VW Golf GTI "Edition 35": Wolfsburg Volcano

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 05:39

VW has packed the "Edition 35" between the Golf GTI and the Golf R. The country road bolide is the perfect gift for the compact athlete's anniversary.

By Marcel Sommer

In my mid-thirties, it is actually said, the fitness zenith has already been passed. That's not entirely true with the car. The VW Golf GTI is celebrating its 35th birthday this year and is really having a blast on the road. 18 kW / 25 PS more than its "normal" GTI brother and a few cosmetic operations here and there - the Golf GTI "Edition 35" has become a bit more masculine overall.

Slight differences to the Golf GTI

On the one hand, this is due to the changed front, which gives the engine a little more air to breathe and, in conjunction with its new diffuser, exudes a bit more aggressiveness. On the other hand, because of the background noise inside, which has now become a bit more robust. Thanks to the sound designers. The exterior mirrors are black and under them there is a small "35" in chrome digits.

After getting into the Volkswagen, which is now available for purchase, the driver immediately notices that only small things have changed in the interior compared to the normal GTI. There are the door sills and the seats on which the age is denounced. Seat belts, which now have red edges and new decorative strips on the passenger side. The standard fabric seats look a bit cheap at first glance, but provide very good lateral support and sufficient leg rest even after long journeys. The same applies to the back seat in the rear. Even tall passengers can be easily stowed here as long as they only share the space with two people. Of course, there is also top-quality leather seats. The surcharge: 1,920 euros.

In 6.6 seconds to 100 km / h

When starting the engine, the corners of the driver's mouth are already drawn towards his ears, because he seems to suspect that the following kilometers in combination with the 300 Newton meters of torque promise pure pleasure. The first sprint from zero to one hundred is history after 6.6 seconds. The end of the pace is only reached at 247 km / h. Somebody should say that the 18 kW / 25 more horsepower cannot be felt.

The now 173 kW / 235 PS gets the at least 30,425 Euro expensive Wolfsburg from the same 2.0 turbo gasoline engine that already works in the 270 PS R-Golf. This direct relationship also seems to explain his great thirst. When driving gently, with good adherence to all shifting instructions and a quick upshift into sixth gear, only real savers can achieve a single-digit fuel consumption figure.

Only one course necessary

The factory-specified eight liters per 100 kilometers are easily exceeded. The fascinating thing, however, is that when you're racing around corners in third gear, the difference to the leisurely "grandma's exit" is just under three liters.

Interestingly, the birthday child seems to only need one gear for performance-appropriate country road trips anyway. The "third" fulfills between 4000 and 7000 revolutions per minute, i.e. from 60 to 120 km / h, even the most spontaneous gas foot desire. For particularly sporty drivers, the "Edition 35" GTI has another feature ready: an ESP that can be switched off. Even at the absolute limit, the imaginary copilot keeps his brake foot still. The ESP only stabilizes the vehicle again after the driver actively brakes, and then withdraws again immediately.