2017/2018 Golf GTI Does Fuel Consumption Test, Exhaust Sound Check

When the model debuted, everybody had the "but what did they change" expression on their faces. However, a little bit of time has passed and the changes they've made to the headlights and taillights have left an impression.

This is a decent-looking compact, though it's also an expensive one. We'd only buy the GTI with the 7-speed DSG gearbox and 245 PS engine; otherwise, it simply can't compete. But what happens if you buy the basic GTI 230? Let's watch the videos and find out.

Let's start with a disclaimer: this is a German car on German roads, so the numbers won't match your California weekend cruise. Around town, the GTI 230 gets about 12 l/100 km, or 19.6 mpg with the start-stop turned on. That's nowhere near the manufacturer's claimed number, but we expected that.

Cruising on a secondary road, this new car gets a reasonable 5.8 l/100km or 40.6 mpg us at a max speed of 80 km/h. So you could live with the fuel consumption.

Cruising down the motorway at 120 km/h, the new version of the GTI achieves 7.5 l/100km. Things get progressively worse after that. The Germans who do a lot of miles get to buy the GTD diesel hot hatch, but it will remain forbidden fruit in America.

Not much has changed for the Golf GTI in the sound department. In fact, we think the muffler is the same as before. Like we said, the Performance Pack is the model to have because it's got 245 PS and sounds naughtier.

The sound from inside is, of course, much better because of the Soundaktor system which uses the whole windshield frame as a resonator, producing a sound that's similar to a 5-cylinder inside the cabin.