Mk5 Golf GTi Buying Guide

After a two-generation snooze VW awoke well and truly rejuvenated with the Mk5 GTi. The plump and ponderous Mk3 and Mk4 had got us thinking VW had given up on hot hatches, so when the next GTi instalment arrived in early ‘05 there were gleeful whoops and wows of joy from all. It was fun, fast and much more focussed than before, but it was also as solid, sophisticated and stylish as ever. Four years on and its appeal hasn’t diminished but values have, leaving you to snaffle yourself a high-class hot hatch for a relatively low-rent price…

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Twin-clutch better than manual?

Driving a M-DCT equipped BM, noticing how irritatingly smooth and seamless the twin-clutch activities are compared to my jerky manual efforts, recalling from the press blurb how a DSG trims CO2 and improves economy, thinking how a PDK is probably a lot better than me at launching a 997 off the line, I came to a quite controversial conclusion: really, the majority of cars that come out of the showroom should be equipped with an automatic gearbox as standard nowadays. That is, as a default, without having to ask and certainly without having to pay a premium, you should be supplied with a car that has the ability to choose its own cogs.

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