Mk8.5 VW Golf GTI Review: A Better GTI, But Still Lacks Something

Time has impacted the Volkswagen Golf GTI in the same way it has many of us. Once a bastion of fun in a tiny package, it’s gradually gotten bigger, heavier, more accustomed to refinement and ultimately more sensible than it once was – for better or worse.

Aside from brief excursions with the somewhat unhinged Mk5 and utterly sublime Mk7.5, this culminated in the arrival of the Mk8 GTI in 2020 when the cracks started to show.

Although a critique of the Golf rather than the GTI specifically, it had begun to lag behind on the sensibilities. The hatch was immediately marred with issues with its infotainment software which it relied so heavily on, the baffling and hateful introduction of haptic steering wheel buttons plus a general sense that Volkswagen had lost its way a little in quality. The Golf was no longer the gold standard of the family hatchback, and that was a worry.

While the GTI could never be expected to suddenly fix all those issues, it at least gave us hope of injecting some real fun and excitement into the mix off the back of the Mk7.5. Yet, following that same theme, something appeared to have been lost.

Although the EA888 four-pot was carried over practically unchanged, weight was increased, resulting in a car that felt no more progressed in performance. Combined with a refined chassis but ultimately quite muted handling, the result was a quick enough Golf but that strayed furthest from the GTI badge since the Mk4 first arrived.

It’d have to be a heck of a turnaround for the 8.5 to bring the Golf back to its ways and to its credit, Volkswagen achieved that with the base car. Many of its technical kinks were ironed out with new software, gone were those awful buttons and there was a general sense that the Golf had found its way once more.

So with the arrival of the Mk8.5 GTI, it’s guaranteed to be a better Golf, but is it a better GTI?

Well, Volkswagen has tried adding more power to manage that. The 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot is now producing 261bhp, albeit with torque still pinned at 273lb ft.

That gets sent through a seven-speed DSG gearbox exclusively, as we come to the first stumbling block for the Mk8.5. There’s no manual, and with emissions regulations being the way they are, there never will be again.

A shame, as the manual was a small glimmer of light on the previous car. That increased power does mean it feels notably faster than before, and though the DSG is quick with its changes, it does feel uninvolved – even if you try to convince yourself the steering wheel paddles on the back are worth playing with.

While the stronger engine does heighten the fun a little, it’s going through the same muted chassis as before. Its electric power steering still feels more like you’re turning a wheel on a Sega Rally arcade machine rather than being directly connected to the front wheels of a hot hatch. Something is happening, it just doesn’t feel all that involved.

It’s perfectly compliant and capable, particularly so with the optional Dynamic Chassis Control (a must-have in our opinion) but it struggles to break past sensibility. You can throw it around, but it never seems to want you to. It’s a better GTI, but still far from the best.

At least it looks the part. Changes to the Mk8.5 GTI include restyled bumpers which add a bit of aggression, and delightful Alfa Romeo-esque alloy wheels – a comparison we think Volkswagen shouldn’t be too upset with. 

Oh, and it now comes with a light-up front VW badge so the world can see exactly what you’re driving even in the darkest of conditions. A little cheesy, but no doubt to some people’s tastes.

More welcome are the things you’ll actually use. As with the rest of the range, there’s now a 12.9-inch infotainment system as seen in many other VW group cars which, although probably a little too big, works much smoother and better than before.

Its ChatGPT inclusion leaves a lot of room for improvement – seemingly incapable of doing much more than answering amusing questions – although it’s not something I’d expect anyone to ever use other than for the sake of it.

I must also once again praise the return of physical buttons on the steering wheel which solve the biggest gripe of accidentally pressing things on the old car. Now if only we could have the same for the climate control…

All of these changes do lead to a more expensive Golf GTI, however. It starts at £40,025, coming in at £43,830 as tested with DCC and a few extra goodies. Then again, a Ford Focus ST is no cheaper for the remaining few months you can buy one of those and its only other direct rivals are VW Group internal in the form of the Skoda Octavia vRS and Cupra Leon for similar money.

If you’d held off on a Mk8 in the hopes of the 8.5 bringing the VW Golf GTI back to its greatest heights, you’re going to be left a little cold. However, there’s no doubt it’s an improvement overall – so don’t completely write it off.