VW GOLF GTI REVIEW

“Nice car, sir!” Said the chap on the RE Super Meteor 650 riding by slowly, as I waited for a clear stretch to take a U-turn on a road bursting with pre-Diwali shoppers.

- SYED SHIRAZ SHAH

A day before, on the Yamuna expressway, another young chap in his (or his father's perhaps) BMW X7 gave me a big thumbs up for the Golf GTI. The cherry on top was that the X7 had a UP16 registration. Generally, UP16 car owners are infamous for inflated egos, bad road manners, and dismal civic sense overall. So, yes, his kind gesture was indeed a pleasant surprise.

The point is-if you're driving a VW Golf GTI, then be prepared to receive a lot of good vibes from all sorts of people. That's a rarity really because with most other expensive cars you mostly attract envy and sometimes even contempt from complete strangers. Thankfully, not with this one.

Do you still want me to talk about the design? Well, I shall certainly devote a few more lines to it in the next section.

How can one not talk about the design of a car that's THIS GORGEOUS! I mean, just look at it. Doesn't it look beautiful from all angles? Also, I am highly thankful to the good chaps at VW India Comms. who sent a Red one to me just like I had requested (they have press cars in other colours too, which are White, Black, and Grey). I would urge VW to add a Yellow as well as that shade will make the car truly stand out in the crowd.

Don't get me wrong; it already has solid street-cred and you read about it in the opening paragraph. It's way too wide (for a hatchback), low, and long, to be mistaken for a souped-up Polo; plus, those breathtaking alloy wheels and the bassy burble emanating from the beautifully done dual exhaust tips tell everyone around that this is a special car. It's just that Yellow would further augment its sporty form and character. But that's a perspective of a financially challenged auto journalist; potential owners would perhaps not want so much flash. They might want to skate under the radar and would be more interested in how it drives.