Almost New Buying Guide: Volkswagen Golf Mk7 GTI / R Car News

If the seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI isn’t the best everyday hatch in recent memory, it can only be because the faster and fitter all-wheel-drive Golf R is even better.

For track days and B-road thrills, you’ll want a Honda Civic Type R, but no other hot sedan comes close to the union of performance, athleticism, comfort and refinement that characterizes both the GTI and the R. As they approach their sixth and fifth anniversary respectively, VW dealers are teeming with approved used stock at half the price of a new one.

The GTI appeared in early 2013, just months after the sixth-generation Golf was replaced by the much more improved and significantly lighter Mk7. With 217 hp coming from a turbocharged four-cylinder, the GTI was quick without being galloping accelerating. For buyers who wanted faster acceleration and had over £ 25,845 to spend, the GTI was also available to order in the Performance specification.

Click here to buy your next used Golf GTI from Autocar

At 227 hp, the GTI Performance was only a little faster but, also equipped with larger front brakes and a limited-slip differential, it was also noticeably more precise to drive. Costing just £ 980 more than the regular GTI, this was a no-brainer for the more avid driver.

Early Mk7 GTIs now start at £ 13,000, although £ 15,000 extends to a newer car with less than 20,000 miles below. VW’s approved pre-owned program, called Das WeltAuto, includes a 12-month unlimited mileage warranty and roadside assistance for the same duration. Every approved used VW is also subjected to a 142-point check by qualified technicians.

Both versions of the GTI could be specified with a manual or DSG dual-clutch transmission – both very good in their own way – and with three or five doors. The GTI Performance isn’t that mainstream, so you’ll have to be less picky about color options and paint specification, and their prices start at £ 16,000.

Perhaps the best argument for not spending that amount on a GTI Performance is the Golf R, which can be found for the same price (albeit with higher mileage). When the Golf R arrived in 2014, prices started at under £ 30,000. With two additional drive wheels, 296 hp, and a superbly tuned suspension, the R was worth the extra expense over the GTI at the time, and with the much thinner price difference now, the R is even more appealing. Like the GTI, the R is available in three and five-door configurations and you can choose between manual and DSG transmissions although in this case the DSG is preferable.