While the six-speed manual gearbox might not be as slick as Honda's, and even though the shift knob is oddly shaped, we take great pleasure in rowing our own. We adore the thrum of the turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four delivering 241 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque with delightful linearity. There's plenty of praise to heap upon the powertrain too. Few cars below $75,000 have this kind of turn-in and steering feel, regardless of tire. Senior features editor Greg Fink boasts, "The chassis tuning is just." And he's right. Thankfully, we weren't left wanting for stick the GTI manages 0.93 g around the skidpad with the Pirellis underfoot. We kicked around the idea of fitting our base GTI S with grippier rubber-the only way to get this from the factory is to choose a pricier spec-but we opted to remain with the standard all-seasons. After surviving the frosty season on Nokian's Hakkapeliitta R5 winter tires, we were thrilled to have the GTI back on the stock Pirelli P Zero all-seasons and do what we love to do: drive. It's been months since we last checked in on our long-term 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI, but time flies when you're having fun. Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.4 sec.ħ years/100,000 miles corrosion protectionĢ years/20,000 miles scheduled maintenanceĪndi Hedrick | Car and Driver 20,000-Mile Update Turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, iron block and aluminum head, direct fuel injectionīrakes, F/R: 13.4-in vented disc/12.2-in vented disc Vehicle Type: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback At one point, the Low Coolant light illuminated, requiring a splash of antifreeze, but otherwise, our GTI has remained easy living. For $124, our local dealer changed the engine oil and filter, rotated the tires, and completed the required inspections. Now that the complimentary maintenance has expired, service costs are creeping up. Separately, the GTI ended up at the repair shop after some kicked-up highway debris damaged the windshield, removing $922 from our pockets for a replacement windshield and sensor calibration. Initially, we sat hundreds of places back in the waiting line, and as of this writing, we've yet to get the call that the new steering wheel is in. A trip to the dealer to fix the alert revealed what the internet had already told us: The GTI needs a new steering wheel. Well, it cannot be unplugged or disabled without using Volkswagen's communication tools through the OBDII port. Less endearing was the often persistent but never consistent "Travel Assist Unavailable" warning chime that has us Googling how to unplug the dinger. And that purr of Volkswagen's EA888 241-hp 2.0-liter inline-four? Babies love it. Even better, the lower H-point relative to a compact SUV is a boon for getting an infant into and out of a car seat. Especially when packing for an overnight stay requires more stuff than caravanning across Europe for a month. Moreover, he fully appreciated the hatchback's ability to swallow up to 20 cubic feet of stuff. And the HVAC controls, once set to Auto and a desired temperature, are rarely revisited. It turns out that, yes, the convoluted infotainment structure is still annoying, but with over a month or better of daily use, it becomes easier to live with. One staffer, consigned to paternity leave, spent several weeks with the GTI-the perfect chance to see if we could adapt to its eccentricities. In the case of the GTI, might some of its quirks with regard to controls become less annoying with familiarity? These 40,000-mile tests, however, can provide opportunity for greater exposure to a vehicle. Here at Car and Driver, we do our best to keep up with the entirety of the automotive marketplace, which means driving a different car every few days (tough gig, we know). Beyond that, we've fallen even further head over heels with how practical the spicy hatchback is. Even at this late stage in the Volkswagen GTI's long-term test, we still gush over its potent yet efficient powertrain and the adept chassis's engaging driving dynamics.
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