Volkswagen has never had such an extensive and fresh GTI lineup. It seems that 2018 will go down in history as an excellent hot hatch vintage because the iconic Golf is being joined by the competent new Polo GTI and the plucky Up! GTI.
The German automaker organized a track event in Europe where all three red rascals were on display. Why do we need that? Maybe some people will cross-shop the Golf and Polo and want to get the misses something small while they're at it.
Big news under the hood of the supermini: a 2.0-liter engine with a turbocharger giving you access to 200 HP and 320 Nm of torque. And that's German horsepower, not the French variety that's 90% there.
Some folks say the Polo GTI looks tame, but the 2018 base body is sporty enough and doesn't need much more than some black wheels and LED headlights. However, we're sure tuners will love playing with this car.
The Tinkertoy in the middle is the Up! GTI, a car that reminds us not to take everything so seriously. It's powered by a 1-liter turbo giving you roughly the same performance as the first Golf GTI. Unfortunately, it doesn't have LED headlights, but it's also about half the price of the Golf.
And finally, the big car on the right is the modern version of the icon. It received a facelift last year, entirely with new bumpers and lights. While outgunned by nearly all of its hot hatch rivals, the Golf GTI continues to be a best seller due to its everyday usability. 245 HP, 370 Nm of torque and a 7-speed DSG make the Performance package a must-have.
The GTI family is also taken onto the test track, so you get to see what each of them is like. One German reviewer says the Polo feels a little bit more engaging than the Golf, and 200 HP is more than enough on the road.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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