New VW Golf GTI arrives with 20 PS more power

Here it is, the all-new Volkswagen Golf GTI, arriving with 20 PS more power than the outgoing hot-hatch.

VW has been teasing the updated GTI since the beginning of the year and we spotted it in disguised form back in January.

We already knew it was going to have much more aggressive exterior styling than before, coming with a large rear diffuser and bad-boy exhaust pipes that’d swallow an orange.

Now we can confirm that VW has handed its Golf GTI power of 265 PS, which is a rise of 20 PS compared with its predecessor.

The newcomer is capable of sprinting from zero to 62 mph in just 5.9 seconds - a significant improvement on the old GTI’s acceleration time of 6.3 seconds.

Besides the powertrain, everyone’s favourite hatchback has been ‘comprehensively enhanced’ both inside and out.

There are new IQ.LIGHT LED matrix headlights as well as an illuminated Volkswagen logo at the front and redesigned LED tail light clusters. Impressive 18-inch ‘Richmond’ alloy wheels catch the eye, too.

The cabin gets a free-standing 12.9-inch touchscreen with VW’s voice assistant and artificial intelligence ChatGPT integration. Premium sports seats with the iconic GTI check pattern and red stitching are, obviously, par for the course.

Lease customers can expect a seven-speed direct-shift gearbox (DSG) as standard and manual paddles on the steering wheel, while heated seats, a rear-view camera, adaptive cruise control and lane assist are all fitted as standard.

Prices for the VW Golf GTI begin at £38,900 to buy outright while leasing rivals will include long-standing competitors like the CUPRA Leon, BMW 128ti and Audi S3.

If you want some hybrid wizardry to go with your performance, you’ll also want to take a look at two other Golf variants that are being added to the line-up this month.

The updated ‘eHybrid’ is a plug-in hybrid with power of 204 PS and an electric range of up to 89 miles between charges - which is extremely generous for the class. An attractive Benefit in Kind (BiK) rate of just five per cent will also appeal to company car drivers.

The VW Golf GTE is the hot hybrid (above). 

It uses the same 1.5-litre TSI petrol engine and 19.7 kWh battery as the regular eHybrid, but here the power is upped to 272 PS while the electric-only range is still decent at 82 miles.

The entry-level VW Golf eHybrid features include three-zone air con, lane assist and traffic jam assist.

Meanwhile the full-fat Golf GTE gets keyless entry, heated front seats, tinted glass, and front fog lamps.

Order books for the VW Golf GTI, VW Golf eHybrid and VW Golf GTE open later this month - and we’ll bring you leasing prices as soon as we can.

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