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The editors at TheCarConnection.com have driven the 2010 Volkswagen GTI to bring you this hands-on review of its styling, performance, features, safety and comfort. Along with the road test, editors researched opinions from other respected Web sites to bring you a comprehensive full review of the new VW GTI for 2010.
Likes:
- Tossable handling
- Settled, controlled ride quality
- Dual-clutch transmission
- Good fuel economy
Dislikes:
- Somewhat dowdy styling
- Two-door's difficult rear-seat entry
- costly round of Golf
While its Golf companion undergoes a name change for 2010, VW's GTI stays pretty much the same for the new model year. Aside from the sheetmetal changes that accompany the new Golf lineup, the GTI retains its entertaining handling, sweet turbocharged engine, and available dual-clutch transmission, as well as a choice of three- and five-door hatchback body styles. The new GTI carries a base price of $23,290 and competes against the likes of the Honda Civic Si, MazdaSpeed3, and MINI Cooper.The 2010 Volkswagen GTI hatchbacks share the same basic styling as the lesser Golf-which is to say, upright and a little dowdy, compared to the likes of the Mazdaspeed3, though the three-door is the less frumpy of the pair. It's all in the details, distinguishing the GTI from the new Golf. The new wider grille gets a black honeycomb texture and a GTI badge, along with the traditional red-stripe outline. Black side skirts, new tail lamps, and a body-color hatchback-mounted spoiler hint at the performance under the newly creased hood. Inside the GTI, there are traditional plaid seats, a flat-bottomed three-spoke steering wheel in leather and aluminum with red stitching, and tidy GTI badges sprinkled around the cabin and on the deeply sculpted sport seats. The interior's been cleaned up for the new model year, and a big LCD screen dominates the center stack and controls a new audio setup. VW's distinct touch for high-quality interiors is evident here, with lots of richly textured plastic and soft-touch surfaces.
