South Africa’s undisputed king of hot hatches, the Volkswagen Golf GTI, is back with a bang.
The Mk 8.5 is not only the fastest standard Golf GTI The Citizen Motoring has tested, but also goes a long way in bringing back the hot hatch’s feel-good factor many felt was missing from the “too refined” Mk 8.
Golf GTI Mk 8.5 makes a Pitstop
On this week’s episode of our Pitstop podcast, we discuss Road Test Editor Mark Jones’ results from his recent high-performance test. And Jones explains why the latest version is a step-up from the Mk 8.
The Golf GTI 8.5 features the same 2.0-litre TSI engine as before, but the power is up from 180kW to 195kW by virtue of extra boost thanks to improved thermal management. The torque stays at 370Nm. Some mapping has also been done on the engine and the seven-speed DSG box to allow for a quicker spool-up and more torque to be available in the lower gears.
As per tradition, the hot hatch again went faster than VW’s claimed 0 to 100km/h time of 5.90 seconds. During our test at Gerotek, the Mk 8.5 recorded a sprint time of 5.88 seconds. From there, the gap widens with the Mk 8.5 clocking a o to 100km/h of 20.93 compared to the 21.35 of the Golf GTI Mk 8.
Advanced hardware to boot
The four main features of the Golf GTI 8.5’s running gear are progressive steering, the Vehicle Dynamics Manager, a front-axle differential-lock and the Dynamic Chassis Control system.
The hot hatch features a MacPherson front axle and a four-link rear axle. There is also individual electronic stability control for those who want to push the limits on the track.
The Golf GTI 8.5 costs R908 000 before options and comes standard with three-year/120 000km warranty and five-year/90 000km service plan.
