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For me though, the Golf GTI has always been a bit of a letdown. Granted, most of my experience has only been with the Mk7 and Mk7.5, but for all the myth and legend surrounding those three letters, and the accolades heaped upon it by automotive media everywhere, most of my encounters with a GTI has left me feeling distinctly unenthused.

As an unabashed lover of fast driving, hot hatches are definitely right up my alley, but the Mk7.5 just didn't serve up enough thrills. It didn't help that it debuted in something of a renaissance period for hot hatches, with the FK8 Honda Civic Type R, Hyundai i30N, Mk4 Renault Megane RS, and even its corporate cousin the Skoda Octavia RS245, all muscling in on the GTI’s turf.

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1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back: Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk8

IN VW, Volkswagen, Golf, Golf GTI, Hot hatch, Hatchback

Amongst hot hatches, it’s always been the VW Golf GTI that’s left BP’s resident racer, Jon, the coldest. Can the feistier new Mk8 change his mind?

Find a twisty road however, and it doesn’t take long to unearth the RS’s other talents. Whack the DCC up into sport, and the car becomes a highly effective, if slightly clinical, road devourer. The meaty yet quick steering is confidence-inspiring and makes accurate placing of the car an intuitive affair, and the body control lent by the DCC is exceptional. As with the RS245 and Mk8 GTI though, the crowning glory is the limited-slip differential, which mitigates any trace of untidy wheelspin as you power out of corners, a trait which the old GTI sometimes frustrated me with.

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First Drive: 2022 Skoda Octavia RS

IN Skoda, Octavia, Octavia RS, Hot hatch, Sports saloon, Skoda Centre Singapore

The Skoda Octavia RS is back, and continues to offer the same incredible value and practicality. We take it out for a brief taster to see what it’s like

COVID restrictions meant we only had an hour with the car during the launch event of the new Mk8 Golf and Golf GTI (and that included time for photography as well), so we can’t give you much more than the most fleeting of first impressions. Oh, and conspiring against us further still was some truly appalling weather. But even so, there are signs that VW has turned up the aggression slightly in the Mk8 and made it a more willing entertainer than its forebears.

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FIRST DRIVE: Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk8

IN Volkswagen, Golf, GTI, Golf GTI, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Golf GTI, Volkswagen Group Singapore

A brief taster of the new Golf GTI suggests that Volkswagen has injected a bit more sportiness back into the long-reigning hot hatch king.

Projek

I Bought One: Lotus Elise 1.8 (M)

About six months ago, we decided to swap our Golf GTI for this sexy little number. Here's a quick intro to the car we got.

Cliche as it may sound, power is nothing without control, and if great handling is what you want, handling is what you get. Upon plonking yourself hurriedly in the driver's seat, and fretting about your future wives reaction, ooops a typo there, 'wife's' I mean (bit of a Freudian slip eh?) the first thing you’ll want to do is push the Start button, and with that, the turbocharged 2.0-litre engine burbles into life with a bassy note to boot. The next button you would want to push would be the 'Mode’ button next to the gear lever and select from the available settings of Comfort, Normal, Sport, Eco and Individual. The changes affect the suspension, steering and throttle response of the car and in Sport, performance is aplenty as the car settings are adjusted to be more dynamic. In fact mashing the accelerator is a treat, as the car resonates with a rich burble and a near instant response that eggs you on to push it harder. And with the reworked and improved sport suspension, grippy Continental ContiSportContact 2 tyres and a steering wheel that offers great feedback, indulging in a bit of necessary spirited driving results in your best man going

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Golly, That's Insane! | Mk7 Volkswagen Golf GTI

IN Volkswagen, Golf, GTI, Mk7

The all-new Mk 7 Volkswagen Golf GTI has got it all covered as the best all rounder hot hatch. Pavement burner or wedding car, the GTI does it all!

