The Golf GTI is not the most exciting performance hatch when it comes to its looks; I will admit however, it is incredibly hard to fault the car’s mechanical qualities. Now though, VW has given the GTI even more mechanical qualities and they say these enhancements completely transform the GTI.
The Golf GTI Performance Pack arrived at our office and both Sean and I looked at the car trying to figure out what’s different about it. The most noticeable difference are the wheels. Our test car was fitted with stunning 19-inch Santiago alloy wheels, which just happen to be a R7 650 option, as we later found out; a bit disappointing really. Other styling differences include red GTI badges as well as GTI-branded brake callipers.
Inside, the car is pretty much standard Volkswagen. The only difference is, you won’t find a manual gearbox as the DSG box comes standard, as does the dynamic chassis control system.
The car also develops more power - 169kW instead of 162kW as in the standard car. Its 0-100km/h time has also been shortened by an eye-blinking 0.1 seconds, which means the Performance Pack will hit 100km/h in 6.2 seconds, instead of 6.3, as in the standard car.
Not impressed by those figures? Me neither
So, the question is simple: Is the GTI Performance Pack worth its R452 000 price tag? This is a cool R20 000 more than its standard Golf GTI DSG sibling. Well, the short answer is… yes!
You might be wondering why I’ve said that, so I’ll explain. You see, the biggest changes to the Golf GTI Performance Pack are to be found under the skin. Those fancy branded brake callipers have been improved, and so too have the brakes. However, the most impressive feature has to be the clever electronically-controlled torque vectoring differential, which improves handling and grip. This addition completely transforms the Golf GTI.
The standard Golf GTI is no blob of jelly on a track however, the enhancements to the Performance Pack have just turned the GTI’s volume knob up to 11. It just holds its line better than the standard car and is able to transfer up to 100 percent of its power to either the left or right wheel, whereas the standard car is only able to transfer up to 50 percent to each individual front wheel. This improves cornering grip in the Performance Pack and reduces understeer.
Earlier I did mention that the Performance Pack is worth the extra cash over the standard car but only if you enjoy exploring the limits of your GTI, or if you visit the track on a regular basis. You can feel the diff working and the brakes are able to take some more punishment. The car feels sharper and more focused. Yet, if you just want a good, fast, well-built performance hatchback to tickle your wild side now and then, you definitely can’t go wrong with the standard Golf GTI - in my opinion. As for me, I’d gladly pay the extra R20 000.
