Is the Volkswagen Golf GTI a Good Car?
- If you need one car to be nearly everything an enthusiast driver could possibly want it to be (efficient commuter, capable canyon carver, car-pool-friendly kid carrier, cavernous cargo hauler, autocross champion), there is still no substitute for a Volkswagen Golf GTI.
How Does the VW Golf GTI Compare With Other Cars?
- The VW GTI feels like the last of its kind in the U.S. Hyundai offers some fun N versions of its Elantra compact sedan, Subaru has the WRX and Honda has the Civic Si, but the added versatility of the GTI’s hatchback shape keeps it uniquely desirable.
Ask any automotive journalist — many of whom drive a lot of cars every year — to name the perfect all-around, everyday, do-it-all enthusiast car for people who can’t afford a Porsche 911, and you’ll almost certainly get one response: the Volkswagen GTI. It feels like most of us older auto scribes have owned at least one in our lifetime, sometimes more; I’ve owned two, a Mark 5 and a Mark 6. The reason why is simple: When it comes to finding one vehicle that can do nearly anything an enthusiast on a budget could want to do with their car (on pavement, anyway), nothing compares with the GTI.
For the 2025 model year, the Mark 8 version that was introduced for the 2022 model year gets a few freshened bits to keep it current and popular. VW improved in areas where we had complaints when the automaker brought this latest GTI to the U.S., but it kept the inherent entertainment factor that makes the GTI so incredibly desirable.
Related: 2025 Volkswagen Golf GTI and Golf R Up Close: No Manual Needed, Allegedly
How Much Does the 2025 VW Golf GTI Cost?
There are three trim levels for the 2025 model year: S, SE and Autobahn, each with increasing levels of standard equipment. All prices listed include a $1,225 destination charge.
- S: $33,670
- SE: $38,645
- Autobahn: $42,105
These prices represent an increase of $375-$505 over the 2024 Golf GTI. All GTIs destined for North America are built at VW’s Wolfsburg, Germany, assembly plant, so those prices may be subject to change due to tariffs on imported vehicles (if those tariffs are still a thing when you happen to be reading this).
What’s New for the 2025 VW Golf GTI?
If you’re looking at the pictures and thinking “What exactly did VW change for 2025?” don’t worry, I get it. It doesn’t look all that different, but it didn’t need to; the GTI’s iconic shape is mostly derived from its exceptional functionality. All GTIs are four-door hatchbacks (VW does make a Jetta GLI sedan if you absolutely must have a traditional trunk), and that shape is part of the GTI’s general appeal.
For 2025, VW updated the GTI’s grille, headlights and bumpers up front, but the look isn’t all that different from the outgoing model. The grille’s illuminated upper light bar is now standard, as is an illuminated VW logo, so you can easily recognize it at night. There’s a new wheel design for the top Autobahn trim and two new colors (Slate Blue Metallic and Alpine Silver Metallic), but that’s the extent of the cosmetic changes to the Mark 8 GTI for 2025.
We’re not mad about that one bit. The GTI still looks sharp, understated and grown-up. It’s a car that you can buy as a 20-something and not be embarrassed to drive to a job interview — unlike some of the more ridiculous, wing-festooned, boy-racer-style competitors from Hyundai, Honda and Subaru. It flies under the radar (pun very much intended) of the local constabulary looking to snag speed offenders on the road. Get one in a muted color (anything but the bright red seen here) and it can pass as just another Volkswagen Golf with some bigger wheels and tires. Nothing to see here, officer, as you go zipping past.
The Magic That VW Does So Well
You don’t really buy a GTI for its looks; based on the Golf compact hatchback, the style of the thing is just form following function. Rather, it’s the car’s chassis tuning, powertrain performance, steering feel, ride-and-handling balance, and driving position that turns VW’s mundane commuter car — named after a boring sport that involves a lot of walking — into an enthusiast legend.
The transformation starts with the latest engine: a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder cranking out 241 horsepower and 273 pounds-feet of torque. That might not sound like much in these days of electric cars routinely cranking out 600 hp or more, but it’s plenty to get the light, nimble GTI moving with surprising speed.
That 2.0-liter engine is mated to a standard seven-speed dual-clutch “DSG” automatic transmission driving the front wheels; the manual transmission VW once offered is sadly no more. But as much as we love stick-shift cars, we don’t mind VW’s DSG at all. It bangs off shifts crisply, anticipates downshifts almost telepathically and pairs beautifully with the engine to keep it in its very broad torque curve. Driving around town in Comfort mode, it’s docile, easygoing and aims to be efficient — but quick performance is just a stab of the go-pedal away. If you want more aggressive fun, click into Sport mode to keep things on boil and ready to party — but not at the expense of drivability. It’s a truly fantastic powertrain that’s efficient when you’re commuting (32 mpg on the highway, according to EPA estimates) and ready to rumble when you’re on a track or autocross course.
It’s not just the way the engine and transmission work that make the GTI a do-it-all fun machine, either. Its suspension is brilliantly tuned, as well, both in lower trim levels with their nonadjustable shocks and in the Autobahn, which comes standard with electronically controlled dampers. Despite having 18- or 19-inch wheels and tires (depending on the trim), the GTI’s ride is never too harsh. The standard suspension I sampled on the SE trim was perfectly balanced between level control in corners and supple bump absorption on rougher roads. The adaptive suspension on the top Autobahn trim lets you adjust ride firmness between soft and sporty. Even in its firmest setting, the GTI never suffers from a harsh ride — which is a testament to how well VW has tuned this suspension.
