Perhaps nothing demonstrates what’s happened to hot hatches in recent years better than the evolution of the Golf GTI Clubsport. Introduced a couple of years into the Mk7’s life, it offered power between a GTI and an R, a few nice options and some chassis optimisation. Not only was it offered in 2016 with two transmission options and two bodystyles for £30k or so, it also faced a glut of rivals: think Megane, Astra, 308, i30, as well as those in-house alternatives. Now the Mk8.5 Golf GTI Clubsport, offered only with a DSG and five doors, can only really count the Focus ST as a direct rival. The Type R, really, is too expensive and too unavailable to really count. Oh yeah, and the Golf now costs from £42,000. Eight years ago has never quite felt so much like ancient history. 

Furthermore, we know already that the 8.5 update hasn’t exactly been a transformative one for the Golf. Perhaps the new look, complete with animated rear LEDs, is quite snazzy, and the return of steering wheel buttons (denied to the R, in fact) is welcome, but the reassuringly expensive feel of a Golf still eludes this car. Even with a more responsive screen. The HVAC sliders are still nasty, as is the pad for the headlights that looks like something from a kid’s toy. It’s a step in the right direction, complete with some really nice seats, though there remains some work for VW to do. 

However, there’s some good stuff to report as well – even with Nic having been less than impressed by a standard GTI. The Clubsport-specific ‘Special’ drive mode unlocks a true manual setting for the seven-speed DSG; familiar from the Performance Pack in the R, it significantly improves the powertrain experience. Being able to let the 2.0-litre turbo haul from low revs in a high gear, feel the boost build to 2.2 bar and watch it on the gauge, is interesting in a way that kickdown just isn’t. The power delivery of the EA888 remains pretty linear (peak torque lasts until 5,200rpm, max power is from 5,300rpm), though there’s a decent willingness to rev. If juvenile, too, then a bap-bap-bap rev limiter is quite fun as well, especially with second done by 55mph and third wrapped up at 80. What a shame, then, that the paddles feel the size of the old R2 and L2 PlayStation buttons, and about as nice to use. 

Even so, the tarmac rally driver impersonation – hands never leaving the wheel, throttle flat as much as possible – doesn’t take long to embrace, particularly with a reasonably convincing (if obviously manipulated) roar to accompany the rampant acceleration and what feel like sharper shifts. As is often the case with these Clubsports, a 300hp, front-drive car feels just as fast as a 333hp, all-wheel drive R once underway, which is to say pretty damn rapid indeed. Although, as is also always the case with fast DSG Golfs, it’s hard not to miss a manual.

While it remains a bit cheeky that the standard Special mode requires the optional DCC dampers to fully take advantage of it, you really won’t need to bother with another setting once there. As well as a tad more sparkle to the engine and gearbox, whatever cheat code is plumbed into the dampers works a treat; it so convincingly deals with every challenge that Comfort feels too loose limbed and Sport a bit heavy handed by comparison. The Clubsport is taut yet limber, accurate yet accommodating. More so than before, in fact, thanks to an update; buried in the press pack is a mention of those dampers that really should be standard: ‘DCC sees the required damping calculated for each wheel and adjusted at the four shock absorbers within fractions of a second, maximising comfort and dynamic handling. Reworked for this generation of GTI, the system is now focused even more clearly on a spontaneous vehicle response to steering commands, delivering even greater agility.’

So it means that when the Clubsport is being flung around a bit, you keep coming back for more. Turn in is keen and predictable, grip is strong, but there’s also scope for making adjustment to your line with throttle and brake. Perhaps the Golf GTI seems like the strait-laced hot hatch option, but if you want to turn in hard, lift off, punch the gas and romp away, the Golf is a more than willing partner. The VAQ still does a decent job of getting power down, even if perhaps Bridgestone Potenzas do not. Hopefully the impression was not skewed too much by driving ordinary EVs before the Clubsport (or turning up a favourite playlist via those much missed wheel buttons during), but driving this GTI was a lot of fun, and a reminder of how good a great hot hatch could be. 

It was compact enough (in a way that a Civic isn’t) to make lanes feel suitable, fast enough to be fun without being outrageous, loud enough to be exciting without being OTT, comfortable without being aloof and engaging without being hard work. It’s very easy to imagine getting in a Clubsport, selecting Special, turning off everything that’s mandatory in 2024 (and the ESC while you’re there) and being thoroughly entertained whatever journey lay ahead. As it should be with a Golf GTI. 

A couple of details still grate, the sort of thing that separates the really good hot hatches from the brilliant ones. Anyone nit picking would find a better sense of connection from both the steering wheel and brake pedal in the few rivals that there are for this Golf than in the VW. They’re good enough (braking performance in particular is very strong), if still wanting for some feedback. Such is the calibre of the rest of the package that they stand out a little more than before. 

Certainly this latest Clubsport is the best a Mk8 Golf GTI has been, with a couple of useful interior tweaks and a little more joy from behind the wheel. Moreover, while it’s easy to sit here and suggest that a Focus ST Edition is the more gratifying hot hatch to drive (because it is), we now live in a strange world where the Ford (from £42,955) is more expensive than the VW (from £42,155). And a Smurf blue, six-speed manual Focus might be harder to justify (to those who we must justify these things too) than a smart new Golf with the cool lights and a standard auto. A fast Ford remains the drive’s choice, but this Clubsport is the most persuasive GTI – the all things to all people hot hatch – in a little while. Let’s hope it can stick around. 

Engine: 1,984cc, four-cyl turbo
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 300@5,300-6,600rpm
Torque (lb ft): 295@2,000-5,200rpm
0-62mph: 5.6 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Weight: 1,459kg (VW ‘unladen weight’)
MPG: 37.4 (WLTP combined)
CO2: 171g/km (WLTP)
Price: £42,155 (price as standard; price as tested £47,195 comprising Oryx White premium mother-of-pearl paint (different test car pictured!) for £1,220, Panoramic roof for £1,220, Black exterior styling pack for £1,285, Dynamic Chassis Control for £720, Area view for £325 and Vodafone SCD60 S5 tracker for £270)