These letters mean that the engine of the model has been tuned to offer more power, the car's looks and aerodynamics have been improved for better performance and a higher price tag has been stuck to them as a result.
For the Americans, however, or at least for one of them, all of the above is not important. The man, Nick Pontarelli, works for a Volkswagen dealer somewhere in the US, and as any other modern-day employee, he likes it when the boss' business is going smooth.
Now, the problem is Nick Pontarelli skipped Volkswagen's training courses, so now the man got it into his head that the defining trait of the Golf GTI is... the door. Front door, back door, it doesn't matter. What's important is the door and how much pain it can endure before giving in.
For Pontarelli, the 200 horsepower 2.0l turbo is nothing compared to the fact that the driver's door of the GTI can withstand he's entire weight (and the guy is, let's say, well built) and then close as if it had only just left the factory floor. Of course, just like the man says, you probably can't do that with a Hyundai or Honda...
Now, if it happens you pass by this dealer, would you please tell him that he got the entire GTI thing wrong?
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