Want a more focused Volkswagen Golf GTI? Jonathan Crouch takes a look at the Clubsport model in its updated form.

Ten Second Review

Want a more focused Volkswagen Golf GTI? Then you want the GTI Clubsport version. There's a little more power, a little more visual presence - and a lot more motorsport tuning care. Producing what many enthusiasts will feel is a very satisfying end result. Here, we look at the updated version.

Background

The space between the Golf GTI and the Golf R is surely the smallest of market niches, but Volkswagen has for years been determined to fill it - and continues to do so in the updated MK8 Golf range with this car, the GTI Clubsport. To wonder why this model exists when for not much more, customers could go faster and get 4WD in a Golf R is to miss the point. Golf GTI enthusiasts often dismiss the Golf R as a hot hatch for bored executives, rather than one for the Nurburgring. They want something more focused - a Golf GTI with motorsport genes. The sort of thing that was served up in the old pre-2020 MK7 Golf range by the GTI TCR, those letters standing for 'Touring Car Racing'. But by the time of this Golf MK8's launch in 2020, Volkswagen had turned its back on the TCR class, so for this uprated version of the GTI, decided to return to the 'Clubsport' name that had last been used on a Golf in 2016. The Golf GTI Clubsport arrived in 2020, but it's the updated facelifted version that followed in mid-2024 that we look at here.

Driving Experience

For this update, Volkswagen has tweaked the suspension, plus the engineers say the steering rack and front-end geometry are now even more focused. Minor changes have also been made to the (still optional) Dynamic Chassis Control system that allows you to adjust damper firmness through 11 levels. There are no significant engine updates, but none were really needed - this car still should feel properly quick, the 2.0-litre TSI petrol turbo powerplant continuing in its 300PS state of tune, though that's now only 35PS more than you get in a standard Golf GTI. It's the same engine you'll find in a CUPRA Leon TSI 300. The power hike over the GTI comes courtesy of a higher boost map and a larger intercooler, plus a different turbocharger. All of which gives the car a more energetic character at higher revs, where only 5.6 seconds is necessary to get from rest to 62mph. That's only 0.3s faster than the standard GTI, but that isn't what you're really paying the extra money for here. Just as on a Golf tuned for club racing, lots of little changes make the difference. There's a 10mm lower ride height, which results in significantly greater camber for the front wheels. The front springs and dampers are the same as those in a GTI, but there's a different control arm mount, different wheel mounts and different rear springs and dampers. Plus the car's VDQ electromechanical differential lock has been re-tuned. And the front brakes are upgraded with the same 357mm discs and 2-pot calipers used in the Golf R. Unfortunately, there's still no manual gearbox option - which doesn't seem very 'club sport'-like - but the 7-speed DSG paddle shift auto has a short final drive. Best of all perhaps, as before there's a bespoke addition to the standard GTI suite of selectable drive settings, charismatically christened the 'Nurburgring' mode. This apparently was the setting that development driver Benjamin Leuchter used to lap the classic Nurburgring Nordschleife a claimed 13 seconds quicker than the standard model - in 7 minutes 54s if you're interested. You'll need to be a real enthusiast to really appreciate the difference that all this these little changes make, but if you are, you'll like the effect very much. Especially if you're on a track. Which, given the name, seems appropriate.

Design and Build

The GTI Clubsport shares many of the same styling enhancements as those seen already on the updated version of the MK8 Golf GTI, but this model has its own eye-catching Clubsport front bumpers, complete with a honeycomb air-intake grille. The front also benefits from Volkswagen's latest IQ.LIGHT LED matrix headlights, which have a range of 500 metres, alongside an illuminated Volkswagen logo. The sharper design continues at the rear, which features animated LED tail lights, while the side profile is completed by 18-inch Richmond alloy wheels. Inside, bespoke 'Clubsport' touches are much harder to spot, though Volkswagen has provided decorative inserts on the dash and front door panels; along with red contrast stitching with 'Art Velours' microfleece trimming for the 'GTI Clubsport' sports seats. Everything else is pretty much as it would be on the standard GTI model, touches like the pulsating starter bar and this grippy sports steering wheel with its three silver double spokes. Because you can't have a stick shift with this derivative, there's no opportunity for this model line's usual signature golf ball-style manual gear knob. Instead, there's a choice of either steering wheel paddleshifters or this short, stubby DSG drive selector. With this updated model, there are a few minor updates to the 10.2-inch 'Digital Cockpit Pro' instrument display, which has GTI-specific graphics. And there's a better head-up display available. The steering wheel's different too, now restored with proper buttons, instead of the pre-facelift model's fiddly touch-sensitive ones. The awful touch slider below the infotainment screen has been retained, but it's now more responsive and (at last) is back-lit for easier night use. The original design's widely-criticised infotainment system has been thoroughly updated to what VW calls' MIB4' status, which means it gets quicker processing times, smarter menus and slicker graphics. For this top GTI, it comes in its largest 12.9-inch form and now incorporates ChatGPT tech, which can be used to control navigation, 'phone and climate functions. The advantage here is that if Volkswagen's own voice activation set-up doesn't know the answer to a question you might be asking the car, it'll be relayed to the ChatGPT AI system - though the same VW voice will still give you the answer. Otherwise, things are much as with any other Golf, so you get great build quality, decent space for two adults on the rear bench and a class-competitive 380-litre boot.

