Meet the all‑new Volkswagen Golf GTI, GTD and GTE

The MK8 Golf GTI will be unveiled in full at the 2020 Geneva Motor Show next week, but Volkswagen has chosen today to reveal it alongside the new Golf GTD (which was previewed with a sketch a couple of weeks ago) and the new Golf GTE hybrid. Three new models in one day – it’s a busy day at Volkswagen.

Let’s start with the GTI first of all, and it looks like a familiar but well-proven recipe. Underneath the bonnet lurks a turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 245PS (242bhp) and 370Nm (274lb ft) of torque, and power goes to the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox or an optional seven-speed double clutch.

The suspension is more or less the same as the previous generation GTI, too, with a McPherson set-up at the front and a multi-link system at the back. There’s DCC adaptive chassis control once again as well, essentially electronic adaptive dampers all the way round that work in tandem with the car’s driver modes: Comfort, Eco, Sport and Individual. The GTI sits 15mm lower than the standard Golf.

New for the Mk8 Golf GTI is something called Vehicle Dynamics Manager. It uses the electronic ‘XDS’ locking differential and the dampers to “significantly increases the spread between maximum comfort and maximum dynamics”. We’ll find out exactly how it works when we drive it later in the year.

If you’re looking for a beautiful little table of performance stats you’re going to be disappointed as there aren’t any just yet, but the new GTI certainly won’t be slower than it was before. Expect a 0-62mph time of around 6.4 seconds and that classically Germanic top speed of 155mph.

For more info on the Mk8 Golf, read ‘The new Volkswagen Golf Mk8 – everything you need to know’.

The design is very GTI-ish, and by that we mean it’s different enough that it doesn’t look like a standard Golf but it’s not so crazy you’d confuse it with a Honda Civic Type R. The front grille is big and aggressive for better engine cooling, there are 17-, 18- or 19-inch wheels and red brake calipers, twin exhausts at the back, black sills, and a little red strip running across the top pf the front bumper. There are a few GTI badges dotted around, too.

Inside it’s familiar Mk8 Golf, the most notable feature being the ‘Innovision’ digital dash, but with a spattering of GTI tinsel. Note the GTI badging, half-tartan seats and red stitching. Expect the manual GTI to have a golf ball shaped gear lever, too.

And what about the GTD and the GTE? Well both inside and out they’re more or less the same as the GTI. They both have tartan on the seats and contrast stitching, for example, albeit without all the red details. They both have the same big face, too, although the GTD has twin exhaust pipes on one side rather than single exhausts on each side, and the GTE does without a visible exhaust pipe at all (warning: you might feel ill when you see the fake exhaust-style trims…).

The GTD uses a turbocharged 2.0-litre, four-cylinder diesel with 200PS (197bhp) and 400Nm (196lb ft) of torque. There’s no manual gearbox, sadly, just the seven-speed double-clutch, and the performance shouldn’t be too far behind that of the GTI. The big selling point, of course, will be the GTD’s economy figures, but sadly, like performance stats, VW hasn’t released them yet. The GTD sits 15mm lower than the standard Golf, like the GTI (the GTE retains the normal ride height).

The GTE is powered by a 150PS 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine paired with a 85kW electric motor, with peak power of 245PS and 400Nm (296lb ft) of torque. A plug-in hybrid, the all-electric range will be 60km at speeds of up to 130km/h thanks to aerodynamic improvements compared to the old GTE and a 13kWh lithium-ion battery.

So which new Golf would it be for you? A Golf, GTE, GTD or GTI? If you’re struggling to figure it out, come the Geneva show next week there will be plenty more info for us to sink our teeth into.