Enlarge / The latest Volkswagen Golf GTI isn’t perfect, but it has enough charm to overcome its flaws. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)
“They won’t make them like this much longer” is a pretty hackneyed aphorism, but it certainly applies to the Volkswagen Golf GTI. The Mk 8 Golf is due for a mid-life refresh next year, and when that happens, VW will be simplifying things by dropping the manual transmission option. That means model year 2024 is the final chance anyone will have to buy a GTI with three pedals. Yes, it has some flaws, but it’s also small and nimble, both attributes lacking in so much of what the automotive industry has to offer these days.
We’ve been a bit deficient in not reviewing the Mk 8 Golf GTI until now. I reviewed the more expensive, more powerful Golf R in 2022, but the last GTI we drove was