VW Golf GTI: The hottest hatch

"Car and Driver" says that the VW Golf GTI is the hottest hatch.

The GTI is the third of three cars to trickle into the U.S. that share the same platform from the Volkswagen/Audi juggernaut. First was the wagonlike five-door Audi A3 and then the Jetta GLI sedan.

This GTI rides roughly and clomps over bumps. It also has a raspy exhaust note punctuated by a staccato blast during upshifts, but these traits help to give it a different, more aggressive attitude than its platform-mates', and that's the way we think it should be. The hunkered-down stance and the 225/45R-17 Bridgestone RE040 summer tires helped to pull an impressive 0.90 g on the skidpad and to stop from 70 mph in 162 feet, beating both the A3 and GLI. However, VW says our version will be raised 0.4 inch to improve the ride in our pothole-ridden states, so unfortunately, the GTI may lose some of its performance-oriented edge.

GermanCarBlog, VW Golf GTI

Source: Car and Driver

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