Calling it “not only a segment standard,” but “also an industry benchmark” and “a refined and proven formula for driving bliss,” AUTOMOBILE Magazine recently named the Volkswagen GTI to its automotive All-Star list for the fifth straight year. And even with the car’s compact proportions, the GTI had room for a full-size range of compliments.
The GTI’s award-winning 2.0-liter turbocharged I4 engine makes a robust 200 hp, but it “acts like a much more substantial engine, with broad power delivery, smooth revs, and a throaty exhaust note.”
When drivers take advantage of the powerplant, the car “bolsters the driver’s confidence with predictable cornering and precise, communicative steering.”
With an MSRP that starts at $24,460, “the GTI is a veritable performance bargain,” but it also shows an “atypical maturity” that makes it a potential rival “even against a Bavarian sport sedan costing almost twice as much.”
Equipped with VW’s innovative DSG dual-clutch six-speed automatic, a driver can snap off “a rapid, direct shift with each flick of the steering-wheel-mounted paddles.”
Of course, the GTI isn’t the only member of the Golf family to earn honors this year. The Golf itself was named 2010 World Car of the Year and Urban Active Lifestyle Vehicle of the Year, while the Golf TDI won Kelley Blue Book’s Best Resale Value Award in the Hybrid/Alternative Energy Vehicle segment as well as the ALG Best Residual Value Award in the Alternative Fuel Vehicle category.
The 2011 VW Golf, Golf TDI and GTI are all on sale now at local Volkswagen dealerships across the country.
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