The exterior of the Fiesta ST has several alterations that include a large grille (that may have been inspired by a certain British Marque) that dominates the front fascia, a new front splitter, and a rear fascia shaped to resemble a rear diffuser. To further distinguish the ST from the normal Fiesta, the ST has a dual exhaust outlets, a new rear wing and tricked out 17 inch alloy wheels. Of course, a hot hatch is meant to scream in your face, and what better way to do it then to paint it in a bright Orange specifically made for the car?

Happenings

‘Hot’ Fiesta Launched!

IN Ford, Fiesta, ST, Hot, Hatch, Manual

Ford bolts a turbo on a Fiesta and turns it into a Euro-hatch killer. Let's hope it makes its way here!

Stomp on the pedal from standstill and the new GTI will accelerate to 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 246 km/h. The GTI Performance will edge ahead a little at 250 km/h and 6.4 seconds for the sprint to 100 km/h.

Happenings

New Volkswagen Golf GTI To Grace Geneva Motor Show

IN Volkswagen, Golf, GTI, Geneva Motor Show

Following the news on Volkswagen's GTD diesel hot-hatch, their iconic GTI has officially been announced and will make an appearance at the Geneva Motor Show.

Like all six Golf GTI generations before it, the seventh generation concept car being shown in Paris is distinguished from other Golf models by numerous additional equipment features and classic GTI insignia. Overall, the seventh generation Golf is also visually more dynamic than the previous one. The objective of the designers was to develop an even more striking and sporty character into the new Golf GTI - the goal was to give the GTI a lower, wider image with a more challenging character. Volkswagen Design developed numerous individual, detailed solutions for the new Golf GTI and integrated them harmoniously into the overall visual concept. Important here is the fact that the GTI-specific design elements are not simply

Happenings

Volkswagen Golf GTi Concept

IN Volkswagen, Golf, GTI, E35, 2.0, TSI, Concept, Paris Motor Show

Set to be launched in early 2013, the new Volkswagen Golf GTI will be powered by the engine from the EA888 series with 220 ps, and 230 ps if opted with the factory performance pack.

By now, you might be asking “is this pricier than a regular GTI?” Good news for you then, because you'll be getting an E35 if you order a GTI today — at no extra cost.

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Happy Birthday Golf! | Volkswagen Golf GTI E35

IN Volkswagen, Golf, GTI, E35, 2.0, TSI, Edition 35

The Edition 35 is Volkswagen’s way of celebrating 35 years of the evergreen Golf GTI. But is it the perfect anniversary present?

Undoubtedly, the technical aspect of the car is one of the most important. In almost all driving situations, the 16-valve four-cylinder turbo diesel engine offers the strength of a V8 sports car — a little lazy initially but once you hit that sweet spot, in the case of the GTD it’s before 2,500rpm, the world around you just turns into a blur.

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Golfing Around All Day Long | Volkswagen Golf GTD TDI

IN Volkswagen, VW, Golf, GTD, GTi, TSI, DSG, Caltex, Techron, Techron D, Diesel

When given the keys to Volkswagen’s diesel-powered hot hatchback, our Associate Editor deliberately spent his time driving around the whole of Singapore.

On the move, the driving characteristic of the MiTo isn’t what it seems to be. You may opine initially that the ride sways more towards the soft side, but when you set its DNA system from “Neutral” to “Dynamic”, you can feel the MiTo stiffen up and provide a reasonable amount of grip that is both sharp and rather precise. Pity the factory-fitted Bridgestone Turanza ER300 tyres that don’t seem to cooperate as they tend to screech and struggle for grip when pushed hard, killing your enthusiasm when shooting in hard into a corner. When it comes to the brakes, the anchors on the MiTo — standard with ABS and EBD - are assuring and offers respectable stopping power with no feeling of brake fade which is useful at hauling all that 1,145kg to a complete halt.

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Ciao Di Nuovo | Alfa Romeo MiTo Multiair TCT

IN Alfa Romeo, MiTo, TCT

If you are a loyal fan of hot hatches, you would have noticed how this particular car segment is sometimes on a roll, but in most instances just plain quiet.