Back in 1976, VW put a 110 HP engine in their best selling car.
That became the Golf GTI, and eventually a legend.
With many followers.
3 years later they introduced the Golf convertible, which became an icon as well.
Why did nobody get the idea to combine those two?
Well, finally, that happens. Today, in 2012.
And that's what I'm driving today. The Golf GTI Cabriolet.
A good thing about a soft top is that it opens much faster. In this car in less than 10 seconds.
And that's handy in bad weather. You can even to that while driving, up to 30 km/h.
But today, the hood stays off.
Technically this car is identical tot the normal GTI: 210 HP, 280 Nm from a 2-liter, direct injected turbo engine.
A fast, neutral car.
The big difference is they weight. It is 140 kg heavier, and that's a lot.
That is to make it more rigid.
When you're alone, this car is as heavy as a normal GTI full of people.
And you can feel that. This is rather a fast convertible than an open GTI.
But it's a nice, fast and agile car. From 1.700 tpm you get maximum torque, almost like a diesel.
The sound is great. Artificial, but still great.
This is the 6 speed DSG, when it shifts down, you get that nice sound.
This is still a real convertible. Most competitors have hard tops. I don't like that.
In this class, the only real convertibles are the Audi A3 and BMW 1-series. And this Golf.
Much more fun than the Eos, and that's important for a GTI.
This car is also very practical. It is very spacious.
Even in the back, and that's rare for a compact convertible.
Also the trunk is fine, with 250 liters.
You can also collapse the rear seats. That makes this car very practical.
The high weight makes this car a bit more understeered.
But that is reduced by the electronic differential.
So you can still go fast through curves. On bad tarmac though, the rear will jump slightly.
That makes it less GTI, but still enough to have lots of fun.
As I said: this is rather a fast convertible than an open GTI, but a very nice one. Especially the DSG.
It's a nice highway cruiser, and there's little turbulence in the car.
I'm sure this will be a succesful car.
+ Spacious + Powertrain - Boring interiour - Heavy