The New VW GTI Isn’t Really a Leap Forward

 The New VW GTI Isn’t Really a Leap Forward

There are cars that will generate more column inches of ink than the new 2022 Volkswagen GTI this year. But every new GTI is an icon. VW has been building them since 1976. That makes this new model year the 47th. So each generation carries with it a thick, well-earned heritage of high performance and utter practicality. There are other cars like it, but nothing else is it. The New VW GTI Isn’t Really a Leap Forward.

The just-superseded Mk7 standard-bearer was not the most exciting hot hatch, but it wore the legacy well. It has been, by far, the nicest of the hotter hatchbacks to live with. It’s an overachiever, an Audi on a budget that’s loads of fun when you want it to be. A car we'll look back on fondly, a car we recommended to many, and one that has defined VW at its best. So, going in, expectations are high for the Mk8 GTI. The New VW GTI Isn’t Really a Leap Forward.

Much of the Mk7's fundamental essence carries over into the Mk8. This is an evolution of the MQB platform with some thoughtful detail changes. For instance, the front subframe is now an aluminum casting of stamped steel. Audi-branded MQB vehicles like the A3 have used these lighter yet more robust structures for years. And swapping the superior Audi part into VW MQBs has become a popular upgrade. But the basic suspension design and most of the floor and firewall parts are little changed. The New VW GTI Isn’t Really a Leap Forward.

That in mind, tweaks include stiffer suspension bushings and new damper hydraulics. Out back, for example, the spring rates are up by 15 percent to compensate for the better-planted nose. The 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder E888 engine, which debuted in the 2008 GTI, has progressed into Evo4 form. It’s rated at 241 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque thanks largely to extra boost, and that all goes to the front wheels via a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch (DSG) transmission, just as before. VW's VAQ active limited-slip differential has also been made standard.

So, in that great German automaking tradition, the Mk8 GTI is not revolutionary. This possibly has as much to do with the fact that the Mk7 didn't need much improvement as it does the tens of billions of dollars the diesel-emissions scandal has cost VW. Plus, for VW, like many manufacturers, going all in on EVs is eating into R&D and other product-development budgets.

Our initial impressions of the new GTI—a German-spec preproduction car in loaded Autobahn trim with the DSG 'box and optional dynamic damper control (DCC)—came at Monticello Motor Club. Track testing isn't an irrelevant indulgence—GTIs and Golf Rs are common sights at the world's road courses—but a glimpse into the car’s broad range of talents. And it's not like the roads around New York's Catskills didn't offer some delectable opportunities.

So The New VW GTI Isn’t Really a Leap Forward

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