It would be fair to say that the eighth generation Volkswagen Golf GTI didn’t exactly promise on the thrill factor when it launched locally five years ago.
Troubled 8
Following in the wheel tracks of the munch vaunted Mk 7.5, the Mk 8, based on various claims, represented a step back similar to what the Mk 4 had been from the three and two.
Launched as the only eighth generation Golf derivative due to supposed lacklustre sales of the normal TSI and TDI versions, the Mk 8 felt too grown up and nowhere near as polished as the 7.5.
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At the same time, it copped flack for its interior, overly complicated infotainment system, irksome touch sensitive switchgear on the steering wheel and being as driver focused as the 7.5.
Not helped by the ongoing software glitches either, the Mk 8 still proved quick at it clocked a time of 5.8 seconds from 0-100 km/h when tested by Road Test Editor Mark Jones at Gerotek five years ago.
A time that made it seven-tenths-of-a-second faster than the admittedly also less powerful Mk 7.5, the general consensus was that Volkswagen could have done more to avail the “rushed-to-sales” feeling the Mk 8 evoked.
Enter 8.5…
This took a radical redress with the Mk 8.5, which saw the return of the conventional TSI last year.
Described as a huge if not completely perfected improvement, the revisions also promised to the rectify criticisms lobbed at the GTI.
…followed by another delay
Not long after its global reveal in 2024 alongside the standard Mk 8.5, Volkswagen confirmed an indefinite delay due to South Africa’s ever present poor fuel quality.
Attributed to the EA888 Evo4 engine having a particle filter to make it Euro 7 emissions compliant, the part was judged unsuitable for South Africa’s fuel standards.
What’s more, simply removing it for South Africa was out of the question as a result of its design to be part of the 2.0 TSI engine instead of a removable item.
A move that threatened to delay the GTI until 2027, Volkswagen made the surprise reveal of the Mk 8.5 at the Kyalami Festival of Motoring last year.
With the fuel saga now sorted out, the Mk 8.5 finally went on-sale towards the end of last year in limited numbers of 300 units.
The route
Since the beginning of the year, though, it no longer has a capped production run and as such, was finally provided for the media to drive this week.
Billed as a driving experience instead of a launch, the short drive of just under 200 km from Sandton into the Cradle of Humankind and back, reassured that, similar to the regular Mk 8.5, the changes to the GTI had been worth the wait.
What has changed?
Stylistically, the GTI builds on the changes of the standard Golf 8.5 by including a black honeycomb pattern lower air intake, unique Matrix LED headlights and a first-time illuminated upper grille strip and logo bar.
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