Car Review: 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI

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At one time, the car that sold more copies than anything else in automotive history was the Volkswagen Beetle. And the car that directly knocked it off its lofty perch? None other than the Volkswagen Golf.

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I always liked the Golf, and I’m sad to see its regular versions are now gone in Canada. It was the victim of most people preferring to buy a small sport-utility than a car with a hatch in back. But all is not lost: For those who like a car that’s practical and a lot of fun to drive, the Golf GTI is still here, and for 2022, it morphs into its eighth generation.

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Its wheelbase stays the same, but it grows slightly larger overall. It gets a styling makeover, while remaining true to its traditional look and proportions. The engine gets a power boost, and the suspension is reworked for even better handling. The cabin also gets an overhaul, but unfortunately, the simple buttons and dials that you used to get have been replaced with an annoying system that requires you to tap or swipe for almost everything.

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It comes in three trim levels, starting with the simply-named GTI at $31,495; the Autobahn at $34,995; and the Performance at $38,995. All those are for a six-speed manual, and add $1,400 if you want an automatic seven-speed direct-shift gearbox (DSG). I had the Performance with DSG and optional panoramic sunroof, at $41,645 before freight and taxes.

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1. 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI

   3.80

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   MSRP  $31,495 to $40,395

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The Performance name doesn’t mean anything extra under the hood. All models come with a turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder that makes 241 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque. But that top trim adds dynamic chassis control with self-adjusting dampers, along with summer performance tires that had been seasonally swapped out on mine in favour of low-profile winter shoes.

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Driving this car is fun on a bun. The power increase isn’t a huge leap – an extra 13 horsepower, plus 15 more lb-ft of torque – but it feels much quicker than before. The direct-shift transmission selects a gear and then immediately sets up the next one in preparation so it’s ready to go when it’s needed, and the shifts are quick and buttery-smooth.

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The steering is equally smooth, immediately responsive, and very nicely weighted. All GTI models are front-wheel drive, and use an electronically-controlled limited-slip front differential that improves handling in curves and corners. The car corners flat; the Performance’s chassis control provides a smooth and composed ride on less-than-perfect pavement; the brakes are well-modulated and confident; and the whole package is a tight and very nimble unit.

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All trims are well-equipped, while the Performance uniquely adds such features as heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats (and a heated steering wheel also on the other trims), Harmon Kardon stereo, head-up display, power driver’s seat with memory, automatic high-beam headlamps, adaptive cruise control with lane centring, 19-inch wheels, and leather upholstery — but that can be traded for a no-charge option of plaid cloth seats, and who in their right mind wouldn’t trade plain old leather for Volkswagen heritage-design plaid cloth seats?

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But the redesign, as mentioned, drops the previously simple controls, and stashes most of the functions into a centre screen that requires multi-step processes. Distracted driving is a major safety issue, and I’m not allowed to play with a mobile device behind the wheel, so why does this require the equivalent of swiping and tapping a phone?

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Even when there is something resembling a button, it’s actually just a sensor behind a piece of flat plastic, even on the steering wheel controls, and you have to look to be sure you’re hitting the right spot. You touch to adjust the stereo volume, because there isn’t a knob; and you touch to adjust the temperature because there are no dials. These touch-spots are below the screen in a little plastic trough and they’re not lit up. The roads out my way aren’t always smooth, and so when reaching to tap an icon on the screen, I’d instinctively rest my hand below to steady it — right where those sensors are, so I’d inadvertently change the volume or the temperature.

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The headlight switch is needlessly complicated. Most automakers give you a simple knob, or a switch at the end of the turn signal stalk. Nope. There’s another piece of shiny black plastic on the left-hand side of the dash, where you tap-tap-tap to switch between parking lights, headlights, or automatic operation. And the front and rear defrosters are tap-spots below that — not in the centre stack with the rest of the climate controls, where a passenger might also easily access them if the window fogs up.

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Seriously, are there buyers who actually clamour for these types of controls? Or instead of equipping each trim with the appropriate number of buttons, are automakers saving cash by putting the same screen into all, and then stuffing more software into the costlier cars? As much as I love piloting this comfortable little car, that tap-and-swipe system, which doesn’t always respond well to winter-chilled or gloved fingertips, leaves me equally cold.

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But if you can live with that system, the GTI is a wonderful little machine. It’s not the fire-breather than its 315-horsepower Golf R sibling is — and not as pricey as the R’s starting tag of $45,995 — but it’s a great blend of sporty handling with everyday-commute driveability. The Golf may be gone, but its hot-hatch version is still alive and very well.

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  Jil McIntosh

  Jil McIntosh specializes in new-car reviews, auto technology and antique cars, including the two 1940s vehicles in her garage. She is currently a freelance Writer at Driving.ca since 2016

  Summary

  · Professional writer for more than 35 years, appearing in some of the top publications in Canada and the U.S.

  · Specialties include new-vehicle reviews, old cars and automotive history, automotive news, and “How It Works” columns that explain vehicle features and technology

  · Member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) since 2003; voting member for AJAC Canadian Car of the Year Awards; juror on the Women’s World Car of the Year Awards

  Education

  Jil McIntosh graduated from East York Collegiate in Toronto, and then continued her education at the School of Hard Knocks. Her early jobs including driving a taxi in Toronto; and warranty administration in a new-vehicle dealership, where she also held information classes for customers, explaining the inner mechanical workings of vehicles and their features.

  Experience

  Jil McIntosh is a freelance writer who has been writing for Driving.ca since 2016, but she’s been a professional writer starting when most cars still had carburetors. At the age of eleven, she had a story published in the defunct Toronto Telegram newspaper, for which she was paid $25; given the short length of the story and the dollar’s buying power at the time, that might have been the relatively best-paid piece she’s ever written.

  An old-car enthusiast who owns a 1947 Cadillac and 1949 Studebaker truck, she began her writing career crafting stories for antique-car and hot-rod car club magazines. When the Ontario-based newspaper Old Autos started up in 1987, dedicated to the antique-car hobby, she became a columnist starting with its second issue; the newspaper is still around and she still writes for it. Not long after the Toronto Star launched its Wheels section in 1986 – the first Canadian newspaper to include an auto section – she became one of its regular writers. She started out writing feature stories, and then added “new-vehicle reviewer” to her resume in 1999. She stayed with Wheels, in print and later digital as well, until the publication made a cost-cutting decision to shed its freelance writers. She joined Driving.ca the very next day.

  In addition to Driving.ca, she writes for industry-focused publications, including Automotive News Canada and Autosphere. Over the years, her automotive work also appeared in such publications as Cars & Parts, Street Rodder, Canadian Hot Rods, AutoTrader, Sharp, Taxi News, Maclean’s, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes Wheels, Canadian Driver, Sympatico Autos, and Reader’s Digest. Her non-automotive work, covering such topics as travel, food and drink, rural living, fountain pen collecting, and celebrity interviews, has appeared in publications including Harrowsmith, Where New Orleans, Pen World, The Book for Men, Rural Delivery, and Gambit.

  Major awards won by the author

  2016 AJAC Journalist of the Year; Car Care Canada / CAA Safety Journalism award winner in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013, runner-up in 2021; Pirelli Photography Award 2015; Environmental Journalism Award 2019; Technical Writing Award 2020; Vehicle Testing Review award 2020, runner-up in 2022; Feature Story award winner 2020; inducted into the Street Rodding Hall of Fame in 1994.

  Contact info

  Email: [email protected]

  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jilmcintosh/

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/JilMcIntosh

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