When you consider that Golfs sell at the rate (as a range) of between
500 and 700 each month, that puts the GTi as the all-time best-selling
performance hatch in South Africa by far.
It is a little-known fact that when
it comes to Golf, the performance versions such as the GTi
and the Golf R account for some
60% of total monthly sales of the
Golf 7.
That’s a situation that has existed for some years now, and
came into being when the GTi
rediscovered its mojo in the fifth
generation of Golf, back around
2005 or so. When you consider
that Golfs sell at the rate (as a
range) of between 500 and 700
each month, that puts the GTi as
the all-time best-selling performance hatch in South Africa by
far. Give or take, say, 300 to 400
a month, that's more than some
marques sell of their entire range
here in car-crazy SA.
What makes the GTi so special? I
can tell you right now that for me
it’s that feeling I get when I slide
into the sports seats, adjust the
steering column to my exact preference, and run my fingers and
thumbs over that leather-covered rim that feels so absolutely
right. I love the fact that the little
bolsters for your thumbs are perfectly-placed, enabling you to rest
them on the wheel and take some
of the tension out of your forearms.
Then there’s the no-nonsense layout of the car. Some motorheads
feel the GTi is too bland, but for
me it has exactly the right amount
of fizz, in the form of the odd bit
of red stitching here, some bright
metal there, to give it a special
feel, but not to make you feel as if
you should be wearing your cap
with the peak facing backwards.
The reason the GTi is under discussion here, a good two years
after it was launched in seventh-gen form, is that Volkswagen launched a version called
the GTi Performance Pack a
couple of months ago. There is
a bit more power, but the major
changes are in the area of how
that power is transmitted tarwards. Funny name for a car, but
what the heck…
The GTI “PP” comes standard
with a variable damping system
known by Volkswagen as Dynamic Chassis Control. Push a
button on the console, then use
the dash-mounted touch screen
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