Yahoo Finance 2018 Volkswagen Golf GTI Autobahn Manual Tested
Our love for the Volkswagen GTI is genuine, longstanding, and well documented. Indeed, since VW’s little firecracker first arrived on our shores 35 years ago as a Rabbit hatchback with a bit more hop, we’ve found ourselves searching for new and creative ways to issue the same effusive praise. Over the years, the GTI has been featured in dozens of reviews and comparison tests, and has landed on our 10Best Cars list 15 times, including the past 12 years straight. And this review will be no different-mostly.
For even deeper coverage of the GTI, view our Buyer’s Guide in-depth review.
Refreshed for 2018 along with the entire Golf lineup, the GTI remains as delightful as ever, with its minor styling and equipment changes having no ill effect on its dynamic brilliance. VW’s engineers and designers executed the GTI update with a deft touch, tweaking the front and rear styling, reworking the innards of the headlamps to accommodate new LED elements (standard on SE and Autobahn models), and updating the taillamp graphics to be more horizontal in appearance.
Meanwhile, VW dropped the Sport trim level and the available Performance package while making standard the latter’s electronic limited-slip differential (as well as larger brake rotors from the Golf R) on the mid-grade GTI SE and the range-topping GTI Autobahn. For 2018 the equipment rosters got longer, too, and the cheerful turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four under the hood of every GTI now makes the same 220 horsepower at 4700 rpm and 258 lb-ft of torque at a remarkably low 1500 revs.
The case for the GTI Autobahn model tested here now rests on the appeal of its standard three-mode adaptive dampers (now including a new Comfort mode), a small army of active-safety features (including forward collision warning with automated emergency braking and pedestrian detection, parking assist, lane-departure warning, and automatic high-beams), and numerous creature comforts. The last bit includes the largest standard infotainment screen of the lot (8.0 inches) with navigation, adaptive cruise control, leather, a Fender-branded audio system, dual-zone automatic climate control, a 12-way power driver’s seat, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror.
All of that will set buyers back $35,920, or $4600 more than the 2018 GTI SE, which, incidentally, recently emerged victorious over the Honda Civic Si in a comparison test. There are no extra-cost options save for the $1100 six-speed dual-clutch gearbox that’s one of the few automatics we can recommend as an enthusiast-worthy alternative to a manual.
GTI Autobahn buyers have one other choice to make-one with substantial performance consequences-and it’s one that enthusiasts should be able to make in their sleep: Do they drive off with the standard 225/40R-18 Hankook Ventos S1 Noble 2 all-season tires or have VW swap them out for Bridgestone Potenza S001 summer tires at no charge? This test car arrived wearing the compromised all-seasons; combine that with the numerous in-cabin indulgences bloating its weight to 3221 pounds (105 more than the 2017 GTI Sport model with the Performance package that we tested last year and 37 pounds heavier than the comparo-winning 2018 GTI SE), and nearly every performance metric suffered.
Its 6.0-second zero-to-60-mph time and 14.5-second quarter-mile result at 100 mph trails the summer-shoed SE by a few tenths from 60 mph all the way up to their governed 125 mph top speed. It was a similar story with roadholding. The Autobahn’s 0.89 g of grip on the skidpad isn’t terrible, unless you compare it to the 0.95 g registered by the SE on its summer rubber. And this car’s stopping distance from 70 mph, a Camry-like 174 feet-fade free, at least-was 13 feet longer than the SE and a huge 20 feet longer than the GTI Sport we tested last year. And remember, this one has the Golf R’s bigger brakes.
The good news is these differences don’t seem so considerable from behind the wheel. The GTI’s reflexes remain sharp, the throttle response immediate, and acceleration is accompanied, as always, by a wonderfully rorty yet not antisocial exhaust note. With the standard adaptive dampers the Autobahn rides more like a $70,000 luxury sedan than a performance car derived from an economical hatchback, yet the dampers seemed to keep the body flat and planted, especially in the car’s Sport driving mode. While the steering is a little light in Normal mode, Sport firms things up while adding some weight back to the steering, and as always we’re eminently happy with how much feel comes through the rim. The new infotainment system adds that much more sophistication to the Autobahn’s feature-rich, leather-lined, panoramic-roofed cabin. It’s possibly the most mature GTI we’ve ever tested.
We’re not sure that maturity is what the GTI should be about-indeed, we think the GTI is best when it’s quite the opposite-but since the Mark 7 arrived for 2015 on VW’s MQB modular architecture, its sense of solidity and newfound niceties have been trying to fool us into thinking it’s actually an Audi A3. But the six-speed manual transmission with its dimpled, spherical shift knob is the perfect antidote. Call us old-fashioned, but we still like to use both arms and both legs when we bomb down a twisty two-lane or tear up a track. And while we still feel that the clutch pedal travels a touch too far during engagement, the shifter action is sublime, as are the sport seats with their abundant lateral support and long-haul comfort.
Tire conundrum aside, we still consider the GTI to be the veritable definition of “hot hatch,” so it’s a little ironic that there’s not much sizzle in the styling. Its square-ish hatchback profile that yields crossover-like cargo space hasn’t changed much since the Mark 5 GTI debuted for 2006. And with its new lighting, air intakes, and other graphic elements now consisting primarily of horizontal lines and 60-degree angles, some feel it looks almost too robotic. Out on the road, the only people who look twice at the GTI are drivers of other GTIs. That said, it can be driven like the General Lee without inviting much attention from the local constabulary, and that’s a good thing.
As delightful as the Autobahn’s many frills may be, we’re not sure they’re worth the additional $4600 over the SE. We still love it, we just love it more with plaid seats and a bit less luxury.
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