2019 Volkswagen Golf GTI gets driveaway pricing as supply improves

If you’re in the market for a 2019 Volkswagen Golf GTI, you’re in luck. The company has just announced that it’s bringing in the last of the current generation Golf GTI for $47,990 on the road until the end of March.

It’s not a huge reduction over the list price of $45,490 before on-road costs… but it’s better than nothing, right?

The five-seat, five-door Golf GTI is the last remaining survivor of a once-burgeoning Golf GTI line-up in Australia, and it’ll serve as Volkswagen’s hot hatch until the introduction of the next generation Golf.

It does battle with the likes of the Honda Civic Type R, Renault Megane RS and the Hyundai i30N.

Volkswagen had a torrid time with supply of the GTI in 2018, thanks to a combination of shipping dramas and the more stringent WLTP emissions requirements that came into force last year.

“For the first time since this GTI variant was introduced late last year, we will be in a position to meet demand,” said Ben Wilks, Volkswagen’s general manager of passenger vehicle sales.

The five-door GTI shares the same specification as the brand’s limited-run Performance Edition One three-door from last year (below).

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A 180kW, 350Nm version of Volkswagen’s EA888 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine is mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, while the GTI’s brakes and electronic front limited slip diff are sourced from the Golf R.

As well, the GTI scores VW’s digital dashboard, a full suite of driver aids including AEB, traffic jam assist and blind spot warning, satellite navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, keyless entry and start and a lot more besides.

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“The inclusion of this much standard equipment – items that were inevitably optioned by customers – coupled with the newly enhanced drivetrain, make this, in fact, the best value GTI since the Mark 7 was introduced in 2013,” said Mr Wilks.

You can also add Sound and Style ($2,300) and a Luxury ($3,900) packs to the GTI, as well as premium paint ($500).

What you can’t get, however, is a manual gearbox version. VW pronounced the death of the self-shifter last year, and corporate communications manager Paul Pottinger has reconfirmed it.

“The manual is the stuff of history in both the Golf GTI and the R, I’m afraid,” said Mr Pottinger. “The numbers buying it could be counted in a single figure percentage of overall sales; besides which there’s global pressure to reduce line-up complexity.

“What of the ‘enthusiast’? Well, is enthusiasm really defined within the strictures of three pedals and a stick shift? It’s reasonable to assume that Hyundai and Honda would if they could field a rival to our seven-speed wet clutch DSG. Unfortunately, they cannot.”

Mr Pottinger also suggested that while this version of the GTI will carry through to the introduction of the Mk VIII Golf next year, there is one more version to come.

“This is the standard GTI to carry Mark 7/7.5 to its conclusion, though we’ll see the limited edition GTI TCR edition toward the end of the year [below]. That will be hardest going production GTI to date,” he said.

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