VW Golf GTI Clubsport review

How tempting it must be, once you’ve specced your £37,215 GTI Clubsport up a little, to peer across the showroom floor and spot the new Golf R sitting there with a little more power, four-wheel drive, the same paddleshift gearbox and a very similar figure immediately adjacent to the pound sign. It’s enough to make you wonder what this Clubsport is really for. Go for a quick drive on good roads and the answer comes to you. 

With optional adaptive dampers, there’s a good range of variability in the chassis. The softest of the – count them – 15 settings work really well on the worst of our back roads, while the firmest feels well-configured for smooth race tracks. There is some dullness in the steering, but the electronically-controlled mechanical LSD tugs you through the exit of corners really sharply and there’s bundles of grip to lean on at corner entry, as long as you tip the car in smoothly. 

But if you don’t… It takes you by surprise at first. Turn in while still on the brakes, or do so with an exaggerated flick of the wrists, and you find this layer of adjustability in the Clubsport that makes it so unlike the safe, stable and steady fast Golf you’d been expecting. It’s fun in that phase. The engine is strong and the gearbox faultlessly quick, but you can’t help but reflect on how well a good manual transition would complement that lively chassis. 

VW Golf GTI Clubsport
Engine: 1984cc, 4-cyls, turbo
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch, FWD
Power: 296 bhp @ 5300-6500rpm
Torque: 295lb ft @ 2000-5200rpm
Weight: 1461kg
Power-to-weight: 203bhp/tonne
0-62mph: 5.6 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Fuel economy: 38mpg
Price: £37,215
Ti rating 7/10