VOLKSWAGEN SA ANNOUNCES GOLF GTI EDITION 35

The Golf GTI Edition 35 was introduced to Europe almost a year ago. At the time Volkswagen South Africa said it had no plans to bring the car here. It seems these plans have changed. The car is now available at the nearest VW dealership.

Golf GTI 35 is really a celebration of 35 years of the GTI badge. The brand is so popular in Mzansi that last year GTI outsold every other Golf model in the range, despite being the second-most expensive in the range. So what makes it so special? Well, for one we’ve got one of the classic golf ball-look of the gear lever as found in the GTIs of old. Then there are decorative strips in the cockpit area, special door sill plates with the “35” logo, a new type of upholstery and special seats.

The exterior features LED daytime running lights, a new 18-inch alloy wheel, 225/40 R18 tyres, new winglets for better air intake, glossy black mirror housings. Thankfully the car will be offered in 9 exterior colours, including Reflex Silver and Blue Graphite.

The car would not be special without a special engine, which it has. The same 4-cylinder 2.0-litre TSI used in the normal GTI and R makes itself available here too. This time it kicks out 173kW and peak torque of 300Nm between 2200rpm and 5500rpm. VW says it will go from 0 – 100km/h in 6.6 seconds, topping out at 247km/h. Drive goes to the front wheels via a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed DSG. Golf GTI Edition 35 has a similar weight profile as the 155kW GTI, which makes it well over 100kg lighter than the Golf R and only 15kW shy of said R. I bet it would moer the R in performance! Claimed combined fuel consumption is 8.1 litres per 100km (equivalent to 189 g/km CO2). In the DSG version, these two values are improved to 8.0 l/100 km and 185 g/km CO2 respectively.

A lot of standard features are expectedly fitted, while optional items include Rear Assist with a rear view camera, satellite navigation, Bluetooth connectivity and a towbar.

Golf GTI Edition 35 Pricing

Manual (R370 900)

DSG (R385 700)