VW Golf GTI is Official

Caution! The following might read like an advertisement. VW has made the 2009 Golf GTI MK6 official, offering a production vehicle nearly identical to the Paris "concept". Needless to say, I like it!

I'm a big fan of VW's totally cool Scirocco, and I can see a bit of influence from it in VW's latest and greatest GTI. No doubt that's what VW was aiming for.

Unfortunately, the Scirocco's presence in the U.S is still up in the air; VW is rumored to be reconsidering their no decision but there hasn't been any information about in a while.

Interior changes are miminal over the standard car, offering standard plaid seating with optional leather, aluminum pieces and a new, flat-bottomed steering wheel.

The Golf GTI turns the dial up a bit on aggressiveness compared to the outgoing model, and certainly over the standard Golf. While I like both, the GTI definitely would be the Golf for me, even with my usually luxury-tilted slant. Adnan did an excellent writeup on the standard Golf Mark 6 GT in his review a few months back.

There are changes under the hood as well. For 2009 the Golf GTI gains 10 HP over it's predecessor, producing 210HP and 206 lb-feet of torque from it's turbocharged 2.0L in-line 4-cylinder. Top speed is 149 mph (240 km/h) and the dash to 60 (100 km/h) comes in 6.9 seconds.

Like before, the GTI will be offered with an optional 6-speed DSG transmission as an alternative to the standard 6-speed manual.

A new option for the Golf GTI this time around is Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), VW's automatic distance control system. Other optional features include Park Assist (the car parks itself!) and bi-xenon headlights with curved lighting.

The luxury car features available on these small cars are amazing! Sticker prices can get way up there! The Europeans like them loaded. We're starting to see the U.S trending that way now as well, with more and more high-end features being offered.

Evolutionary, not revolutionary is the name of the game for the latest GTI. It's set to go on sale in German markets in a week; European markets after Easter and North American/Asian markets to follow late this summer. I'm really impressed; the GTI has got to be my favorite of the "hot hatches". VW has been turning out great products lately. Good work VW!