Stumble It!
Golf GTI still nimble after 30 years
Volkswagen have celebrated thirty
years of the Golf GTI with the launch of the Volkswagen Golf GTI
Edition 30. And if you have been disappointed by the "softness" of
some of the preceding models of GTI, this one is a cracker... a
fire cracker!
Fitted with the optional DSG gearbox. In simple terms the DSG is automatic in that it can be left to select its own gears, but whereas a normal automatic saps power and performance and tends to be less economical than its manual brethren, the DSG is more efficient. Its party trick is that it has two clutches and it predicts and selects the next gear that the driver will want. So your next gear is already pre-engaged, meaning a lightening fast gearchange.
You can select gears by rocking the gearchange backward or forward, or by using the paddles on the back of the steering wheel. But, in reality, I found there was little need to do this. Rather, I tended to leave it in drive most of the time and shift it to sport for twisty
country roads.
In sports mode the gearbox holds down to lower gears and drops down a gear as you brake for corners. This is something I normally dislike about automatics. When you go into a corner on a trailing throttle they will, if anything, change up to a higher gear giving the car an unsettled feeling.
To stabilise the car on a tight corner you really want to change to a lower gear to make the car sit flatter on the road.
With sports mode and full self-preservation instinct engaged, the Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 30 will cover the ground on such 'give and take' roads at a remarkable and safe pace. That added safety margin of ability and controlability is what sets this car apart.
Have you guessed? I want one! To make it perfect I just wish that Volkswagen would make it with their 4Motion four-wheel-drive system.
Fitted with the optional DSG gearbox. In simple terms the DSG is automatic in that it can be left to select its own gears, but whereas a normal automatic saps power and performance and tends to be less economical than its manual brethren, the DSG is more efficient. Its party trick is that it has two clutches and it predicts and selects the next gear that the driver will want. So your next gear is already pre-engaged, meaning a lightening fast gearchange.
You can select gears by rocking the gearchange backward or forward, or by using the paddles on the back of the steering wheel. But, in reality, I found there was little need to do this. Rather, I tended to leave it in drive most of the time and shift it to sport for twisty
country roads.
In sports mode the gearbox holds down to lower gears and drops down a gear as you brake for corners. This is something I normally dislike about automatics. When you go into a corner on a trailing throttle they will, if anything, change up to a higher gear giving the car an unsettled feeling.
To stabilise the car on a tight corner you really want to change to a lower gear to make the car sit flatter on the road.
With sports mode and full self-preservation instinct engaged, the Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 30 will cover the ground on such 'give and take' roads at a remarkable and safe pace. That added safety margin of ability and controlability is what sets this car apart.
Have you guessed? I want one! To make it perfect I just wish that Volkswagen would make it with their 4Motion four-wheel-drive system.
|