Today, we're at Adams Motorsports Park once again to drive the most requested car of 2010. That's right, you guys write me every week requesting I drive stuff and the Volkswagen GTI is far and away the most requested car. Now, I couldn't find one in the press fleet so I made Dan the intern take one for the team and buy one. Thanks, buddy. No problem, man. It's my pleasure.
He's since been promoted to associate producer. And today, we are going to whip the snot out of Dan's brand new car on this racetrack, because when you're the intern, that's what happens. I'm Matt Farah. That's Dan. He's so much more handsome than me.
How can I not beat on his car just for spite? I would say that in the last six months, more of you have written me letters saying, when am I going to drive the new GTI than any other car? And I get lots of them.
So, amazingly, I hadn't driven a GTI in a few years, not since 2002. This one is very interesting. It has the same engine as last year, 2 liter turbo charged 4 cylinder. Makes 210 horsepower, 207 pound feet of torque.
Just like last year, all that power goes to the front wheels. and now we have an electronic differential to help distribute the power more evenly, reduce torque steering through corners. This car has the optional dual clutch transmission, which we've seen before in other cars and is still very good. The paddles on the steering wheel, nice size, right place, and the steering wheel is fantastic.
On the one hand, you could say the GTI is outclassed entirely, because cars like the Subaru WRX and Lancer Ralliart, even the... However, what you get in this car that you don't get in that car is a feeling of luxury. The seats, which are basically Recaros, even though it doesn't say it on the headrest, keep you in place, and to the touch and to your back, feel like they belong in a much more expensive car. I love a car with great seats, and this car is a perfect example of great seats at a good price.
The GTI starts at $1,500. The GTI starts at $1,500. 23 and a half. $23,500 for a base model with a stick. Many people like the stick.
In fact, it sells 50-50 to the automatic. Dan chose the paddles, and I don't blame him because he lives in LA and drives in a lot of traffic. And that's a good option because these things are quick.
They shift in a tenth of a second, and the engine makes a nice little burble when you hit the paddle. It's really a nice, rewarding feeling. Shifts down just as fast.
Dan's car, our test car. Stickers for 31.5, which is, when you consider it, a lot of money for a hatchback. The only thing that I can think of that's more expensive would be a fully loaded John Cooper Works Mini, and these cars would be great competitors. But what you get for that extra money is something that you don't get with faster cars like the Mazda Speed 3 or the WRX.
Those cars, they're good, but they're basically economy cars with turbos strapped on them. They feel like disposable goods. plastic everywhere.
Here, no plastic. Lots of leather, soft rubber. It makes the car feel more expensive. And when you're going to spend 30 grand on a car, you want it to feel more expensive than those cars that may be a little faster, but aren't just as nice to touch or sit in.
That's where the GTI is a real winner. There are a few practical things about the GTI that I don't actually like. For instance, the nav.
It takes forever to find a point of interest. So if you're actually trying to find something quickly, you might be five miles from where you started before it actually finds out it was just where you were. Secondly, the car's e-diff system helps you keep the car under control, but it uses the anti-lock braking system to do it, which means if you're driving the car hard all the time, you're going to go through brake pads like crazy. And I may have just killed a bird. I think I might have.
I gotta say, I do like driving this car. It's not exactly a featherweight in its class at about 3,100 pounds with the DSG, but it still feels relatively light. The engine's happy to rev. It makes a great sound. It's comfortable. And I definitely just hit a bird right there.
Did anyone see that fly off? Oh, it's bird slaughtering day on the Smoking Tire. You know what I really like about Volkswagens and Audis for that matter?
They always have good, elegant storage solutions like the door pocket liter bottle holder. And then if you come back to the trunk, pop this guy. It's pretty spacious in there, right? But what if you're not filling it up totally? We've got hooks around the edges from grocery bags, cargo net.
and these little guys which are velcro and you can make a box of any different size so your stuff doesn't flop around when you're driving quickly just because you've got a trunk that holds a lot doesn't mean if you don't have a lot in there you want it sloshing all over the place I love that they think of stuff like that Now although the GTI's dash isn't as stylish as a car like a Mini Cooper or a Fiat 500, what you do get is a dash that's screwed together as tight as humanly possible. This dash just feels more expensive than all those other cars and that's a big selling point for the GTI. The other one is the Dynaudio radio sounds really good.
Listen. Oh. Ugh, Dan listens to the douchiest music.
I think we can conclude that as a road car, the GTI is actually very good, especially for the kind of money. It's tons of fun, plenty luxurious, and has lots of storage space. more than you'd think. But we are in a track for a reason. And tonight, $25 time attack night.
So I think we need to find out how it does as a race car. Visually, the biggest difference between the last generation and the current one is the redesigned front fascia, which incorporates a much more horizontal grill and not the Audi-esque Billy the Widemouth Bass look. The new quad headlamp design is reminiscent of the original first generation GTI, except now we get Xenon's, which is nice. Overall, we really like the fact that the Volkswagen's exterior styling doesn't need to make a very bold statement. It's simple, conservative, and very good to drive.
We've had a good day at the track, told you what I thought about the car, but now it's time to see the numbers. Now the car to beat was the Mazda Speed 3, which ran a 50.8 with me driving. Tom was able to run a 50.7 in the GT.
10th of a second faster. Yours truly, 50.6. So the same driver, the GTI, is most certainly faster than the Mazda Speed 3. Unfortunately, Dan's lap was hampered by a Miata driver going off course, spreading dirt everywhere, and forcing him to cancel his session.
So he got screwed out of this deal. But that's why he's the intern. I'm Matt. That's Dan. That's Dan's GTI.
We've had a good time. And I'll see you next week on the Smokin'Tire. MATT FARAH-Fucking Miatas. This year, Blackmagic is sending us on the 2010 Bull Run Live Rally from July 9th to 16th in New York to Las Vegas.
We're going to be driving the 2011 Shelby GT500 Convertible. Here's your chance to come hang out with us, the Bull Run Live Rally. All you do is go to blackmagicshine.com and design your own racing livery using the tools they give you. And the best design ends up on our car for Bull Run, and Black Magic's going to pay for your trip to New York to come hang out with us at the kickoff party. So go to blackmagicshine.com and be sure to watch all our videos almost live from the Bull Run rally right here on the Smoking Tire.
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