Volkswagen Golf GT: The grin mile

By Christopher Tan - May 5, 2007
The Straits Times

The Volkswagen Golf GT has the distinction of being the only new car to boast an engine that is force-fed by both a supercharger and a turbocharger.

But it isn't the first car to incorporate 'twincharging'. Over 20 years ago, Italy's Lancia did it with the Delta S4, which turned out to be a rally champ.

Then in 1989, Nissan unveiled its sub-litre March Superturbo, which was also driven by two forced induction mechanisms. (Incidentally, the angular Nissan looked uncannily like an early Golf.)

The idea of twincharging is simple: a mechanically driven supercharger assists a turbo to overcome lag in the low revs, before the exhaust-driven blower takes over completely around 3,500rpm.

But seamless operation called for complicated execution. Which is probably why it never caught on. Also, turbos were more popular because they were quieter. And by the 1990s, they had become so refined that lag was almost eliminated.

So, you would forgive me if I greeted the news two years ago of a twincharged Golf with morbid curiosity and scepticism at the same time. Colleagues who had sampled the manual version in 2005 gave it the thumbs up, but I was still unconvinced.

Until I got behind the wheel of one this week.

The GT is unlike any 1.4-litre, that's for sure. Its direct-injection heart possesses the strength of an engine twice its size.

Apply that twincharged powerplant to a Toyota Camry and the sedate sedan will outgun a BMW 520i on a straight road.

In a car as compact and dynamic as the Golf, the surfeit of power translates to the most fun you can have without champagne.

Especially when the car is equipped with DSG, VW's remarkable dual-clutch sequential-style gearbox. In the 170bhp GT, leaving it in Drive is more than enough. Slot it in Sport and you get near invincibility.

If you wish, you can decide which of the six gears you want via steering-mounted paddles. The DSG operates as flawlessly as it does in the Golf GTI.

Come to think of it, there is little reason to buy a 2-litre GTI when the road tax-friendlier and more economical GT gives you 80 per cent of the GTI's performance and nearly as much satisfaction. Not to mention that it costs $20,000 less than the GTI.

The GT's ride is a tad harder than what I recall the GTI to possess. And its electronic nannies intervene in the most violent manner - the whole car judders if you try a jackrabbit start on a wet road.

Other than that, the Golf GT is as good as hot hatches come. It has power, and a chassis that can exploit that power efficiently. Like the GTI, it weaves magic on tarmac.

But for those who relish punchy engines, the way the two chargers send the GT's heart racing towards 7,000rpm with a tap of the throttle is something to behold. No turbo or supercharger I've experienced behaves this way.

And the symphonic accompaniment scores as well.

Price: $102,000 with COE
Engine: 1,390cc 16-valve direct-injection twincharged inline-4
Transmission: Six-speed dual-clutch semi-automatic with paddle shift
Power: 170bhp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 240Nm at 1,750rpm
0-100kmh: 7.7 seconds
Top speed: 218kmh
Fuel consumption: 9.9 litres/ 100km (city)
Agent: Volkswagen Group Singapore

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