I owned and “tracked” many cars from, C5 Corvette Z06 , M3, Camaro SS 1 LE, EVO X, Miata Club and was looking for next fun car..never owned a Gti, after watching this I bought 24 GTI SE 380 manual :) BEST decision ever! So far, I wouldn’t trade it for any of my previous cars, that good 👌
The VW GTi will always be a special car to me because it was my very first car. In 1990 I bought a silver 1984 GTi and I'll never forget that plaid interior; complete with the lower gauge pod and crank sunroof. My earliest car experiences were with that car and as great as it was, VW seems to have really built upon that already good platform to make an incredible "hot hatch". Great review Miles. Thank you.
I have the S trim. Agree, it’s an incredible value. I personally think it’s the best value car out there. I only slightly wish I’d have gotten the 40th, but I’m an older female and think the 40th has a little too much younger vibe - with the decals & such. If I drove more, I’d have spent the extra money for the SE with keyless entry. But I don’t drive much anymore & 6 thousand for keyless entry is a bit much. And for those looking, the SE has more goodies, but the only thing that I wish the S had is keyless entry. I don’t care about the other stuff. Anyway, I’m 60 years old and this is my favorite car I’ve ever owned. Highly recommend it.
I have the 40th 6 speed in Urano Gray. I would have gotten the S if not for the 40th showing up. Keyless entry is okay. I traded a 2021 Corolla Hatchback w/6 speed for the GTI. It had keyless entry. It is cool, but not $6,000. worth, like you said. The Corolla was a great and fun car. But the GTI is much more satisfying and even more fun. GTI’s are fun at all ages.
Thank you for not spending 12 min of your review complaining about the infotainment system like many other reviewers do. Just recently discovered your channel and it’s awesome! Subscribed.
Got the 40th edition in Canada. Absolutely love it. Dampers, wheels, HK audio, no sunroof, comfy seats, handles amazing. Quick and gets close to 30mpg mixed driving. All it needs is a tune, sticky tires and a slight drop.
You can turn ESC and traction control off in this model by touching the globe in the upper left corner of the screen and selecting the ESC. You don't actually have to dig into the menus to do it. FYI for any potential buyers. 👍
Car scalpers are holding all of the Honda SI hostage and trying to sell them for $35k. This vehicle is now cheaper than the SI where I live and looks far more fun to drive. Going to test drive one this week. Then I will have part 2 of my review.
I’ve got a manual cayman 718 and have just ordered the GTI S 380 (with manual and dynamic suspension and summer tires). I drove the S yesterday and loved the gearbox for a daily driver. It’s not up to Porsche standards of course, but it’s better for a daily and 100% better than the manual in the BMW M3.
5th generation was the best design. I sold mine to a friend that needed a car. When I sold it it had 270,000 km on the dial. Terrific car in all seasons when equipped with summer and or winter tires.🥶
8:15-8:55 I completely understand your point here. But it’s not really about the “transmission” being bad. It’s more about the shifting and clutch factory components being too “soft”, “spongy”, and not very “engaging”. Lo and behold though, these components can be upgraded, and when they are, the manual experience becomes very good. The downside is the cost to make them good though, as clutches are not cheap on this car, and labor rates at Euro shops (if not doing the work yourself) are also more expensive, in general. I have a MK7 GTI S 6spd, and all the clutch and manual components have been upgraded. Getting a suitable clutch, weighted shift knob, and most importantly, a quality short shift kit, makes shifts in this car very short, notchy, and engaging. I love my setup on my GTI, but it did cost me ~ 1900 all said and done. That’s a lot of $$, I know. But totally worth it for the experience.
Hey Miles, great review! It looks like a perfect daily. How come you double clutch on downshifts? I thought that was only needed on older cars with worn synchros.
I didn’t notice the double clutch. I simply blip the throttle, just a bit, while the clutch is “in” (disengaged) on the way to the next lower gear. I get it right most of the time. I traded a Corolla Hatchback with a rev matching 6 speed for my 40th and I do miss that feature, but not a deal breaker. I don’t think double clutching is necessary, I certainly hope not.
I have a MK6 GTI with a 6-speed manual, and I absolutely adore it. Having been around the MK8, the driving dynamics are incredible, and the new safety features are excellent. However, that interior is such a setback. The capacitive touch steering wheel is obnoxious, and the materials are inferior to my old car. Compared to the MK7 interior, it's a slaughter. I hope that the 8.5 fixes the interior, because, currently, it's a total deal breaker for me.
Traded my 7.5 for an 8 about a month ago. I love the interior & the entire interface. I personally think the 8 is an improvement over the 7 in every way. And I really, really, loved my 7.
