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By Jonathan Crouch

Want a more focused Volkswagen Golf GTI? Jonathan Crouch takes a look at the Clubsport model in its updated form.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 51

Want a more focused Volkswagen Golf GTI? Then you want the GTI Clubsport version. There's a little more power, a little more visual presence - and a lot more motorsport tuning care. Producing what many enthusiasts will feel is a very satisfying end result. Here, we look at the updated version.

Backgroundword count: 198

The space between the Golf GTI and the Golf R is surely the smallest of market niches, but Volkswagen has for years been determined to fill it - and continues to do so in the updated MK8 Golf range with this car, the GTI Clubsport. To wonder why this model exists when for not much more, customers could go faster and get 4WD in a Golf R is to miss the point. Golf GTI enthusiasts often dismiss the Golf R as a hot hatch for bored executives, rather than one for the Nurburgring. They want something more focused - a Golf GTI with motorsport genes. The sort of thing that was served up in the old pre-2020 MK7 Golf range by the GTI TCR, those letters standing for 'Touring Car Racing'. But by the time of this Golf MK8's launch in 2020, Volkswagen had turned its back on the TCR class, so for this uprated version of the GTI, decided to return to the 'Clubsport' name that had last been used on a Golf in 2016. The Golf GTI Clubsport arrived in 2020, but it's the updated facelifted version that followed in mid-2024 that we look at here.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 387

For this update, Volkswagen has tweaked the suspension, plus the engineers say the steering rack and front-end geometry are now even more focused. Minor changes have also been made to the (still optional) Dynamic Chassis Control system that allows you to adjust damper firmness through 11 levels. There are no significant engine updates, but none were really needed - this car still should feel properly quick, the 2.0-litre TSI petrol turbo powerplant continuing in its 300PS state of tune, though that's now only 35PS more than you get in a standard Golf GTI. It's the same engine you'll find in a CUPRA Leon TSI 300. The power hike over the GTI comes courtesy of a higher boost map and a larger intercooler, plus a different turbocharger. All of which gives the car a more energetic character at higher revs, where only 5.6 seconds is necessary to get from rest to 62mph. That's only 0.3s faster than the standard GTI, but that isn't what you're really paying the extra money for here. Just as on a Golf tuned for club racing, lots of little changes make the difference. There's a 10mm lower ride height, which results in significantly greater camber for the front wheels. The front springs and dampers are the same as those in a GTI, but there's a different control arm mount, different wheel mounts and different rear springs and dampers. Plus the car's VDQ electromechanical differential lock has been re-tuned. And the front brakes are upgraded with the same 357mm discs and 2-pot calipers used in the Golf R. Unfortunately, there's still no manual gearbox option - which doesn't seem very 'club sport'-like - but the 7-speed DSG paddle shift auto has a short final drive. Best of all perhaps, as before there's a bespoke addition to the standard GTI suite of selectable drive settings, charismatically christened the 'Nurburgring' mode. This apparently was the setting that development driver Benjamin Leuchter used to lap the classic Nurburgring Nordschleife a claimed 13 seconds quicker than the standard model - in 7 minutes 54s if you're interested. You'll need to be a real enthusiast to really appreciate the difference that all this these little changes make, but if you are, you'll like the effect very much. Especially if you're on a track. Which, given the name, seems appropriate.

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