Ned Jasper – Things are looking Up!

It took top honours in Ned’s top seven cars of 2017, and now the Volkswagen Up! GTI is proving to be one of the most important new cars launched this year. This is why. In case you couldn’t tell I’m quite a fan of small sporty cars, especially those with a famous three letters behind…

Opinion – Why the Volkswagen Jetta should be missed

The recently departed ‘Golf with a boot’ deserves more recognition says ESM’s editor. Last week’s news that the Jetta saloon would not longer feature on Volkswagen’s UK price list was hardly met with grief and distress. Nobody will be building statues to commemorate its passing, and no national day of mourning will be declared. Yet…

New Metal | 2018 Volkswagen Polo GTI

The all-new sixth generation Volkswagen Polo was revealed to the world last week, along with an enhanced GTI model. Yet certain things have left ESM feeling slightly bittersweet about it all. With a life spent living in the shadow of the bigger Golf GTI, it’s unprecedented for Volkswagen to announce a new Polo GTI at the same…

New Metal | Volkswagen Up GTI Concept

We seem to have been teased for years about a possible hot version of VW’s city car. Finally, we’re almost there, with the announcement of this production-ready concept. The ‘concept’ tag needs to be taken pretty lightly. From the details released, and the photos supplied by Volkswagen, this thing looks as close to being fit…

Opinion | Are new cars actually getting more expensive?

The new Volkswagen Golf, and the excellent revised GTI in particular, got us wondering. Just how much more expensive are new cars compared to their predecessors?  Having already won rave reviews from both print and online media, the Mk7.5 Volkswagen Golf GTI is already attracting attention. Yet a lot of the Internet comments seem to take…

New – Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S takes Nürburgring record

Did you honestly think everyone had forgotten about hot-hatch Nürburgring lap times, after Honda’s Civic Type-R effort last year? No, of course not. So what better way for VW to celebrate 40 years of the Golf GTI than by setting a new Nordschleife record of 7:49.21. We’ve already seen the regular GTI Clubsport, and it’s actually on sale…

New – Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR Racer

Volkswagen Motorsport doesn’t just do rallying. It also churns out touring cars like this Golf GTI TCR. VW’s dominance of the World Rally Championship may be the jewel in the crown for the German company’s motorsport arm, but it’s also quietly confident about this new tin-top racer. Let’s qualify the ‘new’ statement a little bit first, however….

Frankfurt 2015 – Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport

Hitting 40 is kind of big deal, so Volkswagen has decided to celebrate four decades of the Golf GTI in their usual style. Adding a little more power, some bigger wheels, and interior trinkets to create the 2016 GTI Clubsport. VW showed off the Golf GTI Clubsport as a concept at the Wörthersee show earlier…

Tame Geek Review | Volkswagen Golf GTE

He’s back. Regular contributor, and good friend of EngageSportMode, The Tame Geek is here again with a new review. This time he’s given us the exclusive on his test drive of Volkswagen’s new electric hybrid Golf GTE. Read his detailed thoughts below, to find out whether it hit the mark with our tech guru.  After driving the…

Game On – Volkswagen GTI Supersport Vision GT

Gran Turismo 6 has been kicking around for a while now, with a next-generation console GT7 still some way off. As such, Polyphony is still encouraging manufacturers to add more content to the PS3 game in the form of ‘Vision’ concepts. Volkswagen has already contributed to Gran Turismo 6 with the mental Vision Roadster from last year. But it’s…

Volkswagen Golf R Estate – Your new favourite wagon

Been wanting a performance estate car based on a mid-sized family hatchback? Not quite taken with the Ford Focus ST? Good news; Volkswagen has the answer in the shape of a 300 PS 4WD Golf R Estate, announced at the LA Auto Show this week.  This one has certainly come out of the left field. Prototypes had…