The infotainment is great IMO as well. No serious issues. You say the haptic steering wheel is obnoxious. Does this mean you've had experience with it? Because I don't. I find it works great and don't find it easy to accidentally push anything. The slider volume "haptic" steering button is a nice feature as well. Climate control is one shortcut button and not complicated. Yes I agree this new all screen set up isn't ideal but I think in this car they did it pretty well. Test drive one for yourself and make the decision. Don't just take reviewers and people who repeat the reviewers'words for it. For comparison, I was also in the market for the new BRZ. The interior looks good design wise but the materials are much cheaper looking. The center touch screen had 10 year old looking graphics and not great resolution. And the center dashes' all digital displays was small and less interesting. Still drove great and can't go wrong with any of the cars in this class really. If you put a high priority on these things that's fine but I don't think this interior deserves the level of hate it gets.
It’s a shame that honda doesn’t make anything to compete with the gti. 201hp is peppy for around town but it’s a big gap for the next level up being 315hp
For very little more a 40th Anniversary and 380 Edition manual are the way to go. They're based on the S spec but add adaptive suspension and much better wheels.
I'm sorry, but it's coming down to this nowadays: The GTI gets at least 27MPGs on regular fuel. The Civic's power deficiency makes up for it with 31 MPGs but on premium fuel so it's a wash compared to the GTI, and the others at 23 and 22 MPGs on premium are a dealbreaker as well. In an era of inflation and fluctuating fuel prices, the type of fuel, MPGs, and range are deciding factors, for me.
If you're ultimate deciding feature is mpg why are you even shopping in the hot hatch/sedan segment? Not to be rude but these cars aren't for you, you're far better off in a hybrid Corolla.
Had the TDI but VW bought it back when the emissions thing happened. Was so much fun and always planned to replace it and now must I guess! I hear 24 will be the last of the manual transmission. That sucks. EU be like you will own nothing, go nowhere, have no fun, and be happy. May have to look to the land of the rising sun cause Germany’s sun has set Lol.
I'd be going the Elantra N by miles compared to its competition. It's that good it's comparable to the Honda Civic type R . Personally I think the new facelift looks worse than the current model.. but yeah Elantra N is by far the best car if you're going to put it in this segment.
Not the best at all. Probably the quickest in the segment but that’s where it’s advantage ends. Build quality, useful technology, reputation, community, and more are all better points of the VW.
@@WaveManMike that's laughable. On track the Elantra N blows them all away. Suspension, brakes, steering , front diff, exhaust, driver engagement and chassis is significantly superior to all these cars mentioned. I've driven the new golf r and Elantra N (i30n sedan here in Australia) and the N is by far the better car to drive. More fun. Sure build quality of interior might be slightly less than a VW , although the new VW interior tech and ergonomics are shocking. Infotainment is that bad the guy in charge of rolling it out has been sacked. Tech is better in Elantra and easier to access with buttons in the right places. There's also significantly more features in the Elantra N as standard, especially here in Australia.. The N community down here is huge as well as EU and UK. Just hasn't caught on in America yet. It's in another segment and can't be compared to these cars. The Elantra N is comparable to the Honda Civic Type R, Golf R etc. The GTI is a nice comfy sporty hatch and that's where it ends.
EN IS A MONSTER! BUT BARLEY BEATS MY SI. So idk if I would trade to get it now only for the DCT. Best Korean car rn but only thE DCT the manual is avg and very mid . Definitely gets mopped by a TYPE R . Check my review on SamCARLEGION , vid type r FL5 vs Manual EN . Not fair .
@@mharro88 I haven’t driven an Elantra N on a track so I cannot speak on handling but as far as acceleration for example the Elantra N does not touch the Golf R in the real world. Use launch control on the MK8 and see what I mean. The infotainment system does have a learning curve but once you are used to it, it is actually quite easy to use. The physical buttons don’t matter as much once you learn the shortcuts and voice commands.
I’m actually going to put summer tires on mine. Not being a car person, I’m not sure what to get. Any recommendations? I live in FL, so no need for winter performance
Nice vid! Just subbed. Your videos are really good! Best pov reviews out there! And this is random, but is a huracan STO comfortable enough to daily drive and how is is the ride and comfort on the highway and around town? Thanks
Why would anyone bother getting this? The mustang ecoboost performance pack makes 330 hp 350 lb/ft tq and looks way better with better handling and RWD
@@BrayZap I know, im saying other people need or want a 4 door. VW found their customers wanted the 4 door more, so they discontinued the 2 door. I never said you need a 4 door, you asked why anyone would bother getting this. Kids, corporate use, haul things, RWD isnt practical, would rather have the V8 mustang and not the secretary mustang, maybe they like european cars, lots of reasons.
@@bucknut2000 that doesn't even make sense, the 4 cyl turbo is faster than this car though. Also turns heads in traffic unlike this car. You can fit kids, haul things, etc just fine in the mustang what im telling you is I've had it for years and never had a problem seating even grown people or carrying anything in it
For the love of God, just be patient and order a GR instead of this. I swear VW is in a race with Toyota to make the most boring-looking car. Thank goodness for the GR.
