VW GTI to get dramatic tech update, but a long wait is ahead
The eighth-generation Volkswagen hot-hatch icon will get gobs of cabin tech and more power, but America's first examples are still over a year away.
Despite the coronavirus crisis ravaging auto industry timetables, Volkswagen says its next-generation Golf GTI and Golf R hot hatches remain on schedule. That's the good news. The bad news is, despite first breaking cover in late February, the eighth-generation GTI and its higher-performance sibling are still well over a year away from North American dealers. VW officials are targeting the third quarter of 2021 for them to launch as 2022 models, with today's Mk 7 GTI soldiering on in North America through the 2021 model year.
It's clear that the next-generation sport compact will not stray far from today's car in both mission and looks, but it will host a boatload of new features, including a massive cabin tech update. And while full specs remain TBD, VW officials held a video teleconference on Wednesday for media members, allowing us to learn quite a few things about the reborn icon.
Assembly and pricing
For starters, all 2022 GTIs destined for North America will be built in Germany, unlike today's cars, which are assembled in Puebla, Mexico. These new models will carry not only higher performance, they'll also deliver significantly richer content levels (features, equipment). Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, despite the fact that US VW dealers will no longer offer a standard Golf as a price-leader hatchback, it sounds like the new GTI will come with a price increase. The question is, how much?
According to Hein Schafer, VW senior vice president of product marketing and strategy, "The most bare-naked car that we could get out of Wolfsburg has significantly more equipment than our base Mark 7 today. ... I don't want to put a number on the page, but I would probably guess that there's going to be less than a 10% increase from [Mark] 7 to 8."
If you're keeping track, today's base 2020 GTI S starts at $28,595 before $920 for destination charges. Ergo, any price increase will likely total less than a few thousand dollars.
Basic specs
MSRP increase or no, a performance bump is in the cards. The 2.0-liter turbo-four in today's GTI features 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, enough for sub-6-second 0-to-60-mph dash and an electronically limited 155-mph top speed. The new car, which you can identify easily thanks to its slimmer, glowering headlamps and unexpectedly controversial 10-lens(!) LED foglamps, will offer 242 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque from its EA888 EVO4 engine.
Tech-rich interior
Before delving too far into the performance of this front-wheel-drive hatchback, like its looks, the new GTI's underlying architecture and powertrains will be largely evolutionary, so let's start with the cabin, which will see the most dramatic changes.
For 2021, a comprehensively redesigned driver-focused dashboard will come standard with an 8.25-inch touchscreen, and an optional new 10-inch widescreen will be paired with the GTI's first application of VW's Digital Cockpit tech, here taking the form of a matching reconfigurable gauge cluster. In addition to more advanced infotainment, interior furnishings look like they should be a cut above rivals like the Honda Civic Si, Hyundai Veloster N and Subaru WRX. If that feeling translates in person, VW will have done a good job maintaining a long-held GTI attribute.
The Mk 8's most dramatic changes are found inside, thanks to new controls and infotainment.
A totally revamped center stack and console features far fewer buttons than before, with a set of new touch sliders under the main screen. That's good news for aesthetes, but potentially bad news for ergonomics -- we'll have to wait until we get our hands on one to know for sure. If you've already been peeking at our gallery's interior photos, you'll see a new, nublike electronic gear selector for the optional seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Happily, a traditional six-speed manual transmission will once again be standard. If you're surprised about that last bit given the way the world seems to be moving to two pedals, don't be. VW officials tell Roadshow that roughly 40% of North American Mk 7 GTI models have row-your-own cogswappers. Way to go, enthusiasts!
Per GTI tradition, gloriously plaid seats are standard -- in a swish new pattern, no less. Impressively, heating elements for both the seats and redesigned steering wheel are standard. Ventilated seats will be a new-to-GTI option, albeit only on cars optioned with leather seating. Boo.
Performance particulars
Officials say that the footprint of the 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI will remain almost exactly the same as it is today, from its length to width to wheelbase, though the new model will sit slightly lower. Slipperier surfacing helps the Mk 8's coefficient of drag drop from 0.3 to just 0.275, and comparable curb weight is promised.
