Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance Pack – does a Performance Pack add more GTI?

Volkswagen has added the option of a Performance Pack to the Golf GTI.  How is this different to the Golf GTI?

Performance Pack contents

If the standard Volkswagen Golf GTI is already so good, how can it be improved?  Is the Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance Pack better than the car on which it is based?

The Performance Pack option was made available to South African GTI buyers in April 2015.  Considering South Africa has one of the highest ratios of GTI:Golf sales (GTI to non-GTI Golf) and has such a strong following of the VW and GTI brands locally, this should find favour with GTI fans.

More power.  Not that the GTI in generation 7 has a shortage thereof.  The already generous 162kW is flexed up by 7 to 169kW.  The engine is the same 2.0 TSI engine used in GTI, with the same torque of 350 Newton metres – no need for more – though stretched across 200 r/min longer, from 1500-4600.  Fuel consumption and emissions stay the same. 

The Performance Pack is only coupled to the DSG auto gearbox, so no manual available as per the standard GTI.  Most buyers go for DSG anyway – this makes a good combination.  A Golf GTI DSG will reach 100km/h in 6.5 seconds and record a top-end run of 244km/h, versus the Performance Pack which slices 0.1 second off for a 6.4-second sprint, and max speed ups to 248.

More red.  A quick tell-tale (appreciated by GTI aficionados) is the GTI lettering which changes from chrome to red – these red badges on the grille and tailgate signify this car as the Performance Pack GTI.  Some owners will probably paint or replace their standard GTI badges to red, so don’t be fooled by a fake.  The red badges add a touch of aggression, and with the trademark Golf 7 GTI red pinstripe through the grille and headlights, the red GTI logo compliments well.

The Performance Pack also adds red brake calipers, with GTI logo on the front calipers.  If you are also not a fan of the skinny-blade new GTI wheels, which moved from the bold and beautiful shiny dials on the Golf 5 GTI, and so good they repeated it on Golf 6 GTI, then fear not – the 19-inch Santiago alloy wheels is also an option.  Some reported that these “new” wheels are part of the Performance Pack, but in fact these have been available on any Golf 7 GTI since launch, and R 7 650 to go from skinny-blade 18-inch to intricate sporty striking 19-inch wheels is a rare option bargain.

DCC (Dynamic Chassis Control) with Driver Profile Selection is a standard feature – basically adaptive suspension and driving modes.  It actively regulates damper valves to give a softer or firmer ride, and affects the engine response and DSG shift points.  This system is operated through the touch-screen system rather than through a dedicated button, which can be annoying at times when you are busy in, say, the audio screen menu and wants to quickly move between modes.

More diff. The newly-engineered Front Differential Lock is being used exclusively by the GTI Performance Pack.  Without getting technical, this differential makes a difference by giving more front-wheel grip when accelerating in a straight line (important for any GTI enthusiast) and in bends.  Basically it makes the car faster.  Unfortunately, when testing the GTI Performance Pack on a smooth tarred road, there was a sudden unpleasant knocking sound, as if the front axle is breaking off – this is probably the clever diff kicking in, but really unpleasant and noisy, not to be enjoyed by anyone with mechanical sympathy.

Essentially the GTI Performance Pack is said to perform better thanks to a little more power, better brakes, adaptive suspension and clever diff… but the diff is too harsh.

The rest still GTI familiar?

No need to change anything in the pleasant GTI interior.  Quality materials, superb finish and a general sense of calm confidence with red stitching throughout make up the GTI cabin.  But the feeling is very restrained, whereas the previous generation GTI had more of a premium feel.

One of the problems with new technology is that it does not always work as expected, and needs to be perfected.  The GTI comes with a fake engine sound played through the speakers – when selecting Sport mode, a more sporty gravelly engine note is meant to be played… not by the engine or exhaust, but through speakers.  Purists are frowning in unison.  On the test car, after one short green-light sprint in Sport mode to feel the added speed, this engine speaker sound started distorting, just like a normal speaker would when its diaphragm breaks.  This meant the Normal and Eco modes were quiet, but Sport mode, which you like in a GTI, only irriatated.

The DSG gearbox is as quick and willing as ever.  But why oh why did they silence the much-loved (and much replicated by mouth) DSG blips… on the previous 2 generations of GTI one can hear this is a GTI DSG, thanks to those exhaust pops as the turbo and DSG work together to let out the extra air from the pipes, but on new GTI the sound is, sadly, very muted and too mature.

If you want to step away from the default white, red or black GTI, the navy blue colour (off-setting the red badges, lines, brakes and wheels very well) of the test car is called Night Blue. 

Options worth taking include KESSY keyless entry at R 4 700, Bi-Xenon headlamps including LED taillamps (both these make a big difference for added vision, and more modern looks) and perhaps the tilt&slide panoramic sunroof which adds extra joy and looks, at R 9 200.

Cost of the Performance Pack
 
This Performance Pack costs exactly R 20 000, which includes the DCC (Dynamic Chassis Control) with Driver Profile Selection (otherwise an option costing R 11 500 on GTI).  Add the extra performance and distinction of the red GTI badges and extra go-faster tech bits, and this seems a reasonable upgrade price.

At time of testing, the Volkswagen Golf GTI manual was priced at R 416 000, with the DSG adding R 16 000 to make R 432 000, with the GTI Performance Pack (only with DSG auto) pricing at R 452 000.

Does a Performance Pack add more GTI?

Well, unless you really exploit the limits of acceleration through corners and want the prestige of owning a Performance Pack among the myriad of “standard” GTI around, then get the standard GTI (with the 19-inch wheels) which actually does the job perfectly well, without the Performance Pack’s harsh front diff.  Golf GTI is a hot hatch that is quick, and has achieved real icon status.  It is pure and exciting… no need to add more GTI.