The 2010 Volkswagen GTI: Good Times Inevitable

For young men like myself, there exists a hallowed name in the motoring world; a name that transcends the automobile and has come to represent pure, fantastically unadulterated fun. A dynasty of epic proportions, it quickly became the benchmark by which all others were measured, and has been improved with each and every subsequent iteration. That name? Mario Kart.

And now, for perhaps the first time, us young men that grew up slamming that hallowed cartridge into the top of Super Nintendo’s around the world are now preparing to make the second largest investment we ever will: the automobile.

And we’re spoilt for choice, to be sure. But for those that remember their Mario Karting days with fondness, there really is only one choice: the hot hatch. Small, quick, and nimble, they’re Yoshi, Toad, Bowser, Luigi and Mario transposed into reality. Which brings us to the Volkswagen GTI.

You’d be forgiven for not seeing the parallel between one of Nintendo’s strongest franchises and Volkswagen’s Volume-Turned-Up-To-11 version of the Golf hatchback. After all, there’s absolutely nothing that would indicate any degree of Mario Kart inspiration from the outside. Almost completely redesigned for 2011, the new GTI’s appearance is even more business-like than the outgoing model, trading the previous car’s wide-eyed stare for a much more aggressive face. The familiar red-ringed grill is abbreviated into a single slit separating the front bumper from the sloping hood, while the lower valance is an almost Audi-like grillwork of cooling ducts, fog lights, and sculpted plastic. From the side, the car retains the simple, upright silhouette that’s been a Volkswagen trademark since the first Golf appeared 36 years ago, but it’s lower to the ground here; hunkered down over downright massive milled-face wheels that appear to have been inspired by Smith & Wesson’s most famous products. But all that pales in comparison to the departure from GTI tradition that lies beneath the rear bumper: dual exhaust. Once a trademark of the top-notch and uber-rare all-wheel drive R32, it might not make the most sense attached to an inline four-cylinder (with a single turbocharger, no less), but looks fantastic, and serves to further distinguish the GTI’s appearance from its lesser brethren.

It’s only upon opening the door that one truly begins to appreciate the fun factor that makes the GTI so appealing, because only then can you truly appreciate the impact a few yards of tartan cloth can have. Once considered a styling breakthrough, it’s without a doubt the most entertaining interior treatment I’ve ever seen, short of upholstery that would look at home on the African savannah. Available in classic black with red and white cross stitches, why anyone would opt for the leather interior package is beyond me. Of course, it also helps that the seats beneath the classy fabric are some of the best in the business, providing a good range of adjustment (once you find the controls and figure out how to work them) and reward with all-day comfort and support.

 And the rest of the interior is equally good. Directly in front of the driver is a simple instrument binnacle endowed with easy to read gauges that forgo the use of both metric and imperial speed measures; a boon for Canadians but a bit of a problem during cross-border jaunts. Comprising the remainder of the dashboard is a plethora of high quality textures and panels, varying from the familiar soft touch foam rubber dashboard to the silver-trimmed, gloss black navigation console and textured gloss black door and dashboard trim. All the controls are both easy to use and quite pleasant to look at, with special credit going to the nifty illuminated and synchronized automatic climate control displays. The Mario Kart factor appears again within the driver’s hands in the form of one of the single best steering wheels on the market. Flat bottomed and of perfect dimensions, it’s beautifully trimmed with aluminum and leather offset by bright red stitching, and would look at home on cars costing easily four times as much.

But the real Mario Kart flashbacks will start when you twist the key. Although exhaling through a pair of divided exhaust tips, the 2.0L turbocharged powerplant sounds very familiar, and so it should; it’s exactly same as last year’s. In fact, although the exterior styling and thoroughly revamping interior may lead you to believe otherwise, this new GTI is nearly identical to last year’s model underneath. Borrowing the same superstructure, suspension, brakes, and drivetrain from the previous model, there’s just one major mechanical difference between this car and those that came before: the differential.

Coming in at just under 3100 pounds, the previous GTI had an undeniable propensity for overtaxing its front tires, plowing into corners with too much understeer and exiting with a flurry of turbocharged torque steer. Now 61 or so pounds heavier, the 2010 GTI uses a new electronic “differential” to mitigate this by actively braking the inside wheel while cornering, subsequently sending more torque to the outside tire. Completely transparent in operation, it’s never obvious, but does make the car feel much more nimble as it almost completely quells understeer and absolutely nullifies any torque steer. As a result, the car feels far more nimble, and has regained a lot of the “tossability” that made previous GTIs so entertaining.

That said, the new GTI does fall short in a few areas. Although capable of handling the tightest of twisty road with ease, it’d wager that it’s probably pretty susceptible to turtle-shell fire (especially red shells), and its inability to hop over obstacles does raise some questions as to its battle mode capacity. But for those of us that don’t face these challenges daily, and who don’t mind living with a smaller three or five door hatchback, it’s quite honestly perfect. Try as I might, I could not find fault with the diminutive Volkswagen during my week’s testing; the car returned beyond acceptable fuel economy, provided sufficient amounts of space for the chores of daily life, and most importantly, put a smile on my face the entire time. Whether it was sitting in traffic and enjoying the quiet and relaxing cabin afforded by such touches as the acoustically tuned windshield or bombing down a tight mountain road, it never faltered or failed. In fact, the closest thing to criticism that I could conjure up was this: it needs more colour. Us Canadians have to make do with a single exterior colour (a red that looks suspiciously Mario-esque) and a trio of grayscale paint options, which is a bit of bummer for those of us that like their cars to look as fun as feel. But, perhaps it’s fitting that the heir to Mario Kart’s throne pays homage to that great game’s namesake character, because for the generation of us that grew up tossing bananas, turtle shells, and oil slicks at our friends’ speeding virtual forms, this is indeed the next best thing.