Steering feel is fantastic, and while it’s not quite as communicative as GTIs of the past, it’s still much more entertaining than any other commuter vehicle on the market today. The brakes are more than up to the task of repeated hard use, exhibiting no fade or jankiness regardless of how hard you push the GTI. Dynamically, the newest GTI is still a fantastic weekend-enthusiast machine that’s just as happy doing time as an efficient commuter car during the week.
Onboard Electronics Are Getting Better, But …
Bigger changes have happened inside the latest GTI. The newest version of VW’s none-too-popular MIB3 multimedia system graces a bigger 12.9-inch touchscreen. It now has illuminated slider bars so you can more easily adjust the temperature and audio volume in the dark, so … huzzah, I guess. It’s still no substitute for an actual volume knob or hard buttons, but at least it seems that VW is slowly coming around to that idea. Case in point: Buttons have returned to the steering wheel! No more accidentally brushing a touch-sensitive control (and triggering something you don’t want to trigger) while driving with spirit. Baby steps, I suppose.
Other interior changes for 2025 include standard Discover Pro native navigation, but whether you’ll want to use it over the standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity remains to be seen. The voice the Discover Pro system uses is, simply put, awful. It uses odd phrasing for simple instructions: A prompt, for example, to “Take Exit 110, on the right” in any other navigation system becomes “Turn off the road to the right in a quarter of a mile, to Route 40.” It sounds like the system wants you to pull over. The pronunciations are also garbled, making it feel like it’s still a couple of generations behind most mapping software these days. Very odd and indicative that VW is still struggling with its multimedia offerings.
The touchscreen system itself works well enough. It’s a little less confusing than prior versions, but another internal software and controls review wouldn’t be a bad idea for VW. The Golf GTI’s gauge cluster reconfiguration and multimedia screens are still a little challenging to use while in motion, and they feature odd omissions — like an easy-to-access trip odometer. The odometer the GTI does have bizarrely only measures in full miles, not tenths, which limits its usefulness.
Just Get Comfy Instead
The less-odd-than-last-year electronics notwithstanding, the rest of the GTI’s interior is a master class in space efficiency. There’s genuinely room for four people inside, five in a pinch, with plenty of headroom for everyone — even when equipped with an available panoramic moonroof. The driving position is excellent, offering an upright posture that helps you feel what the car is doing when rotating it around a corner. The available “ArtVelours”-covered seats (sounds like they were named by a smarmy used-car dealer, doesn’t it?) are supportive, comfortable and not so heavily bolstered that they’ll cause fatigue. Interior materials quality is excellent, with patterns on the upholstery that are uniquely stylish. Should you require more space for stuff, the backseat folds easily to make the GTI SUV-useful for big, boxy cargo. The GTI really does illustrate the silliness of having an SUV for daily use given something this size and shape can do just about everything you’ll need it to.
Want More? Behold, the Golf R
For most cost-conscious enthusiast drivers, the GTI will be perfect — but what if you feel like spending more money for a bit more performance? That’s when the other performance model in VW showrooms comes into the picture: the 2025 Golf R, which has received the same cosmetic and electronic updates as the GTI, as well as a bit of a performance bump. It doesn’t look all that different from the GTI apart from its badging, more aggressive bumpers and quad-tipped exhaust out back. It’s powered for 2025 by a higher-output version of VW’s turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that makes 328 hp (13 hp more than the 2024 model) and 295 pounds-feet of torque. The Golf R also uses a seven-speed DSG transmission but can put power down to all four wheels for better traction in all conditions.
While the GTI understeers at the limit, the Golf R feels very different, letting you rotate the car with some throttle application as power is apportioned to the rear wheels and directed to the one with more grip. In spite of its additional power and slightly different balance, the Golf R feels very much like the GTI in 75% of the driving most people will do with it. It has the same interior packaging, but with different upholstery and more upscale options, like genuine carbon-fiber trim and slick-looking Euro-spec seats (that sadly are mostly manually adjustable). The steering wheel reverts to having touch-sensitive controls, though, and it also has an “R” button that VW says brings up drive mode selections on the center screen.
The thing is, the Golf R is considerably more expensive than a GTI, begging that old question: Is it worth spending so much more for a higher-output version of the same engine, AWD and some different interior trim? The Golf R starts at $48,325 (including destination) — nearly $15,000 more than a base GTI and more than $6,000 more than a top GTI Autobahn. In my opinion? No — the difference in performance and nicer materials isn’t covered by that price gap. You’ll be better off opting for a GTI and spending the money you save on some dedicated track-day wheels and tires.
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Get a Car While You Can
The hot-hatch category continues to dwindle as buyers eschew traditional cars for SUVs. Gone are the Ford Focus ST and Subaru WRX hatchback. Even internationally, these models are disappearing; it’s not just a U.S. trend. That the Golf GTI and Golf R continue to be built and brought to these shores is so satisfying; it’s heartwarming to know you can still buy an affordable and usable multipurpose hatchback that’s excellent for daily use and fun for weekend entertainment — but they’ll only stick around as long as people buy them. I can’t recommend the GTI highly enough if you want one car that can do it all.
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