SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.


We Get Truly Inspired in the 2015 VW Golf GTI with Performance Pack

Blasts you out faster

Close-up pics by author
Posted: 10 September 2015

The numbers
Price: R452 000
Engine: 1984 cc, DOHC, 16-valve four-cylinder turbo petrol
Power: 169 kW between 4700 and 6200 rpm
Torque: 350 Nm between 1500 and 4600 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 6.4 seconds
Maximum speed: 248 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 9.5 l/100 km
Tank: 50 litres
Luggage: 380 litres
Warranty: 3 years / 120 000 km
Service plan: 5 years / 90 000 km; at 15 000 km intervals

There are few words that do full justice to the emotive impact of VW’s Golf GTI with Performance Pack. I can think of one, but can’t write it here because this is a family website. You know what it is.

It popped out involuntarily as I tucked in neatly after an overtaking manoeuvre begun and executed in less time than it takes to describe. Immediately before that, I had nailed a tight right-hander, calmly and undramatically, far more quickly than I had ever tried to before. My reaction to that had been a simple “wow” because the PP-equipped car’s dynamic chassis control (DCC) and differential lock had made it so effortless.

 Optional 19" Santiago wheel shown

On paper, details of the R20 000 upgrade don’t look like much. It adds seven kilowatts but leaves maximum torque unchanged. The DCC is updated and the differential lock reworked. VW painted all its brake calipers red and added GTI lettering to them. It comes only with the six-speed DSG. They did that so as to be able to tweak the gearbox settings; not an option with manual.

There’s obviously more to it. The added urge is spread over a wider power band (4700 – 6200 vs. 5300 – 6200 previously) and maximum torque begins and ends slightly sooner (1500 – 4600 vs. 1700 – 5200 on the “plain” car). The differences you may or may not feel equate to one-tenth of a second quicker from zero to 100 km/h and a further four clicks at the top end. In-gear acceleration feels quicker too.

This second-generation DCC, optional on the standard car, manages damping continuously by regulating shock absorber valves via a control algorithm. It offers three driving modes; "Comfort", "Normal" and "Sport".  The latter stiffens damping to tighten body movement, while configuring engine response and DSG shift points more aggressively. In conjunction with existing engine and steering response settings, there are five modes altogether. The others are labelled “Eco” and “Individual”. 

An interesting point is that, when pulling the shift lever back against its spring-loaded detent, you switch either between Sport and Drive or Sport and Eco; dependent on whether you selected Eco or Normal mode in the first place. But honestly, how often will you drive in Eco mode? It softens responses to the levels of ordinary cars - and who actually wants that? I foresee most owners activating it only occasionally, to score themselves numbers to use while lying, straight-faced around the barbeque fire, about fuel economy they supposedly get all the time.

As for the electronic diff. lock, I’ll leave you to look up the long explanation on the internet at: www.vwvortex.com/news/volkswagen-news/volkswagen-golf-7-gti-press-materials/.  The short version is that it reduces acceleration-related understeer, almost completely eliminates torque steer, keeps tracking neutral, grips like sausage to a griddle and blasts you out of bends faster. Hence: “Wow”- or maybe some other word.
 
Brakes: Apart from the red paint job and GTI branding, they are bigger than on the regular car – now 340 x 30 mm in front and 310 x 22 mm (vented) at the rear vs. 314 x 30 and 300 x 12 (solid). While on the subject of red paint, this special model’s GTI lettering on hatch lid and wings is done in that colour too; just to show other road users who’s Boss.
 
As far as standard equipment and the user experience goes, I covered that in my 2013 review of the manual version of the standard GTI. There’s no point in repeating it here, so read about it at the end of this link.

It’s probable that more singles than parents will buy this vehicle. Solid construction and safety kit aside, it’s too seductive to drive economically and too pricey for most young families burdened with child-related expenses. Another thought is that momentary parental lapses could unwittingly teach little children poor future driving behaviour.

VWSA explained that a primary reason for offering this version is that 60 percent of Golf sales go to GTI and R versions, so there’s obviously a market for them. And news just in, is that a 195 kilowatt, 40th Anniversary Clubsport GTI is to be released in Britain early next year. It would be nice if some arrived here too.

Test car from VWSA press fleet

Standard GTI shown

New logo

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.

Comments?
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