VW Golf VI GTI - The Call of the Lake

Updated



It's here at last. The wet dream of all GTI aficionados has just experienced its sixth Paris reincarnation.

The big surprise (as expected) was that there was no surprise. Obviously, the red-rimmed radiator grille and the traditional patterned seats had to put in an appearance. Apart from that, very much the usual routine. Oh, I almost forgot. The engine has been beefed up by an extra 10bhp. Super. VW bolt a 210bhp engine into a compact car and the whole world falls about in raptures. Not me, I'm afraid. After all, it's not the only compact sports car. Perhaps I was just born without the GTI chromosome or I've spent too little time socialising with the Wörthersee crew.

Whether this version packs enough decibels per buck for the intended clientele, I really don't know. Your average DIY-happy GTI freak isn't going to be overly concerned anyway. So it seems the sixth generation of the new-age cult that is the Golf is fated to succeed. Fated to be lined up with its predecessors, visually violated and acoustically assaulted at the Lake Wörther rally. I also expect the same sad fate to befall the Scirocco. But as I said before, it's not the only compact sports car...

Advertisement