2025 Volkswagen Golf GTI First Drive Review: Better, at a Cost

When the world is telling you something, it’s wise to listen. You don’t necessarily have to follow any advice—just, you know, consider it. Credit to Volkswagen for not only listening when the world told it that the Mk 8 Golf’s user interface wasn’t good, but acting upon that feedback. If the 2025 Golf GTI were a video game, this mid-cycle refresh would be the quality-of-life update that gets nearly everyone on board, years after the so-so launch and subsequent Metacritic review bombing.

“Nearly” is the key there because, in the world of business, fixing something broken never comes without a cost. In this case, it’s the loss of the GTI’s manual transmission. These two things are not related, of course, but their timing complicates the legacy of the hot hatch’s eighth generation. You can buy an outgoing example with three pedals, or a new one with real buttons on the steering wheel, but you can’t have both. However you choose, at least the car’s still fun.

The Basics

The Mk 8 Golf GTI reached North America for the 2022 model year, even though it landed in German showrooms three years earlier. This 2025 model marks a refresh—unofficially dubbed “Mk 8.5”—that VW has been teasing for a while now. The hard specs are the same: VW’s 2.0-liter EA888 Evo4 four-cylinder sends 241 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque to the front wheels through a seven-speed DSG. That’s plenty of torque for a hatch tipping the scales around 3,180 pounds, and it’s all available almost immediately, at 1,600 rpm. It’s a marvelous engine, and still one of the bright spots of this car.

Most of the changes 2025 brings, then, pertain to the GTI’s interior. The infotainment display is now even bigger, measuring 12.9 inches from corner to corner, and runs a redesigned user interface that makes content and controls a bit easier to access than before. Physical buttons are mercifully back on the steering wheel. And there are also a few new trim pieces, like the ArtVelours seats pulled from Europe’s Clubsport model for the mid-grade SE package, as well as new 19-inch wheels for the Autobahn spec inspired by the Mk 5 GTI’s iconic “Detroit” rims.

Exterior and Interior Design

Only the most avid GTI fans are likely to notice the adjustments made to the Mk 8’s exterior. The front bumper has been slightly tweaked; the lower grille’s top line now cuts straight rather than dipping down for the license plate bracket. The red grille stripe, a signature GTI touch, has not only returned but now extends farther than before, through the headlight clusters. The VW emblem illuminates—a feature that’s beginning to feel stranger and stranger on non-EVs—and there are now GTI badges on the leading edges of the doors.

Even with its quality-of-life changes, the interior won’t blow anyone away who wasn’t impressed with the outgoing hot hatch’s appointments. In the case of the GTI, a vehicle that starts at $33,670, I don’t think there’s anything offensive about the fit and finish. People like to scratch plastic and complain, but this is an economy car at the end of the day, and you usually have to spend a lot more for a dashboard lined in something soft to the touch. That’s not to say I wouldn’t mind a more stylish dash—the Honda Civic and Kia K4 demonstrate how interior design ought to be done at a cost—but the GTI’s relatively bland cabin works.

And it works better now, because of that “new” steering wheel with old-fashioned, physical buttons. The novelty here is purely the GTI’s, because this is the same wheel that appears in other contemporary Volkswagens, but its attendance is appreciated all the same. Also, as someone maddened by the outgoing Golf’s unbacklit volume and climate capacitive sliders, a round of applause is due now that they’re illuminated. It’s still hard to believe these cars once rolled off the production line without that modicum of thoughtful design, but again, at least the criticism was eventually acted upon.

Driving Experience

Before we get into the obvious bad news, the good news is that everything anyone already liked about the current GTI, save for one, is still true here. I’d actually never driven this generation of the hot hatch before—only the hotter R spec—and I loved my few hours with it. The chassis is excellent, the ride is planted but surprisingly comfortable even with the stock, non-adaptive suspension, and the nose is just so eager. The steering might be a tinge numb, but it’s well within the margin of error when comparing electronic power steering from different automakers nowadays, and it’s something you get used to.

At the end of the day, this is still a modern GTI, which means it’s a sleeper at heart. Piped-in audio does its best to mark a sense of occasion in Sport mode, but this is not a raw and raspy rally car for the road. It’s smooth and refined; easy to drive and to enjoy. But as competent as Volkswagen’s dual-clutch is, that joy cannot help but be diluted by the disappearance of the six-speed manual.

Just under 40% of GTIs sold in 2023 had three pedals. (Last year was slightly higher, but that was after news that they’d soon be discontinued already broke.) I’m somewhat ashamed to say I’ve spent a grand total of 15 minutes behind the wheel of a manual GTI in my life (a Mk 6), though I know many of those who have driven the row-your-own flavor of the Mk 8 didn’t love the tactility of that gearbox. Nevertheless, a just-OK manual is still a manual. If a GTI is nothing else, it ought to be the people’s champion for making every commute and grocery run a little bit better. Four out of 10 is a lot of commutes that will remain as dull as before, and that’s sad to think about.

VW Golf GTI Features, Options, and Competition

• S: The 2025 Golf GTI starts at $33,670 for the base S trim, including destination. Standard features include 18-inch wheels, the new 12.9-inch touchscreen, a ventilated 15-watt wireless charger, and adaptive headlights.
• SE: Stepping up to the $38,645 SE gets you different wheels, a sunroof, those Clubsport seats I talked about earlier (my favorite in look and feel), and a Harman/Kardon premium audio system that sounds great for its class. This is where I’d land, if it were my money.
• Autobahn: The Autobahn trim sits atop the range, for a considerable premium at $42,105. You get a lot here, though: Summer performance tires (Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3, to be specific); DCC adaptive dampers; those throwback 19-inch wheels that I wish were one tick smaller but undoubtedly look great; power, ventilated leather seats; and three-zone climate control. In terms of equipment, a GTI Autobahn is basically a Golf R, obviously save for the mechanical bits.

If you’re in the market for a GTI, your alternatives are regrettably slimmer than ever and, also, mostly sedans. Excluding VW’s own $34,395 Jetta GLI, there’s the Honda Civic Si ($31,400), Hyundai Elantra N ($35,545), and Subaru WRX ($36,920). There’s also the Toyota GR Corolla ($39,995), which is more in the Golf R’s zip code in performance terms but should be mentioned, since you can get a barebones one for less than a GTI Autobahn. I read the GTI as the choice for the kind of customer interested in driving engagement and mature practicality in equal measure. And, conversely, uninterested in a stick, because then the Civic Si’s got your number for less.

The Early Verdict

There’s something bittersweet about the 2025 Golf GTI. I wanted Volkswagen to roundly silence the throngs of enthusiasts responding to Reddit threads and Facebook posts with “Just buy a Mk 7.” This updated hot hatch gets so close. It’s no longer a user-experience nightmare, which is great. It’s also one of the rare sport compacts today that isn’t committed to advertising to everyone else how much fun you’re having, with fake vents and gaudy trim. It’s reserved and self-confident, the entry-level sports car for people who actually mean it when they say they hate social media.

But the manual’s disappearance matters. It matters far more here, I’d argue, than it does with the Golf R, a car that’s built to make you feel like you’re holding it back. The GTI has never been concerned with lap times; it cares only about your joy, no matter who you are or how you came to drive it. This latest one is still a good value, and those who believe its particular blend of sensibility and sportiness could suit them well should entertain it. Provided this isn’t the last GTI powered by a gas engine, we just hope that Volkswagen doesn’t close the feedback box just yet.

Quick Take

Still all the hot hatch anyone needs for everyday fun, now helped by a refresh that’s smoothed over a frustrating interior. But the loss of the manual transmission can’t help but sting.

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