While riding atop the same basic front MacPherson strut, rear multilink architecture, the suspension has been substantially revised at all four corners for improved handling, with VW engineers placing a particular emphasis on higher-fidelity steering with reduced understeer. Up front, changes include a lighter aluminum subframe (down 6.6 pounds), as well as reconfigured springs that are 5% stiffer, new bumpstops, bushings and updated dampers. Out back, there are 15% stiffer new primary springs, as well as recalibrated helper units. Additionally, VW has fitted different wheel mounts, wishbone bushings and damper bearings. Models equipped with VW's Dynamic Chassis Control adaptive damping will also receive new software.
Speaking of new software, the GTI's Vehicle Dynamics Manager -- aka drive-mode selector -- no longer just features Comfort, Eco and Sport settings. A new Individual mode allows for even finer tuning by the driver, so it's actually possible to tailor responses to be softer than Comfort and firmer than Sport. There's also a dedicated Snow mode.
In the US, 18-inch wheels will be standard with all-season 225/40-series tires, with 19-inch alloys becoming available for the first time, the latter fitted with higher-performance 235/35-series summer rubber. Interestingly enough, in Canada, the base wheel will be an inch smaller, and in Europe, track-spec, semi-slick Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber will be offered. VW officials say that outside of tire differences, North American GTI models will feature the same suspension and driveline tuning as their European counterparts.
Variable-ratio electric power steering will also be standard, allowing for different responses in different drive modes, along with a very quick 2.1 turns lock-to-lock. A revamped braking system will feature a large main brake cylinder with speed-sensitive electronic brake booster. Speaking of brakes, VW will still allow drivers to fully extinguish electronic stability control for the utmost in control, a move that should please experienced enthusiasts and track-day drivers alike.
What does all this mean? In back-to-back testing on identical tires, VW says these changes are good for nearly 4 seconds per lap at its narrow and challenging Ehra road-course test facility in Germany's Lower Saxony (2:04.8 vs. the Mk 7's 2:08.7), and the emergency double lane-change test can be executed nearly 2 mph faster. You can watch -- and hear -- World Touring Car Cup pro driver Benjamin Leuchter flog the new GTI in the in-car video below:
Fuel economy
It's a bit early to be looking for fuel-economy figures, but that didn't stop us from asking for hints. Megan Closset, product manager for the Golf family, told us, "I would anticipate... that the eighth generation would perform at least as well with the city and highway fuel economy [as the Mk 7]."
For reference, today's 2020 model nets out at 24 miles per gallon city, 32 mpg highway and 27 mpg on the combined cycle, regardless of transmission choice.
Higher-performance derivatives
Interestingly, VW says that North America is the GTI's biggest market, representing 45% of the Mk 7's global sales volume. If it therefore seems surprising that our market has endured a pretty lousy track record of getting higher-performance GTI-family variants like the Clubsport, Clubsport S and TCR, you're not alone in your thinking. However, Volkswagen Group of America reps say they are on the case.
"We are fighting to get into every special model from a performance perspective," Schafer said. "I think every manufacturer faces a very similar challenge. When it comes to any different engine variants, we run through an entirely new homologation process. A homologation process (a) takes time and (b) costs a lot of money. We are working very closely with Wolfsburg on the Golf 8 life cycle... we've got an interest in every single special model that they can potentially offer, and we'll continue to try to push to bring those models to the United States to make sure that as closely as possible [we] mirror what Wolfsburg is putting up."
Hatchback form? Check. Twin round exhausts? Check. Red-line trim? Check.
For the moment, VW reconfirmed that North American showrooms will once again host the all-wheel-drive Golf R, but company officials also rebuffed the idea of importing a version of the Golf GTE performance plug-in hybrid. Bummer.
So, which will arrive first, the GTI or Golf R? According to Closset, "Right now, it's a little bit up in the air, as far as does Golf R come first, or does GTI then come, but I can confidently tell you that these will both be model year '22, and they will come very close to one another."
No matter which comes first, VW's hot hatch twins will have a lot to live up to -- the Mk 7 GTI and Golf R have long been two of Roadshow's very favorite performance cars to live with every day.