Volkswagen Golf GTI

“They won’t make them like this much longer” is a pretty hackneyed aphorism, but it certainly applies to the Volkswagen Golf GTI. The Mk 8 Golf is due for a mid-life refresh next year, and when that happens, VW will be simplifying things by dropping the manual transmission option. That means model year 2024 is the final chance anyone will have to buy a GTI with three pedals. Yes, it has some flaws, but it’s also small and nimble, both attributes lacking in so much of what the automotive industry has to offer these days.

We’ve been a bit deficient in not reviewing the Mk 8 Golf GTI until now. I reviewed the more expensive, more powerful Golf R in 2022, but the last GTI we drove was the outgoing Mk 7 car in mid-2020. That time, we were only able to source a GTI with the two-pedal, dual-clutch gearbox, a transmission I felt didn’t quite suit the engine it was mated to. On the other hand, I was effusive about the old GTI’s infotainment, calling it “one of the best systems on the market.” Well, it was 2020, remember.

Under the hood, you’ll find yet another version of VW Group’s venerable EA888 four-cylinder engine, here with a turbocharger and direct injection. It generates 241 hp (180 kW) and 273 lb-ft (370 Nm), with that peak torque arriving at just 1,750 rpm. This sends its power to the front wheels via a seven-speed DSG or the soon-to-be-retired six-speed manual.

You can blame enlightened Europe for the six-speed’s demise. Over there, buyers prefer the two-pedal version by a massive margin, which even the high take rate for three-pedal GTIs in the US and Canada couldn’t make up for. (This is, of course, contrary to popular wisdom, which has it that all Europeans shun auto ‘boxes as a matter of course.) On top of that, getting the six-speed to comply with incoming Euro 7 emissions regulations proved to be just too much, according to VW, so it decided to drop the option.

Here in the US, both transmissions are rated at a combined 27 mpg (8.7 L/100 km), with the DSG getting the edge in city driving (24 mpg/9.8 L/100 km) and the manual beating it slightly for highway (34 mpg/6.9 L/100 km). In practice, I saw as high as 36 mpg (6.5 L/100 km) on highway trips with the three-pedal GTI.

A smarter GTI

A more modern electronic architecture was one of the improvements to the Golf from Mk 7 to Mk 8. On the plus side, it enables some clever vehicle dynamics control via the torque-sensing limited slip differential, the GTI’s stability and traction control, and the adaptive dampers, if fitted. Very keen drivers might prefer a mechanical limited slip diff, but in day-to-day driving, you’d never have an issue with the Mk 8 GTI’s electronic version.

The new electronics meant a big tech upgrade for the interior, too. Out went the physical analog gauges, which were replaced by a 10.25-inch digital display with various different user-configurable views. A move to capacitive control panels instead of discrete buttons adds an extra level of minimalism to VW’s traditionally spartan approach to cabin design, but they’re far too easy to activate by mistake.