2016 Volkswagen Golf GTI consumer reviews

Amazing inside and out. As a daily driver, it is hard to fault this car. There's a reason why it's consistently been one of Car and Driver's "10Bes Cars." Super sharp handling, quick around town and great passing power, excellent quality materials inside and tons of tech included. Best all-rounder for the money.

So unfortunately I totalled my car earlier in the year. Since I commute to college not having a car was rough, the buses were unreliable and took forever to get to and from my house. I looked at quite a few cars and ended up purchasing the Volkswagen Golf-GTI. I looked at a few other cars, including Civics, Camrys, and the Subaru WRX. The most noticable difference detween these cars was when driving on the interstate the Golf-GTI seemed to have much less exterior noise than the others. The interior of most of the cars was about equal, but the VW seemed to be overall nicer than the others, with the subaru coming in second. To me the Civic and the Camry felt cookie cutter, and while they may be rated slightly more reliable have a comfortable car is important to me since I used it almost every day. Another thing I enjoy about the VW Golf-GTI is I am able to fold the back row completely down, which is great for taking my dog to the dog park or moving furniture. Both the Subaru and VW were hatchbacks, and the extra room vs just a 4-door is a plus to me as well. While the VW was more expensive than the Civic or Camry (Comparable to the Subaru) the extra space and the extra hp seemed to be worth it to me. Also while the gas mileage is slightly worse it still gets better than a SUV and is more fun to drive than others. Overall I am very happy with my decision, and to people like me who are looking for a slightly more sporty car that still has enough room for activities the VW Golf-GTI should be a car you look for.

I love everything about my GTI over my 2014 Focus ST except for the lack of Xenon headlights. I LOVED those on my ST but I couldn't find a dealer in a 500 mile radius that had an S trim model with the lighting package. So, I'll have to put aftermarket lights on, which I'm not wild about doing. Other than that I'd say everything about is as good or better than the Focus ST, especially the style and comfort of the plaid seats over the Recaro's in the ST. So far I'm getting about 27 mpg, but that's during break-in (taking it easy with the turbo) period. The DSG is a bit odd in slow traffic but it's not bad and it's awesome when you get on the open road.

I have owned my 2016 MK7 GTI for about 4 months now, and I am very impressed with the way the car has grown up over the years. The MK7 is refined to near perfection! Being able to switch between different drive modes is refreshing, and the car get great gas mileage. The 210 rating is extremely conservative. It dynos at closer to 235-240. Torque is high and responsive. Road noise is lower than competitors, and interior comfort is pleasing. Overall, one of the best cars I have ever owned.

Love everything about this car except its voracious consumption of premium fuel. I commute in it round trip 30 miles daily on fast-moving interstate. Very little city driving. Don't drive it at all on the weekend. Am getting less than 20 mpg. Gas it up twice a week! It's killing me. Love the "Good Fit" review person who says it gets grate gas mileage. They're kidding, right? .

I bought this car to replace a subaru outback and as a newer brother to my 2014 sportwagen TDI. I got the GTI with the performance pack (especially for bigger brakes and front differential) and with lighting and driver safety packages. Among the latter features I'm really appreciating are the blind spot indicators in mirrors, dynamic cruise control (works well: the feature on another brand car i used to own didn't work at all well, and i had the dealer disconnect it). I've still got to see if there's a way for the lane departure feature to be more active, to better alert me if I fade. Right now it's a relatively inconspicuous light on the dash. The surround sensors for parking are a treat too. As was the case with the sportwagen, the in dash system works great, but now with the added--and extremely functional--Apple Carplay. The car's fast, and handles great--I took it thru the Smoky mountains after getting it. But I like the torque of the sportwagen (with flashed chip for 50 extra hp/ft lbs of torque) just as well. At any rate, I shopped long and hard and am extremely pleased with the car.

First off, the DSG really is the best of both worlds. Second, the MQB engine has PLENTY of torque. Third, much better MPG than previous GTI's. Personally I dislike the interlagos plaid seats, but I seem to be in the minority. Also, it took me as an IT professional, 4-5 hrs to figure out how to get android auto to connect. Car play worked flawlesly. ended up being the stupid USB cable I was using. No idea why. If you like VW's, I would definitely recommend it. I'm sold.

