or down an onramp with gumption. High-revving engines are fun too, but as a quick point-to-point car, the GTI's new engine provides real-world speed without looking like you're pulling a Vin Diesel.
Grip is simply excellent, although later-release cars will be available with even more, thanks to a Performance Package that includes a true front differential, larger brakes, and a slight bump in horsepower. As it is, the GTI handles with aplomb, albeit with a little less feedback from the steering than in past hydraulically assisted systems.
Transmission choices include either a six-speed manual, which is far and away the most fun, or a six-speed dual-clutch automatic that does a good job in still giving the driver control while purring away happily in traffic.
As always, the GTI proves itself a jack-of-alltrades, tackling stop and go traffic with good sightlines and a comfortable ride, hitting up the highway with relatively little windnoise, and then tackling a winding backroad with scrappy handling and a nose-full of boost.
Essentially, it does everything you ask of it.
The only real caveat here is that the GTI might be a little too competent to be characterful. Like the current-gen 911, it's so polished as to not have any of the rough edges that can make you fall in love with a car.
On the other hand, I just compared a family hatchback to a Porsche 911 twice. Enough said.
Features
For launch, VW Canada has requisitioned a batch of GTI's that are fairly pricey, but very loaded. Bluetooth, dual-zone climate control, and a giant panoramic sunroof are all standard. Leather seating and a 5.8-inch touchscreen satellite navigation are optional.
Fuel economy is rated at 9.5 litres/100 kilometres in the city and 7.2 l/100 km on the highway for the DSG automatic, and slightly better for the manual. Surprisingly, and perhaps the cherry on top, is that the GTI will actually hit these mileage targets even if driven with a bit of spirit. Premium is recommended, of course.
Green light
Usable cargo space; excellent dynamics; refined ride and polished interior; strong, efficient engine.
Stop sign
Somewhat small touchscreen; more refined than out-and-out fun; options can drive up price.
The checkered flag
The king of the hothatchbacks is back on the throne.
Competitor
Ford Fiesta ST ($24,599) While it's technically a segment below the GTI as a subcompact, it could be argued that the Fiesta ST is the VW's biggest rival in terms of original intent. Where the GTI feels planted, solid, refined, the ST feels snappy and jumpy and a little frantic.
And, in a scrappy little compact terror, isn't that what you want? While the Ford's Recaro seats are outrageously overbolstered, and its interior space considerably less than the GTI's, it's simply a hoot to drive, every single time.
However, with a sixspeed manual the only offering available, it's a bit less practical all around. More fun, but less practical - your call!
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