2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI DSG Review

The Volkswagen Golf GTI is the iconic hot hatch. While it wasn’t the first hot hatch in existence, it is the car credited with making them mainstream and since then, countless rivals have been developed to take on the daddy, as it’s known. While there have been hotter hatches, more stylish hot hatches, more luxurious hot hatches and cheaper hot hatches, none has ever captured the all-round ability of the Golf GTI. With the launch of the latest version, the Mk8, Volkswagen has apparently launched a stronger all-rounder than ever before. Has it succeeded? We tested the 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI to find out. 

The hot hatch market has somewhat dwindled in recent times, but there’s still a lot of competition including the Ford Focus ST, Toyota GR Yaris, Hyundai i30 N, BMW 128ti and Renault Megane RS in the hot hatch world – let alone similarly-priced performance options such as the Subaru WRX and Mazda6 2.5L turbo and even rivalry from inside the Volkswagen Group, including the Skoda Octavia RS and Superb 206TSI, Passat and Arteon 206TSI and incoming Cupra Leon. 

Price & Equipment: 7/10

Priced at $54,490 plus on-road costs (around $61,000 drive away, depending on your location), the Mk8 version of the Golf GTI is not cheap – it’s a good $8,000 more expensive than the Mk7.5 – but it does have a lot of standard equipment. 

Equipment includes 18-inch alloy wheels with adaptive damping, a limited-slip differential, all-LED lighting, tri-zone climate control, rear vents, heated and auto-folding mirrors, keyless entry and start, a 10.0-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation, digital radio, a six-speaker sound system, four USB-C ports, a wireless charger, a digital driver’s display, the GTI hallmark tartan cloth upholstery, a meaty leather steering wheel, selectable driving modes and an alarm.

Safety kit includes eight airbags, auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian, cyclist and intersection assist, rear auto braking, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, lane keep assist with lane trace assist, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, driver attention monitoring, automatic post-collision braking, tyre pressure monitoring, a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, emergency assist, exit warning assist and auto high beam. 

Paint options include ‘Moonstone Grey’, ‘Pure White’, ‘Atlantic Blue’, ‘Dolphin Grey’, ‘Deep Black’ and for $300 extra, the ‘Kings Red’ on our test car. The standard cloth trim is the famous GTI tartan upholstery while our test car was fitted with the $3,900 Luxury Package, which adds black/red/grey leather upholstery. 

The Luxury Package also adds heated and cooled front seats, a heated steering wheel, a 10-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat with memory functionality and a sunroof. Also available is the $1,500 Sound and Vision Package, which adds a heads-up display and a 480W 10-speaker Harman Kardon sound system. All up, our loaded test car was priced at $66,300 drive away. Ouch.

Just three years ago, a Mk7.5 Golf GTI Original – which has largely the same mechanicals, albeit with less equipment – was available as an auto for comfortably less than $40,000 drive away (with the manual even less), with the regular GTI in final Mk7.5 form hitting around $55,000 drive away fully loaded. Is the Mk8 worth a minimum $11,000 extra spend? Not in our opinion – especially when such good competitors are available for less money.

The Hyundai i30 N – now available with a new eight-speed dual-clutch auto – tops out at $57,000 drive away fully loaded and while the Renault Megane RS – with 221kW and even rear-wheel steering – tops out at $69,000 fully loaded and both options are more serious and quicker than the GTI. The BMW 128ti – the Mk8 GTI’s closest rival – is priced at an almost identical $60,000 drive away (plus options) with a more premium interior. 

Performance & Economy: 8/10

Under the bonnet of the 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI is the familiar ‘EA888’ engine that does duty in a plethora of Volkswagen Group products. In this tune, it produces 180kW of power (@6,200rpm) and 370Nm of torque (between 1,600rpm-4,300rpm) and in Australia, is mated solely to a seven-speed ‘DSG’ dual-clutch automatic transmission. As with all other Golf GTIs, this car is front-wheel drive – if you want all-wheel drive, wait for the incoming 235kW Golf R. Australia missed out on the updated EA888 “gen 4” engine offered in the European Golf GTI sadly due to our poor fuel quality. Instead we make do with the “gen 3” engine, identical to the one on the Mk7.5 Golf GTI.

It must be said that regardless of which car we drive it in and whichever tune it has, the EA888 engine is an absolute gem. It sounds great, it’s got a meaty torque band and it can also be relatively fuel efficient in the right circumstances. While it does have a touch of turbo lag, when the turbo is on song, the GTI really is a quick car and feels faster than its claimed 6.4 second 0-100km/h time. That’s largely due to how widespread the torque is – its peak 370Nm is available from 1,600 to 4,300rpm and peak 180kW of power hits not long afterwards. 

The only transmission option now is a seven-speed dual-clutch auto that does duty in – you guessed it – a plethora of other Volkswagen Group cars. When you’re driving normally, the transmission does a reasonable job with a generally intuitive nature, though it can get caught out by sudden low speed throttle inputs and the typically hesitant low-speed foibles still exist. But when you’re on it, flipping through the gears with the paddle shifters, the transmission is lightning bolt fast and fun to use. It’s no six-speed manual, though… c’mon, Volkswagen Australia! 

Volkswagen claims that the Golf GTI will use 7.0L/100km and in our mostly urban testing, we achieved 9.4L/100km – though prior experience with this car tells us that it will give highway consumption around the 6.0L/100km mark. Like other hot hatches, you must fill it with minimum 95RON premium unleaded and it has a 50-litre fuel tank.

