Last year, the launch of the fifth-generation GTI was trumpeted with Volkswagen's hugely popular `Un-pimp My Ride' advertising campaign. In the commercials, an eccentric German scientist and his platinum blonde assistant would destroy stereotypically overdone show cars. Then the new GTI would be presented and a voice would say: "The GTI MkV, pre-tuned by German engineers."
The implication was that the MkV shouldn't be modified. After going over one, it's easy to see where VW is coming from. The MkV is a highly refined automobile. It's a far cry from the stackable lunchbox GTI of 20 years ago. Close the door on the MkV and you hear a deep thud, as if sealing yourself into an A4 or M3. Turn the key and the engine purrs, while text on the dash reminds you to buckle up. Hit the gas and you motor off with a powerband so smooth, you'd swear it was electric.
The styling gives subtle hints to a boy-racer past. The plaid upholstery on the seats is so 80s it's just plain rad. Then, there are the flat black accents on the rear bumper. This doesn't work quite as well (especially after seeing how clean the color-matched bumper looks on the JIC-Cross version here). But overall, the MkV is a fine interpretation of what a modern day GTI should be. It's easy to see why German engineers would expect us to just leave it alone. But we keep our pimp hand strong Stateside; no turbo hatch is going to stay stock for long.
In our February cover story, we reviewed a fleet of highly tuned MkV GTIs. The fastest was built by VW's design center in California, proving that the company really is in touch with the market, despite the condescending commercials. Here we have two more. One is from JIC-Cross, and the other a collaboration between Seibon and Injen. These are less extreme, more streetworthy examples, but we shook them down on the track anyway. We also dragged out another stock MkV GTI to compare them against, since we had the time and space for our standard full speed testing.
Grip The JIC-Cross GTI is the first out on the skidpad. This car is slightly different from the other two, as it is equipped with the semi-automatic DSG transmission. During its first lap around the pad, the dash displays `Top off washer fluid.' While slightly amused, I ignore it to focus on bigger problems. The car understeers horribly and power delivery at the wheels seems totally unrelated to my inputs. I try upshifting, but that just drops it out of its powerband. After a few more laps, I notice the traction control light flashing. Oops. By now, the Hankook race tires have some good heat in them and, with the traction control off, the car whips around the skidpad with just a little understeer.
The Seibon/Injen car is also strangely preoccupied with its washer fluid level. The dash also informs me of a number plate light malfunction. I can only hope that these warnings are somehow prioritized, so if something really went wrong, it would tell me that first. Aside from being a bit of a hypochondriac, the car also has a severe understeering tendency. It runs the same time in both directions--often an indication of alignment issues. Normally, left-hand-drive cars pull more gs going counterclockwise, due to the driver's weight.
The stock car is the squealer of the group. It has way more body roll than the other two, but feels well-balanced, front to rear. The dash simply displays `Speed warning.' I have no idea what that means but take it as a compliment.