Surprisingly Strong and Vice-Free Power - 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI Long-Term Road Test

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Surprisingly Strong and Vice-Free Power - 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI Long-Term Road Test

The 210 hp in the 2015 Volkswagen GTI is strong and perfectly suitable. It's just the right amount of power without going overboard.

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juddholl10

Really happy to hear that the GTI continues to set itself apart with its polite manners. I wouldn't even touch the ST, the 3, or any other hot hatch. Except for the GTI, they're all crude in design and execution. This car's subjectively more boring approach actually makes it more attractive in the long-term, and the new (actually old from Audi) 2.0T elevates the whole experience.

bankerdanny

VW routinely underrates the power its engines make, so it doesn't surprise me that the GTI feels as strong and posts acceleration numbers as good or better than the supposedly more powerful Focus ST.

fordson1

In a GTI, you generally use the fuel cutoff as a redline, and that's at 7k. But there's no reason to take it that high.

Since it posted an almost 5 mph higher trap speed than the Focus ST, it's pretty apparent that it's making more power, not less.

"No lack of power at low rpm..." peak torque is listed as 1,500 rpm, right?

Not sure why this car's power curve characteristics surprised you - basically the same as in the last two generations, back to 2006. And your test is one of the later ones for this car...I imagine you've probably read many of the earlier ones already - ?

mercedesfan

The 2.0T is a seriously impressive engine, but it has been for many years. Not quite sure why the performance here was so surprising. What is a pleasant surprise with the EA888 Gen 3 is the sound. I've always found the 2.0T to be particularly unpleasant sounding as far as German 4-bangers go (it did sound a heckuva lot better than most American and Japanese efforts). With the new A3 and GTI, though, VW has tuned a pleasing growl into things and removed the buzziness so prevalent in the Mk5 and Mk6.

ducky10

My 2010 mark 6 GTI makes a nice growl aided by the addition of a Neuspeed intake. My wife's 2013 Golf R (and its potent version of the first 2.0t EA 113) simply sounds great.

emajor

It's a lovely engine. Anyone unaccustomed to VW's underrating of the power figures for their 2.0T will be surprised by the performance. The first time you catapult from a light you know it has more than 210hp.

allthingshonda

mercedesfan said:

The 2.0T is a seriously impressive engine, but it has been for many years. Not quite sure why the performance here was so surprising. What is a pleasant surprise with the EA888 Gen 3 is the sound. I've always found the 2.0T to be particularly unpleasant sounding as far as German 4-bangers go (it did sound a heckuva lot better than most American and Japanese efforts). With the new A3 and GTI, though, VW has tuned a pleasing growl into things and removed the buzziness so prevalent in the Mk5 and Mk6.

Have to disagree. Honda has always made 4 cylinders that sound great. Matter of fact, when they introduced VTEC the sound from the engine when VTEC made the switch was so good you wanted to run it to redline over and over. For years Honda 4 cylinders were smoother than most V6's.

veedubber86

allthingshonda said:

Have to disagree. Honda has always made 4 cylinders that sound great. Matter of fact, when they introduced VTEC the sound from the engine when VTEC made the switch was so good you wanted to run it to redline over and over. For years Honda 4 cylinders were smoother than most V6's.

I like the immediate power from the VW 2.0T far better than having to rev the bejeesus out of a VTEC engine every time I want to go fast. My dad had an 01 Acura 3.2TL for a while, which felt about as quick as my VW in normal driving, but it was crazy fast at high RPM. The only problem is I only ever drove it like that once or twice. Speed just feels more effortless in the 2.0T, and you're right in the power every time the light turns green.

mercedesfan

@allthingshonda,

I definitely do not agree, but to each his own obviously. I think Honda 4-cylinders are the epitome of unpleasant 4-banger sound. They are just angry beehives with no depth or complexity to their sound.

fordson1

allthingshonda said:

mercedesfan said:

The 2.0T is a seriously impressive engine, but it has been for many years. Not quite sure why the performance here was so surprising. What is a pleasant surprise with the EA888 Gen 3 is the sound. I've always found the 2.0T to be particularly unpleasant sounding as far as German 4-bangers go (it did sound a heckuva lot better than most American and Japanese efforts). With the new A3 and GTI, though, VW has tuned a pleasing growl into things and removed the buzziness so prevalent in the Mk5 and Mk6.

Have to disagree. Honda has always made 4 cylinders that sound great. Matter of fact, when they introduced VTEC the sound from the engine when VTEC made the switch was so good you wanted to run it to redline over and over. For years Honda 4 cylinders were smoother than most V6's.

This is what Honda lovers all say, along with how much fun it is to shift their manual transmissions.

To their credit, Honda has taken the things you HAVE to do constantly in their four-cylinder cars - run them to redline and shift a lot - and made them pleasurable.