Ride & Handling: 8/10

Built on the same MQB platform as the previous generation Golf – and a plethora of other Volkswagen Group products – the 2022 Volkswagen Golf takes a familiar dynamic path to its Mk7.5 father. Like before, the Mk8 is a fabulous everyday hot hatch thanks to a sublime ride quality, meaty but light enough steering and excellent visibility. As before, the hot hatch Golf feels like, well, a Golf.

Take the GTI on to a more demanding road, however, and more hot hatch-ness is revealed. Thanks to its limited-slip differential and quick ‘progressive’ steering rack, the GTI tackles corners with both ease and a big fun factor. It feels planted in the typically Golf way but also light on its feet – especially in sport mode with its firmer dampers. It changes direction well and while an i30 N or Megane RS are ultimately more communicative and fun to drive, the Golf GTI is far more comfortable than those competitors. But it’s definitely more fun to drive than the Mk7.5 Golf. 

Centre of that improvement in handling ability is Volkswagen’s new ‘Vehicle Dynamics Manager’, which syncs the mechanical diff, electronic diff and adaptive suspension instead of having them run independently of one another. There’s also a new aluminium front suspension subframe that increases stiffness and reduces weight by 3kg, while the spring rates have been increased by five and 15 per cent respectively for greater handling. 

Only slight torque steer and loud road noise levels take a shine off the driving experience – the latter is more evidence of cost cutting at Volkswagen HQ. 

Interior & Practicality: 8/10

As we found in our review of the standard Mk8 Golf, Volkswagen has gone for a minimalist look this time around for the Golf. As we found again, that’s for both better and for worse – the cabin is more futuristic looking this time around than the conservative Mk7, but the lack of proper buttons is frustrating, especially for those learning its systems.

In addition, the quality inside the Mk8 GTI has definitely been taken down a notch in comparison to the Mk7.5 – which was taken down a notch in comparison to the Mk6. Put simply, a Mazda3’s cabin feels more expensive thanks to the Golf’s use of hard plastics on most surfaces. Further evidence of cost cutting includes no gas bonnet strut and a patchy paint job under the bonnet. 

Thankfully, the minimalist cabin design has unlocked more practicality with big flock-lined door bins, a big glovebox, a reasonable centre console box, a big centre console storage area and an oddly-shaped cupholder area that’s worryingly close to the starter button, hand brake and gear selector if liquid were to be spilt. 

Centre of the cabin is a 10.0-inch touchscreen that features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation and digital radio, while a wireless charger and four USB-C ports surround occupants with charging options. The centre screen itself is crisp and quick to touch, but the software is frustrating at times. 

Why so? The screen layouts are wrong, while moving from screen to screen can take too many steps. It’s just not intuitive to the driver and can be dangerous and it’s particularly disappointing when the Mk7.5 Golf’s screens were great in comparison – their layout was simpler and the rear camera quality was better. There’s also no dedicated volume knob – drivers must use a touch pad located at the bottom of the screen, which is difficult to do while driving. Resorting to the steering wheel controls isn’t much better either, as they’re touchpads as well! 

Thankfully, the Golf remains spacious for a small hatchback. While not quite as roomy as an i30 N, the back seat of the Golf is totally fine for two six-footers and it’s well featured as well with rear vents, a separate climate zone, big flock-lined door bins, map pockets with dedicated phone slots, two USB-C charging ports, an armrest with cup holders and a ski pass through. We’d like to see heated seats back there, though.

The boot of the Golf GTI measures 374-litres with the seats up and 1,260L with them folded – 6L/10L respectively less than the Mk7.5 Golf – the i30’s measures 381L and the Megane’s is 434L, for reference. The boot is well featured with hooks, storage and a boot floor that can be lowered for more storage. Underneath the lower boot floor is a space-saver spare wheel. 

Service & Warranty: 6/10

Like other Volkswagen products, the 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty with one year of roadside assistance. Five years/75,000km of servicing costs a huge $3,366 ($673 per service). Buyers can choose a pre-paid service plan as well – five years/75,000km is $2,450 ($490 per service). 

Both the Hyundai and Renault also feature five year/unlimited km warranties and their service intervals differ as well – the i30’s is a shorter 10,000km distance, while the Megane’s is a longer 20,000km distance. Servicing the i30 N over five years (/50,000km) costs $1,675 ($335 per service), while the Megane costs $3,702 to service up to 100,000km ($740 per service), which is even more expensive than the Golf GTI, but that’s to a longer 100,000km. 

The 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI DiscoverAuto Rating: 7.4/10

The 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI is a genuinely interesting car that offers the same qualities that Golf GTIs traditionally have always offered. It’s a great all-rounder with excellent comfort and practicality, lots of standard equipment, a strong engine and the latest in in-car tech. It’s also got newfound dynamic sparkle thanks to a sharper front end and new sporting tech. 

But unlike Golfs of the past, it’s also further from perfect than rivals. Volkswagen’s cost cutting is more evident than ever with a noticeable downgrade in material quality compared with the previous model, its pricing is higher than ever – our test car was almost $70,000 drive away – and the infotainment system ultimately needs a big refresh because it’s just not intuitive to use at all. The Golf GTI remains an excellent all-rounder but ultimately, there are better offerings in the hot hatch segment that excite more, are better value for money and are ultimately more desirable.