Volkswagen Golf GTI review: Hot hatch distilled

India Today

26-05-2025

Here's the thing about the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk 8.5. If you're the kind of person who looks at a hot hatchback and instinctively starts calculating boot space, fuel economy, and how many Excel sheets the infotainment system can support, you might want to close this tab right now. But if you're someone who hears the word GTI and immediately pictures a red stripe slicing across a blacked-out grille like a katana through tofu, welcome.
The first batch of the Golf GTI is already sold out.
advertisementLet's get the elephant in the room out of the way first. This is not a cheap car. Not here in India anyway. It's going to be a full-blown CBU import, and that means a likely sticker price of just under Rs 50 lakh, all said and done. Fifty. For a Golf. That's more than a decent luxury sedan, or even a couple of lesser sportscars. It also makes it a bit of a cultural experiment. A global icon, dropped into a market that's still not sure how to categorise its car lovers.
The Golf GTI makes its entry into India in the Mk 8.5 version.
advertisementAnd yet, the first batch is already sold out.It's tempting to say this is a pricing disaster, but maybe—just maybe—we're underestimating the Indian enthusiast. Maybe we've moved past looking for a spec sheet-to-rupee conversion. Maybe we're finally okay with buying into legacy. Into the idea of a hot hatch as a piece of rolling heritage. Into the GTI.And this new Mk 8.5 version? It's not just resting on legacy. It's here to remind you exactly why it wears those three letters on its rump.
The Golf GTI sits low and squat and angry, like it's ready to headbutt your midlife crisis into submission.
Volkswagen Golf GT review: Design
Let's start with the way it looks. The 8.5 isn't dramatically different from the Mk 8, but the small tweaks do add up. The reworked LED headlights are slimmer, sleeker, and now integrate a lightbar across the grille—a nod to the EV era, sure, but it works here. The front bumper gets more aggression with reprofiled air intakes and a new take on the honeycomb theme. It's still got those red accents that make the GTI what it is, and it still sits low and squat and angry, like it's ready to headbutt your midlife crisis into submission.
The Golf GTI rides on 19-inch alloy wheels the beautifully fill the arches.
The wheels are 19-inch Adelaide alloys, and they fill the arches beautifully. There's just the right amount of sporty without crossing into try-hard territory. It's tasteful in a way that few modern performance cars manage. No fake vents. No fake quad tips. Just good proportions, clean lines, and heritage cues.
The MK 8.5 does not walk back on the MK 8's interior but does improve it.
Volkswagen Golf GT review: Cabin, interiors and featuresNow, step inside.The cabin is where Volkswagen has made a subtle return to form. The much-criticised haptic-touch fiasco of the Mk 8 hasn't been completely walked back, but it's been improved. There are still touch sliders for climate control, but they're now backlit and easier to use. The screens are updated too. The 10.25-inch driver display and the 12.9-inch infotainment screen are quick, responsive, and do what they're supposed to without much faff. You won't be writing code or editing wedding videos on it, but it'll handle navigation, music, and Apple CarPlay just fine.
The seats of the Golf GTI deeply bolstered, supportive, and just soft enough for daily comfort.
advertisementThe real showstoppers inside though? The seats. Oh lord, the seats.They're tartan, of course. Volkswagen calls it "Scalepaper," but let's be honest, it looks like the coolest graph paper you've ever seen. It's nerdy in the best way. The seats themselves are superb—deeply bolstered, supportive, and just soft enough for daily comfort. They're not electrically adjustable, which might seem like an oversight at this price point, but consider it weight savings. Race car logic, baby. Plus, the last time you adjusted your seat after setting it once was probably never.They're also heated. Yes, really. Just in case you plan to drive up to Spiti in December, Volkswagen has you covered. For the rest of us in Delhi or Mumbai? Consider it a conversation starter.
The 12.9-inch infotainment screen is quick, responsive and handles navigation, music, and Apple CarPlay just fine.
advertisementThe cabin also gets nice Alcantara trim on the door cards, GTI logos stitched subtly into the details, and a new GTI-specific steering wheel that feels perfect in your hands. Not too thick, not too thin, just the right amount of resistance. It's got the requisite red stitching and drive mode buttons that add to the theatre without becoming a gimmick.
The Golf GTI is powered by the enthusiast-favourite EA888 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
advertisementGolf GTI review: Engine & performanceUnder the hood is the same EA888 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder that enthusiasts know and love. It now makes 265hp and 370Nm, paired to a 7-speed DSG that shifts with surgical precision. There's no manual—you can cry now—but the DSG is so slick and responsive that it might just help you get over that heartbreak.0-100kmph takes around 5.9 seconds, but numbers don't quite capture the GTI experience. It's the way it surges, the way the front axle claws at the tarmac, the way it dances through corners with an absurd level of front-end grip. This thing has no business being this composed while also being this fun.
You can absolutely hoon it through a set of twisties and still get back in time to pick up your kid from school without them questioning your life choices.
Part of that comes from the updated chassis tuning. The Mk 8.5 gets a revised stability control system, a sharper steering rack, and an electronically controlled limited-slip differential. The result? You can absolutely hoon it through a set of twisties and still get back in time to pick up your kid from school without them questioning your life choices.There's also Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC), which lets you dial in damper settings across 15 steps. It's the kind of thing you didn't know you needed until you find yourself toggling between Comfort for your morning coffee run and Sport+ for the night-time flyover sprints.Ride quality is surprisingly pliant for something running on 19s. It won't glide like an air-sprung limo, but it never crashes or jars either. It feels tight, taut, and eager. Like it's always up for a good time, but also knows when to behave.
Ride quality is surprisingly pliant for something running on 19s. It won't glide like an air-sprung limo, but it never crashes or jars either.
And that, really, is the point. The Golf GTI has always been about duality. It's a car you can daily without compromise and then absolutely cane on a weekend drive. It's mature but playful, serious but cheeky. It's the kind of car that makes you take the long way home just to feel the way the front wheels tug at the tarmac.Of course, at Rs 50 lakh, you're paying a steep price for this experience. And the obvious question becomes: is it worth it?Well, if you want pure power, you can probably get more elsewhere. If you want badge value, the Germans will sell you something with more chrome. But if you want heritage, purity, and the kind of engineering that rewards you every single time you take the wheel—this is it.
The Golf GTI isn't just a hot hatch. It's a cult classic that finally, finally, speaks our language.
Volkswagen Golf GTI verdictThe GTI is not about chasing top trumps. It's about feel. About tactility. About being part of something bigger than yourself, a community of enthusiasts who get it. And if the sold-out first batch is any indication, there's plenty of Indians who do.Volkswagen India has hinted that based on demand, they might just bring in more batches. So if you missed out on the initial lot, don't despair. Keep those fingers crossed and those bank accounts ready.Because this isn't just a hot hatch. It's a cult classic that finally, finally, speaks our language.And frankly? We've never sounded better.Subscribe to Auto Today Magazine