The Volkswagen Golf GTI… The Best Car Ever?
Without even reading any farther, many people have already dismissed the matter at hand because of the title of this article. If you have stayed with me thus far, good for you! Let me explain why the Volkswagen Golf GTI is the best car ever made.
The Volkswagen Golf came out in the mid 1970’s as a departure from the famous Beetle, aging Karmann Ghia, and the groovy VW type II Van. The Golf had updated styling, and would go on to be a great success by itself. Volkswagen didn’t leave the little car alone though. They decided to spice up their Golf by adding the GTI variant shortly after its initial release, which provided the base car more performance at a higher, yet still somewhat affordable price. The Golf GTI was so good that it was solely responsible for kicking off the “hot hatch movement” in the late 1970’s and 1980’s. It was from this cheeky new automobile that every modern “hot hatch” owes its existence.
It is one thing to be the best at something, and it is another thing to usher in a new era in time because of the sheer importance of an accomplishment, new discovery, or major breakthrough of some kind. Michael Jordan, Mark Zuckerberg, and Michael Jackson are great examples of people who have accomplished all of these things. To be on a list like that is to be truly exceptional. The Golf GTI makes the cut. When the car first came out, it did everything so well, and with a little extra pizzazz. It ushered in a new era in the automotive world, and today, it continues following the footsteps of its past.
Over the years, the Volkswagen Golf GTI has evolved exactly as it should. The overhauls and re-designs of the GTI have come naturally. It has never been the largest in class,nor has it ever been the most stylish. Never has it offered the best in-class performance. It has never had the least of any of these things either though. The GTI is supremely usable in every way. It is understated while being stylish enough. Even though it will never be the fastest car, it has all the performance that anyone needs at any given time. It has kept up with the competition while retaining a healthy dose of its old magic. It retains what has made the original GTI great. In other words, the Golf GTI does everything very well without being overindulgent in anything the car has to offer.
The GTI has never been completely perfect, nor has it ever claimed to be. It is this car’s lack of perfection that makes it perfect, and is therefore precisely what makes the Volkswagen Golf GTI the best car ever made.
–SWF
I’ve had a few VWs in my time, and loved every one of them. I was toying with the idea of the Golf R or GTI. VW makes a great ride.