Golf GTI Clubsport Exhaust and Acceleration Tests Versus the Leon Cupra 290

The model was just launched in Germany, thus celebrating the 40th anniversary of the GTI nameplate. Various types of reviews have also been posted, but we are going to focus just on the simple exhaust sound and acceleration test.

An independent video we found states the car will get from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.94 seconds, much faster than the claimed time of 6.3 seconds. Even if we believe that, the GTI Clubsport is still no faster than the SEAT Leon Cupra 290, which takes 5.9 seconds to reach 100 km/h.

As for the sound of the exhaust, it's noticeably better than the 220 and 230 PS GTI models. It produces popping sounds quite often, but the end muffler is still not as good as that on the Leon.

And then we arrive at the price point. Starting at £30,875, the GTI CS is noticeably more expensive than its main rival, which is the locally made Honda Civic Type R at just 30k. You can also pick up a SEAT Leon Cupra 290 with the same hardware and a DSG gearbox at £30,030. It gets much worse after that, as with DSG, the Clubsport costs £32,945, making us wonder who's going to ignore the Golf R and get this.

Things are just as bad in Germany, which is the largest hot hatch market in Europe. There, the GTI CS touches €37,000 as an automatic, while the equivalent Leon is only €35,420.

We know that the two cars are actually equipped with the same engine, but because Volkswagen marketing teams are too scared to cross into Golf R territory, they said the Clubsport only has 265 PS. Meanwhile, SEAT's people aren't afraid to admit their car has 290 PS and is available in three different body configurations including a practical wagon.