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VW Golf GTI wrung out by Chris Harris

Enthusiasts like nothing more than to crucify modern interpretations of their favorite performance models for failing to live up to some imagined ethos. Even the Volkswagen GTI has suffered its fair share of slings and arrows for growing in size and curb weight. Chris Harris recently spent some time with the all-new MK VII GTI to find out if growing up means giving up on what makes the machine so special.
Judging by his comments, Harris certainly doesn't think so. Yes, the new GTI is considerably more comfortable than its predecessors, but that's hardly a bad thing. The multitude of driving modes actually seem to add depth to the car rather than simply try to force one tool to do many jobs, and Harris even finds the machine's electronic power steering tolerable. As a result, Harris goes so far as to call the Volkswagen GTI "one of the best cars to actually own." How's that for high praise? You can watch the video for yourself by scrolling below.

2015 Volkswagen e-Golf

Until now, the only way you could get the words "electric" and "Golf" so close together was the put the word "cart" after them. Knowing that the e-Golf would be the next step in Volkswagen's tilt at electrification, the automaker designed the MkVII platform to fit a myriad of drivetrains, none of which would require purchasers to sacrifice the Golf-ness that makes the best-selling car in Europe, not to mention a huge hit here in the States. In the e-Golf that means power electronics underhood and an amoeba-shaped battery that fits in the floorpan, between the axles, where it won't ooze into the interior space. We look at the e-Golf as another kind of crossover: traditional cars that just happen to be electric, offering a taste of the new EV religion in soothing, recognizable garb. We had one for a week in its natural habitat, Los Angeles and the surrounding area. We really like the fact that, powertrain aside, it maintains everything we dig about the Golf. The caveat is that this is an EV first and a Golf second – you must first address the EV challenges and live within EV constraints, then you can enjoy the Golf bits. Even so, it's the electric car this writer would buy once we acquired the lifestyle to make proper use of it. The most noticeable exterior change to the e-Golf are 16-inch Astana wheels wrapped in 205-series tires that reduce rolling resistance by ten percent. Once you've cottoned on to that, the other alterations become apparent: the blue trim strip underlining the radiator grille, the redesigned bumper with the C-shaped decoration LED lights and the full-LED headlamps above them, the little blue "e" in the model name on the rear hatch. You won't notice the underbody paneling, that the frontal area of the e-Golf is ten percent smaller than that of a traditional Golf, that the radiator is closed off, or the reshaped rear spoiler and vanes on the C-pillars. Volkswagen says this results in a ten-percent drop in drag, getting the coefficient down to 0.281, but the standard Golf is also listed at 0.28. The TSI and TDI are 0.29. No matter those numbers, the point is the e-Golf looks just like... a Golf. The 12,000-rpm, 85-kW electric motor equates to 115 horsepower and 199 pound-feet of torque, which compares to 146 hp and 236 lb-ft from the 2.0-liter diesel Golf. It takes 4.2 seconds to get to 37 miles per hour, 10.4 seconds to hit 62 mph, and the little guy tops out at 87 mph.

Volkswagen Golf, Ford F-150 named 2015 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year

Congratulations, Volkswagen Golf/GTI and Ford F-150. You've just been named the 2015 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year, kicking off the first press day of the Detroit Auto Show. The Golf faced some seriously stiff competition from its runners-up, the Ford Mustang and Hyundai Genesis. But the Golf has been a highly awarded vehicle since its launch, including recently being named Motor Trend's Car of the Year. As for the Truck/Utility award, it wasn't immediately clear that the aluminum-bodied Ford F-150 would win the North American honor, topping the Chevrolet Colorado and Lincoln MKC. The Chevy, after all, has been widely praised since arriving this fall, including taking home MT's Truck of the Year award. In 2014, Chevrolet had a sweep of the NACTOY awards, with the Corvette Stingray and Silverado taking top honors. Here's a look at the 2015 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year voting breakdown. As you can see, it wasn't exactly neck and neck. Car of the Year Volkswagen Golf/GTI – 256 points Ford Mustang – 204 points Hyundai Genesis – 110 points Truck/Utility of the Year Ford F-150 – 297 points Chevrolet Colorado – 205 points Lincoln MKC – 68 points The winners were determined by the votes of 57 North American jurors who work in all forms of media – magazine, newspaper, television, online and radio, and their ballots were tabulated in secret by accounting firm Deloitte & Touche. Autoblog editors Sharon Carty and Chris Paukert are members of the North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year jury. Featured Gallery 2015 Volkswagen Golf TSI View 16 Photos Related Gallery 2015 Ford F-150 View 36 Photos Detroit Auto Show Ford Volkswagen Truck Hatchback 2015 Detroit Auto Show NACTOY