2025 VW Golf GTI: Buttons are back on the menu, smiles never went away

Volkswagen provided accommodation so Ars could drive the Golf GTI. Ars does not accept paid editorial content. Even in an alternate timeline in which the average new car didn't cost more than $50,000 and weigh well more than two tons, Volkswagen's Golf GTI would stand above the norm. Here on Earth Prime, nine years after a weasel met a particle accelerator and everything started to get weird, the GTI shines as almost the perfect blend of performance and everyday practicality while keeping the footprint small and the sticker price affordable. The GTI has just had its midlife facelift, making this generation the Mk8.5 if you speak Golfnerd. Even if you don't, you're probably familiar with the idea. But to recap, in 1976, someone at VW had the bright idea of giving the Golf hatchback a more powerful engine and better handling. The original GTI wasn't the first hot hatch, but it was the most influential, giving VW's humble Golf a halo that shone brightly when seized upon by that most 198 ... Read full article.