Market and Model

You'll now pay from just under around £42,000 for a GTI Clubsport - around £4,000 more than this variant cost at it's original launch. for referewnce, that's around £3,000 more than a standard 265PS Golf GTI. You'd think a model badged 'Clubsport' would be offered with manual transmission, but no: this one's still auto-only. The 'GTI Clubsport' model, as you would expect, gets its own bespoke specification in addition to standard GTI features. That gives you a performance brake system and all the little visual changes, inside and out, that we detailed for you in our 'Design' section. Most owners will want to consider the option of adding DCC adaptive damping. As for luxury features, well standard equipment includes a 12.9-inch centre-dash infotainment screen with an operating interface that responds to the command 'Hey Volkswagen', followed by whatever you want to ask, aided by ChatGPT. This is the segment's most interactive voice control system. Also standard are IQ.LIGHT Matrix full-LED headlights, 18-inch 'Richmond' alloy wheels and keyless access. Plus multi-coloured ambient lighting, a rear view camera, a 10.2-inch 'Digital Cockpit Pro' instrument display, high beam assist, heated front seats, three-zone Climatronic air conditioning, rear privacy glass, adaptive cruise control, Lane Assist, Traffic Jam Assist and Emergency Assist. As before, there's a 'Travel Assist' feature that allows the car to accelerate, steer and brake on motorways at speeds of up to 130mph.

Cost of Ownership

The GTI Clubsport returns virtually the same WLTP-rated efficiency figures as a standard Golf GTI DSG auto model - so up to 38.7mpg on the combined cycle and up to 166g/km of CO2. You can monitor ongoing frugality via selectable consumption read-outs on the left hand side of the digital instrument binnacle screen. Or via the 'Vehicle' section of the centre-dash screen where you can select 'Since Start', 'Long Term' and 'Since Refuel' read-outs on economy. Servicing? Well as usual with Volkswagen models, there's a choice of either 'Fixed' or 'Flexible' maintenance packages. You'll choose the 'Fixed' approach if you cover less than 10,000 miles a year and with this, the car will typically be looked at every twelve months. If your daily commute is more than 25 miles and this Golf will regularly be driven on longer distance journeys, you'll be able to work with a 'Flexible' regime that can see you travelling up to 18,000 miles between garage visits - or every two years, whichever is sooner. Less impressive is the three year/60,000 mile warranty cover.

Summary

This improved GTI Clubsport is the fastest and most focused Golf GTI yet but also, impressively, in some ways, the one that best replicates the agile, effervescent style of the Seventies original. You might not know that from the stat sheet figures. In all the dynamic measures that tend to matter to hot hatch drivers - 0-60 acceleration, top speed, lap times, lateral grip, braking performance and so on - this enthusiast-orientated Golf never really seriously bothers the class best. You might not be immediately arrested by the looks either, or the initial experience on the drive round the block. But persevere. Nearly half a century of experience in creating a car of this kind has to count for something. It does. Importantly, unlike some of its rivals, Wolfsburg hasn't made the mistake of developing this model only for the track rather than the road, so bumpy British tarmac doesn't bother it. You're always confident in pushing the performance envelope - in a way that few rivals can match. Yet that's possible without the sweaty palms that usually characterise red mist motoring. And in summary? Well this may not be the raw, slightly crude race-inspired shopping rocket that some enthusiasts might crave, but it's still a very credible evolution of a classic performance model line. And a car the hot hatch cognoscenti will continue to rate highly.