The sporty interior of the 2018 Volkswagen Golf GTI features an upscale design.
According to many automotive journalists, if you mash every imaginable new-car virtue into a ball you’ll get something approximately like the Volkswagen Golf GTI.
That’s not to say the performance version of VW’s Golf hatch is the best at anything. It’s not the fastest Volkswagen, not the cheapest, not the most luxurious and certainly not the biggest. Hello, Atlas.
But what the hot hatchback delivers is a fun-first driving experience with sporty styling, a reasonable price tag and enough interior space to rationalize it as family transportation.
FAST FACTS
Model: 2018 Volkswagen Golf GTI 2.0T SEExterior color: Deep Black Pearl MetallicInterior color: BlackEngine: 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinderHorsepower: 220Transmission: six-speed manualFuel economy: 33 mpg highway, 25 mpg cityLocal Dealer: Village Volkswagen of ChattanoogaPrice (as tested): $32,060
Whipping it around Chattanooga for a week was enough to make this 60-year-old feel 25 again. Anything that breaks the tyranny of the SUV format is OK by us. After testing a string of plain vanilla SUVs, driving our Deep Black Pearl Metallic Golf GTI tester this week was as tasty as a hot fudge sundae.