00:00this is the mark 8 volkswagen golf gti facelift is the golf gti still
00:07das hot hatch v dub in the house let's find out
00:14in this vw golf gti review i'll focus mainly on driving impressions i'll expand more on the
00:18practical aspects in another video where i'm comparing it to the new bmw m135. channel members
00:24already can or soon will be able to watch this comparison without ads it'll become available to
00:29everyone else a bit later
01:16come on it's a golf unless you're a vw nerd you won't see too many changes between the generations
01:22let alone facelifts a new feature is the front lighting which now includes the illuminated badge
01:30it's so tacky that i'm starting to like it it's kind of a multipla syndrome and check out the fog
01:38lights i wish i could have them on all the time other than that it's a golf and even if
01:44the head
01:44of design talks about changes for half an hour just nod politely smile whatever
01:52inside the changes are equally modest okay so there is a new larger infotainment screen
01:58compared to the model i reviewed in early 2020. volkswagen's digitalization process was such a
02:05success that heads rolled this version is called mi b4 and it is an improvement over earlier builds
02:13meanwhile it also turned out that other car brands are not doing very well in this department either
02:19so vw's infotainment system suddenly doesn't look all that bad but it's like explaining that early 1.4
02:26tsi motor wasn't so bad compared to the current 1.2 pure tech anyway there's a new wireless charger which
02:34requires you to take out the phone from a case for it to work cup holders are well one is
02:40okay and the
02:41other one is useless there are large door pockets small storage under the armrest and a medium-sized
02:49glove box but we're not here today to talk about the cosmetic changes in the golf we're here to find
02:55out
02:55how the golf gti drives
03:21the golf gti is available in two versions there is a gti with 265 horsepower and gti club sport with
03:29300
03:30horsepower remember when the golf r had 300 horsepower anyway this is the 265 horsepower standard version
03:37it has 20 more horsepower than the pre-facelet model i don't know how they achieved it in the emissions
03:43cuts era but let's not dwell too much upon it claimed 0 to 100 kilometers per hour time is 5
03:50.9 seconds i
03:51checked and to my surprise i achieved 5.8 seconds in sport mode with launch control but 5.7 seconds
03:59in
04:00normal mode how is this possible i suspect that on a cold foggy wet morning the sport setting of the
04:07traction control which has to be activated for the launch control to work allows too much slip perhaps
04:12in the summer i'd be able to achieve even better results
04:19golf gti and gti club sport have an electronic diff as standard in the bands i feel it help turn
04:25in
04:26and the traction is surprisingly good and this is a front wheel drive car after all the engine and the
04:32gearbox are programmed so that the golf gti is eager to rev and the sound is audible inside and out
04:39this
04:39makes the golf gti feel faster than it really is and it's no slouch anyway when driving fast i can
04:51feel
04:51the whole car working through the steering wheel and the seat i feel that the car is like dancing on
04:59its
04:59toes like a ballerina this means i feel a stronger connection with the gti and at the same time i'm
05:06ready to back off because the car lets me know in advance when things may get out of hand and
05:12i'm
05:12fine with this because i don't like driving fast for the sake of it i prefer a sort of a
05:17dialogue with
05:18the car it's teaching me and i'm learning it that's what's missing in many fast cars today they're like
05:24hammers but not the golf gti the golf gti is like an instrument that you have to learn to play
05:31this test unit has the optional dcc dynamic chassis control and by some miracle it doesn't make the
05:38knocking noises it's been reworked for the golf gti maybe they should rework it for the entire
05:44volkswagen range because dcc knocking usually annoys me greatly in what were never cheap cars
05:54i'm not a fan of how you have to access the drive modes via the screen okay there is a
05:59tiny button
05:59below the air vents but it's so difficult to find without taking your eyes off the road anyway it's
06:05good that at least the physical buttons on the steering wheel are back it seems only the r models
06:10kept the touch buttons because of the special r mode button an interesting feature is the personal
06:16mode in which you can adjust for example sport settings for the steering or the powertrain
06:21but leave the suspension in comfort mode something like ferrari's bad road mode it's a good idea and
06:27this part of the settings can be on the screen just give me a button to toggle it on and
06:32off
06:34visibility is good brakes are effective the driver aids are better than in the facelifted tour reg
06:39i drove a couple of months ago over there for some reason the adaptive cruise control was paired with
06:44the traffic sign recognition system and i was unable to uncouple it since traffic sign recognition is not
06:50infallible the car slowed down or accelerated in inappropriate places every now and then here at
06:56least the adaptive cruise control works properly because the collision warning system acts up just
07:01like in the new tiguan i reviewed recently
07:08the seats are manual although there is lumber support adjustment after about half an hour or so in
07:15the seat i feel my back starts to ache and it's been a while since i felt this in a
07:21car and at the same
07:23time i'm reviewing a competitor with much more comfortable seats so test these on your back during
07:31a longer test drive before you buy other than that the seats offer great lateral support and
07:38i love the way they look claimed fuel economy is just above seven liters per 100 kilometers combined
07:48no way high seven low eight is a great result and
07:53no way high seven miles per cent
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