First things first. I am reviewing the 2016 entry level trim. Just an S, 6 speed manual, 2 door without any extras. I've seen 0-60 numbers as low as 5.0 (nope, sorry) and as high as 6.5, again (nope, you need to learn how to drive a stick) This car is mid 5's all day, provided you have a clue how to rev properly. I test drove the DSG. The DSG was way too eager to invoke the turbo. This sounds great at first, but it became annoying when trying to just meander in traffic, unless just idling. Also, and this is TOTALLY my opinion, if you are buying a GTI, like any other "suedo" sports car, an Auto-go tranny is a waste of time. That said I do understand the auto is faster in some hands, but not using a real clutch is losing half of the intention of a hot hatch. The clutch is easy on the leg, even in long stop and go traffic. Also. I didn't think much of the driving modes at first, but you can really see a difference when turning off the traction control. Now I've read where there really is no difference between the two, and if that's the case, I love the sugar pill I'm taking! The interior is well above the competitors in fit and finish. The build quality seems very high. There are a few things I can nit pick. Keep in mind, a few if these are just that. #1 Learn about Turbos. My dealer never mentioned a word about letting the car warm up. Not just normal warm up, but, as I've read since buying the car, you should get the water temp up to 200? before pushing the turbo. If you have to get in and go, cool, just drive nice and easy until that temp gets up there until you invoke the turbo, believe me, you'll know when you do. #2 At around 45-55 MPH the wind pressure inside the cabin is really uncomfortable. Mine is the coupe. The back windows do not go down so you can't equal out the pressure. #3 The center console can be uncomfortable on your driving leg as it's hard plastic. (A padded soft touch material would have been a nice touch here) This critique is not constant, really only on really long drives in my experience. #5 (This one is just an annoyance likely not unique to this car.) The back "bumper" and window get just filthy after even a 20 mile drive. Yes this is a really specific and probably scoffed at, but it it what it is. Just letting you know, that's all. Cool things you may not read in reviews. #1 great lighting on the inside. Just really cool to be in at night! Lighted running boards and stripe on the inside. Lighted floor wells. Even the inside door handles are lit. As well as the DC power plug on the console. (Although the ignition ring is not lit and will take a few nights to get used to, not enough to put in gripes I suppose.) There are cargo blocks in the trunk/hatch with Velcro to keep your stuff in place. The rear go through between the backs seats can also be deployed from the inside to reveal a center arm rest and extra cup holders for rear passengers without fully opening the hatch compartment, also there is DC power in the hatch compartment. Mileage is what is stated. Although on a long trip, 75 MPH in cruise, I did get 39.0 Mpg. You'll have to buy specific wipers for this car as they are a one piece aerodynamic over engineering. Great car for every day when you want to have a really quick, almost really fast, ride plus a livable commuter.

When I was looking for a new car, I thought I would go back to some utility car but realize I'm not that mom carting kids around anymore and I wanted something fun to drive. Well, the GTI, Autobahn Performance Package was exactly what I wanted. Biggest surprise is that when my daughter and I went for a bike ride, we could fit both our road bikes in without any puzzle of juggling to make it fit. Comfortable, nice handling, and super fast when you want that little roar! Feel like a teen full of freedom. Love driving this car!

First things first, this GTI is an absolute blast to drive. You can drive it calmly and it will return 30MPG average in upmost comfort -OR- you can drive it around like you sat on a wasp grinning from ear to ear at its performance and handling characteristics. I came from owning a BMW 435i to this and while some wondered if I'd lost my mind, I can promise you I haven't. This car is practical with lots of cargo room (seats down), good MPG (my best is 34MPG so far), and has low running costs with maintenance/taking regular fuel. For some reason only the 2016 takes regular, 2015 is premium fuel just an FYI. So your wallet will thank you yes, but what about the fun factor? Well as I said earlier it's a blast to drive with its DSG transmission offering lightning quick shifts and powerful turbo engine. It also corners very well and handles like a go kart. The only downside to its handling is its ride is a *little* bit more harsh than the MK6 GTI but its still very comfortable. The interior is also of a very high quality (better than my BMW shockingly enough) and is ascetically pleasing. Feature wise it has everything you could possibly want (rain sensing wipers, LED lighting, leather seats, a large touchscreen radio W/ carplay/android auto, a crisp Fender audio system, and red interior accent lighting). Now reliability is a concern, because all GTI's have a poor reputation for being trouble free in the long term, and in fact at 800 miles I had to get the front right LED lamp assembly replaced under warranty. However it was done at no cost to me, and with such cheap comprehensive extended warranty options (think cost of the performance package for this car) up to 7years/100K miles I frankly don't care. No other car is this fun, this practical, and this feature rich all at the same time. Go see for yourself!