Internally referred to as CD1 for the hatchback or CG5 for the wagon, the Mk8 Golf rolled out in October 2019. Come February 2020, the GTI was revealed. That fall, Volkswagen confirmed £33,460 as being the starting price of the manual-equipped GTI in the United Kingdom, whereas £1,500 on top of that got you the dual-clutch transmission.
The Mk8 Golf was updated at the beginning of 2024 for the 2025 model year, with the refreshed GTI confirmed to kick off at £38,900 on the road. That's $49,350 at current exchange rates, which – as you might have guessed by now – is on the expensive side of people's performance cars.
Volkswagen UK has also published on-the-road pricing information for the GTE and Style eHybrid, with said models retailing at £39,750 and £36,760 ($50,415 or $46,625). Yet again, seriously high starting prices. But as opposed to the Golf 4 from a decade ago, the 8.5 comes with a helluva lot more standard kit, safety features, and punchier mills.
Remember the Mk4 Golf R32 with its great-sounding VR6 engine? It made 241 ps or 238 hp from a displacement of 3.2 liters, while Volkswagen quotes 265 ps or 261 hp for the 2025 model year Golf GTI from 2.0 liters and four pots instead of six. That's 20 extra metric ponies over the previous GTI, whereas peak torque is rated at the very same 370 Nm (273 pound-feet) as before.
The aforementioned seven-speed tranny comes standard, along with Richmond alloy wheels, an illuminated logo at the front, IQ.LIGHT LED matrix headlights, a 12.9-inch touchscreen with ChatGPT integration for the IDA voice assistant, red stitching for the sports seats, keyless access, three-zone Climatronic, a rearview camera, Traffic Jam Assist, Lane Assist, Emergency Assist, and heated front seats. Not surprising anyone, that's a whole lot more equipment than the Mk4 Golf R32 and GTI used to come with back in their days.
Photo: Volkswagen
Unfortunately, there's no manual to speak of. Both the GTI and R dropped the row-your-own transmission for 2025, which is kind of worrying. On the other hand, remember that Volkswagen intends to move the Golf to the SSP platform in 2028 with the arrival of the ninth generation.
The SSP is a highly modular architecture that will eventually replace most of the German manufacturer's vehicle platforms, including the Golf's MQB and the ID.3's MEB. The next-generation Volkswagen Golf is believed to flaunt electric power exclusively, but due to cooling demand for EVs pretty much everywhere around the world, hybrids shouldn't be ruled out.
Speaking of which, the Golf Style eHybrid and the Golf GTE are both plug-in hybrids that use the group's 1.5-liter TSI evo2 four-cylinder turbo. The Style eHybrid puts out a very respectable 204 ps (201 hp) versus 272 ps (268 hp) for the GTE. Driving range in EV mode? From 19.7 kWh worth of high-voltage battery, they're good for 89 and 82 miles (143 and 132 kilometers) in the WLTP.
Volkswagen UK says that orders for the revised GTI will open on June 20, whereas those in the market for the Style eHybrid and GTE will have to wait until June 27. The latter are certain to appeal to company car drivers, for the BIK rate is 5%.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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