To some people, the Volkswagen Golf GTI is the definitive hot hatchback. Launched in 1976, it helped to prove that a sensible, front-wheel-drive hatchback could be as fast and as much fun to drive as a sports car, cementing a formula that continues to this day.
The original sporty Golf was actually an after-hours project by a group of engineers, yet between 1976 and the early 90s (the Mk1 Golf GTI model lived on as a cabriolet model long after its fixed-roof sibling went off sale in 1983), VW built a whopping 460,000 GTIs. The company had originally planned a production run of just 5,000.
Eight generations and several decades later, that original 108bhp fuel-injected 1.6 has morphed into a much larger, more sophisticated performance car with a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine that delivers up to 296bhp in Clubsport guise.
Along the way there have been ups and downs, with some eras of GTI proving more popular - and receiving more critical acclaim – than others. But one thing remains true: the recipe of performance, practicality and value for money is as appealing as ever.
Here’s a look at all eight generations of the Volkswagen Golf GTI.
Generations: 8
- Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk8
- Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk7
- Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk6
- Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk5
- Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk4
- Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk3
- Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk2
- Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk1
Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk8
Body styles
- 5-door hatchback
Notable features and facelifts of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk7
- No three-door offered for the first time since the Mk1
- Most technology – including the engines – carried over from Mk7
- Touchscreen-heavy interior can be irritating
Despite the introduction of moderately different styling (and a radically different and far from universally adored touchscreen dashboard set-up), the base version of the eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI actually gets exactly the same engine as the Performance Pack version of the Mk7.5 (as the facelifted version of the previous car is often known).
If you want more power, the GTI Clubsport offers a healthy 296bhp and the prospect of 0-62 mph sprint on 5.6 seconds. The standard car with a manual gearbox will achieve the same speed in 6.4 seconds, or 6.2 with a DSG dual-clutch automatic.
Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk7
Body styles
- 3-door hatchback
- 5-door hatchback
Notable features and facelifts of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk7
- Mk7 was the last three-door Golf GTI
- Due to being lighter than its rivals such as the Ford Focus ST, it could keep up on performance, despite having less power
- Clubsport S featured 306bhp and a weight-saving programme that included removing the rear seats. Steals Nurburgring lap record from Honda Civic Type R
- GTD fast diesel theme is reprised from Mk6 and it’s joined by the GTE model - a plug-in hybrid, which can run for short periods pon zero-emissions electric power.
The seventh generation of Golf GTI was more advanced and more sophisticated than ever, while the new MQB platform that underpinned all Golfs was 100kg lighter than before. Powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine that puts out between 217bhp and 242bhp depending on age and specification, it was effortlessly quick but not at the cost of refinement. The last-of-the-line GTI TCR model spiced things up further with a power hike to 286bhp and a 0-62mph time of 5.6 seconds.
If there was a problem with the Mk7 GTI it was not the car itself, but rather the existence of the Golf R, which is more powerful, faster, and arguably better to drive thanks to its all-wheel-drive capability.
Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk6
Body styles
- 3-door hatchback
- 5-door hatchback
Notable features and facelifts of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk6
- XDS electronic traction aid mimics a mechanical limited-slip differential
- Optional Adaptive Chassis Control features adjustable dampers
- Uprated 'Edition 35' anniversary model got 231bhp, but actually used older EA113 engine rather than the EA888 used in other Mk6 GTIs
- GTD diesel brings 50 mpg potential to GTI formula
A comprehensive facelift of the Mk5 rather than a new car altogether, the Mk6 Golf had much in common with the car it replaced. When the new GTI arrived in 2009, therefore, it was blessed with every one of the Mk5’s many dynamic attributes. Power crept up to 207bhp but the basic formula remained the same: strong performance, effortless day-to-day usability and sweet handling with a comfortable ride.
Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk5
Body styles
- 3-door hatchback
- 5-door hatchback
Notable features and facelifts of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk5
- Mk5 Golf was a return to form for Volkswagen, being much more fun to drive than the Mk4
- DSG paddle-shift dual-clutch gearbox made its first appearance in a Golf GTI with this generation
- Limited-run 'Edition 30' featured more power, and celebrated 30 years of the Golf GTI
Rarely has there been a more emphatic return to form in the performance car sector than this. The Mk5 GTI debuted at the Paris motor show late in 2004 and when it hit the road soon after, it did so with a set of dynamics the GTI’s originators would have been proud of. With sophisticated multi-link rear suspension, the fifth-generation GTI was a joy to drive, being agile, responsive, poised and well-balanced. It steered beautifully as well and with 197bhp, it was more than quick enough.
Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk4
Body styles
- 3-door hatchback
- 5-door hatchback
Notable features and facelifts of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk4
- As a model overall, the Golf had taken a significant step upmarket, but at the expense of driving fun
- There was an exciting performance derivative of the Golf, but it was the V6-powered R32 that got pulses racing, not the stodgy GTI
The fourth-generation Golf was a bit of a low point for the GTI. It arrived in 1998 with bland styling, and even stodgier dynamics than the Mk3 it replaced. Although the Golf had by now crept upmarket and as an everyday hatchback was arguably the best car of its type, the GTI was anything but. It had become little more than a trim level, much less than the standalone performance model it should have been.
The 150 horsepower 1.8-litre turbo version had a respectable 148bhp, but it was still not especially exciting. Worse still, there was also a UK-only 115bhp 2.0-litre non-turbocharged model – in continental European markets this model wasn't even badged as a GTI.
Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk3
Body styles
- 3-door hatchback
- 5-door hatchback
Notable features and facelifts of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk3
- For the Mk3, the Golf became heavier and softer, aprtly thanks to changing safety requirements, partly thanks to changing market demands for the non-GTI car
- In 1996 VW built 1,000 GTI Anniversary models to celebrate 20 years of the nameplate.
It was with the third-generation Volkswagen Golf that the GTI’s shining star began to wane. In quite spectacular fashion, in fact. After a decade and a half of light and nimble GTIs with agile handling, the Mk3 model was heavy, slow, flat-footed and hardly worthy of the badge.
That was most certainly true of the basic engine, which mustered just 115bhp – that had been fine a decade previously with the original car, but the Mk3 GTI was around 25 per cent heavier than the Mk1. A 16-valve version of the 2.0-litre engine with 148bhp improved perforamnce, but the agile, cheeky handling of the original model had been lost.
Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk2
Body styles
- 3-door hatchback
- 5-door hatchback
Notable features and facelifts of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk2
- 137bhp 16-valve engine option brought a new level of performance
- Immortalised in 1987 TV ad featuring Paula Hamilton
- Five-door option offered for the first time
Picking up where the original Golf GTI left off, the Mk2 model was a little bigger and slightly heavier, but it was scarcely any less fun to drive than the first car. It appeared in 1985 with an eight-valve 1.8-litre engine, good for 110bhp. In very short order it was joined in the range by a more potent version, its 16-valve motor rated at 137bhp. Which was the one to have? The debate goes on to this day.
This era of Golf also saw a five-door bodystyle joining the line-up, and a mid-life facelift that gave it more aggressive looks (known today as the 'big-bumper' models).
Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk1
Body styles
- 3-door hatchback
- 2-door convertible
Notable features and facelifts of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk1
- Original GTI launched in 1976, with a planned production run of 5,000 cars
- UK sales of cars with the steering wheel on the right-hand side didn't begin until 1979
- Cabriolet version of the GTI outlived the hatchback, soldiering on until the early 1990s
Not only the original Golf GTI, but by most approximations the original hot hatch as well. The first Golf GTI arrived in 1976 and was the product not of an official factory programme, but a clandestine skunkworks project. A handful of engineers gathered together to develop a high-performance version of the dainty Golf hatchback. The results were so spectacular that when the car was eventually presented to the board, it was green-lit. The earliest cars had a 1.6-litre engine that developed 108bhp.
Early cars had a four-speed gearbox, but models from 1979 onwards came with a standard five-speed manual transmission. The engine grew to 1.8 litres in 1982, and power went up to 110bhp.
The interior design was lifted by distinctive tartan-patterned seats, and by a gear lever with a knob shaped like a golf ball.