The thing about the Golf GTI is that it already solves 99 per cent of your motoring problems. It has four doors, five bigish seats and a big boot, so it can do lots of boring things involving supermarkets and offspring. But there’s also a 217bhp engine so it can accelerate from 0 to 62mph in 6.5 seconds and reach 153mph, which is faster than anything you can use to collect the big shop in has any right to be.
Because there’s a Volkswagen badge on the front, you also know that it’ll outlast roughly four prime ministers before it goes wrong. In fact, you’d be forgiven for asking why Volkswagen bothers with special versions. Surely the edition of a car that does everything already is special enough?
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Actually, it’s not. When the current Mk7 GTI came out in 2012 Britain was heaving itself out of a recession and the luxury market flatlined. VWs reaction was to tweak the GTI proposition and make it a little more sensible, giving it the strapline of “more efficient and cheaper to insure”. Which is a bit like writing “easy to wipe down” on your Tinder profile.
Shortly after, the company released a series of faster, sharper versions to make amends. This is one of them, it’s called the Clubsport Edition 40 and it’s built to celebrate the model’s 40th birthday.
Like most 40-year-olds, it’s fatter than it used to be and a lot more complicated. That said, it’s only 24kg heavier than a normal 2016 GTI and quite a bit faster. By tweaking the electronics, VW’s dropped the 0-62mph sprint to 6.3 seconds by giving it 35bhp more, but that’s not the full story. It actually has an extra 59bhp over standard, because there’s an “overboost” function that temporarily increases the turbo’s input when you’ve got a case of the Jensens, then reduces it to increase fuel consumption.
This is a very good thing. The recession-spec car is competent, but it feels like it could do with just a little more. That’s exactly what the Clubsport Edition 40 gives you – it plugs all the normal car’s gaps with just a little more power so you never feel shortchanged by the GTI badge. VW makes faster stuff, such as the 296bhp Golf R, and that really separates the men from the boys, but all that extra power tends to separate them from their no claims bonuses, too. This is the sweet spot – all the power you’re ever likely to need on a public road.
At this point, we’d usually add something about the handling upgrades, but while VW’s made some minor adjustments, such as lowering and stiffening the suspension, it doesn’t feel any different to a normal GTI. That’s to say that it absorbs bumps and corners flat with the sort of alacrity that drives other carmakers to burn wicker Golfs on rural hillsides to try and capture some of their glory.
Finally, let’s not forget that under the stickers and anabolic bodywork this is still a Golf, and therefore a boringly brilliant thing. The build quality is meticulous. Each switch and button is organised as neatly and intuitively as Patrick Bateman’s tie rack. It’s comfortable but can withstand decades of spilt Americanos. But the Clubsport Edition 40 is just a little bit better to drive, which makes it as close to the perfect all-round car you can buy in 2016.
£32,350 via Volkswagen
