Volkswagen Golf GTI Review 2024, Price & Specs

Like the exterior, the latest Golf leans heavily on its hot hatch heritage the moment you climb in. Despite the de rigueur addition of multiple TFT screens, you know straight away that you’re in a GTI.

The tartan seat covers are present and correct, as is the red stitching for the chunky three-spoke steering wheel. Typical of a Golf, there is a wide range of seat and steering wheel adjustments, so you can fine-tune your driving position.

The pedals are well spaced and neatly arranged. Forward visibility is good, but those distinctive C-pillars create an awkward blind spot and the rear window is shallow and quickly becomes covered in moisture and road grime on wet days.

When the eighth-generation Golf was first launched, Volkswagen made a big deal about it being a “fully digital” Golf, with a 10-inch digital instrument cluster, a central infotainment touchscreen, and many of the physical buttons having been reduced or replaced with haptic panels. That includes the buttons on the steering wheel stalks.

It all looked very slick, but there were flaws. The haptic buttons could be frustrating, while the touch-sensitive ‘slider’ below the screen for audio volume and heating controls was frustratingly inconsistent and, worse, didn’t light up, making it impossible to see at night.

The changes made possible for the Mk8.5 GTI by the new MQB Evo platform go some way to addressing that, as they do with the other Volkswagen Golf models we’ve tried. The system is built around a new, larger 12.9-inch infotainment screen, which uses its extra size to place fixed controls for key functions along the top and bottom.

There’s still a ‘slider’ below the screen, but it’s a bit more intuitive to use and is now actually lit at night. Meanwhile, there are actual buttons on the steering wheel stalks, which is a welcome move.

That said, this tester found that the angle of them made them a bit harder to use. Still, we’d rather have physical buttons than none, so let’s not grumble too much.

The emphasis on touchscreens in the original eighth-generation model did raise concerns about a slight drop in perceived quality, due to the introduction of some cheaper plastics.

These have been addressed somewhat with this update, and our test car showed a greater wealth of materials. (VW even painted the underside of the bonnet.) However, we could still find a few panels that weren’t as sturdy as you’d hope.

On the plus side, refinement is relatively strong, with wind noise rarely an issue and tyre roar only noticeable over the coarsest surfaces. As with the seventh-generation car, engine noise has been amplified, meaning there’s a sportier, more intrusive and artificial aural backdrop in Dynamic mode.

Best to leave it in Comfort, where the slight reduction in throttle response is more than a fair trade for the smaller capacity under the bonnet – although the 2.0-litre engine still has the edge.

Like all Golfs, the GTI offers about as much space as you need. There’s a fair amount of room, but it’s still relatively compact.

Even for tall adults, there’s ample head and legroom in the back, although their forward view is obstructed by the high-backed sports seats. There’s also ample storage space, including multiple cup holders, smartphone pockets and deep door pockets.

There’s a decent-sized boot too – a respectable 374 litres of carrying capacity (well behind that of a Skoda Octavia, but around class average) with the rear seats in place. A false floor can be lowered to accommodate taller items, or raised to create an almost completely flat floor when the rear seatbacks are folded flat (the rear stubs remain in place). Performance doesn’t come at the expense of practicality.