VW Golf GTI bows out in style with TCR

Volkswagen South Africa has unleashed a last hurrah of their ever popular Mk 7.5 GTI onto the South African buying public. And in a clever marketing move, they have numbered them and only made 300 of these TCR models available for purchase.

All the goodies you get for your R669 000 limited edition model have already been covered over and over, and I will still give you a brief rundown of what these are in a few moments. First I want to bring you the road test numbers I managed to get in the brief time I got to spend with the car.

Running a slightly tweaked version of the familiar 2.0-litre EA888 engine that also did duty in the 195 kW GTI Clubsport model of a few years ago, the TCR now comes in at 213kW/380Nm. This power and torque are still channelled to the front wheels only via the trusty old six-speed DSG double clutch gearbox.

Turn the key and well, the TCR sounds a whole lot like a normal GTI, and that for me was a bit disappointing, especially in this day and age of “snap, crackle and pop” exhaust systems. But make no mistake, hit the accelerator and the TCR gets up and goes.

This fuss-free approach to going fast starts right at the beginning with a simple to use launch control function. And despite still getting a healthy dose of wheelspin, the 0 to 100 km/h time of 5.63 seconds I achieved is now my fastest time for a front wheel driven factory hot hatch.

The urge remains strong right the way through the quarter mile at 13.88sec, the half mile at 208km/h and the 1 000m mark at 217km/h. Top speed has said to be up to 264km/h now too. The TCR is a hot hatch!

The handling is pretty much just as you would remember it. Refined, safe and more than comfortable for everyday use, and sporty enough for when you want to play in the mountains or on the track. And thanks to the inclusion of Dynamic Chassis Control on the TCR as part of the package, you can achieve this balance, that makes the GTI such a winner on the road.

The limited edition goodies I mentioned earlier are covered by the fitment of 19-inch Reifnitz alloy wheels, perforated disk brakes, matte black exterior mirror caps, sill extensions, front splitter, TCR roof spoiler and a diffuser at the rear, plus LED headlights

On this inside you get the now obligatory Alcantara door inserts and similarly covered sport seats with GTI TCR detailing on a fabric design that harks back to the original GTI along with an abundance of sporty looking black and red stitching. You also get as standard fitment, Active Info Display, Parallel Park Assist, climatronic air-conditioning and red ambient light strips and an exclusive sports steering wheel.

If you had to add these standard fitment items to the price of a base GTI at R614 200, you would come out even, but you can’t put a price tag on is the numbered limited-edition badge. But despite the allure of a limited-edition badge, the GTI TCR is still a great all round hot hatch, and this is why the car remains a South African favourite. But you also can’t ignore that the Mk 8 GTI is almost here

The Golf GTI TCR comes standard with a three-year/120 000km warranty, five-year/90 000km Volkswagen Service Plan and a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty.

To view the full test results, click here.

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