Goodwood Test: 2021 Volkswagen Golf GTE review

If you’re in the market for a hot hatchback there are a fair few to choose from and, because of its unblemished record that goes back more than 45 years, the Volkswagen Golf GTI will feature on many people’s wish lists. No, the GTI hasn’t always been the fastest or the most striking or the most engaging, but it has almost always been good – a known quantity. So what do you do, if you want something with near-hot hatch performance but better fuel efficiency? Perhaps even the chance to drive in total silence? Well there’s only really one option: the Golf GTE.

The GTE was first introduced with the Mk7 Golf in 2014, with GTI-like styling but a smaller petrol engine boosted by an electric motor. In theory, you’d get to cruise around in silence and use very little fuel on a daily commute and then a decent drive when the mood took you. It’s a similar idea with the new Golf GTE, albeit with the vast array of technical updates that have been bestowed upon the Mk8 and a handful of tweaks to make the GTE better than its predecessor. That’s the theory, anyway.

You’d be hard pressed to spot that the GTE isn’t a GTI, and that’s always been part of its appeal. The GTI is a delightful looking car, and the GTE is just as smart. There’s the same big grille and five-unit LED fog lights, GTI-like GTE badges where you’d expect at the front and rear, red brake calipers and a rear spoiler. Whip out the magnifying glass though and there are some obvious differences. The badges say GTE rather than GTI, there’s a strip of blue across the front of the bonnet rather than a strip of red, and there’s no model badge just behind the front wheels as there is on the GTI. And, where the GTI gets a handsome pair of exhausts, the GTE has fake exhaust trim. Aside from that trim, which doesn’t belong on any car quite frankly, the GTE is a real looker.

Under the bonnet sits a 1.4-litre, 150PS (110kW) turbocharged petrol engine, paired to a 110PS (81kW) electric motor and 48V, 13kWh battery system for a combined total output of 245PS (185kW). Golf aficionados will notice that is the same power figure as the GTI, which wasn’t the case for the Mk7 GTE. Power runs to the front wheels via a six-speed double-clutch gearbox (the automatic GTI has a seven-speed), and Volkswagen say the GTE will manage 37 miles on electric power alone.

Turn the car on and pull away and, unlike the similarly styled GTI, there is no noise whatsoever, as by default the GTE starts off in ‘E-Mode’. Push beyond 81mph and the system will jump over to Hybrid mode, or you can move between E and Hybrid mode yourself. In Hybrid mode you can instruct the GTE to maintain or top up the battery with a little help from the engine, or just cruise around as normal depleting the battery as you go. It’s a simple, smart system, and gives you the benefits of EV motoring, silence being chief among them, knowing full well there’s a petrol engine there if you need to go a little further than the office or the shops. Thirty-seven miles is plenty for a relatively normal, local day, and the GTE feels as if it really would get close enough to the quoted EV mileage.

In a straight line performance is decent, hitting 62mph in 6.7 seconds on its way to a top speed of 140mph. As for how the GTE fares when it comes to driving fun, sadly it isn’t quite the sporty hybrid I’d hoped it might be.

There are four drive modes: Eco, Comfort, Sport and Individual, which, as they do in other VW Group products, tweak the steering weight, throttle response and gearbox (Dynamic Chassis Control ties electronically controlled dampers into the system, a £785 option on the GTE our car wasn’t fitted with). In Eco the GTE is as relaxed as you’d hope it to be, in Comfort mode the throttle and gearbox ever-so-slightly sharper and more enjoyable. But in Sport, and when you start to drive a bit quicker, the GTE doesn’t hit the mark. The steering is heavier, which is nice, there’s plenty of grip and the ride quality a little choppy but perfectly decent, but accelerate in lower gears and there’s more than a hint of torque steer. The gearbox is quick enough but there’s very little incentive to actually change gears yourself, and the brakes, thanks to the regenerative braking system, are difficult to judge. The brakes frustrate in everyday driving, too, as you’ll be slowing to a stop with constant pressure on the brake pedal but the car won’t decelerate the way you want it too. It’s just not an overly satisfying package.

If you’ve been in a Mk8 Golf before, or indeed any relatively recent generation of Golf, the interior of the GTE is as you’d expect – there’s nothing hugely fancy, nothing that’ll make your jaw drop, just a restrained, relaxing environment, built to a decent standard.

The instrument cluster is entirely digital, a 10.25-inch display, and there’s plenty of room to manoeuvre when it comes to how you want information to be displayed. Want a huge map with a small readout for your speed? Sure thing. Want to see if your throttle position is approaching the point at which the engine will jump into life? You can have that too.

On the centre of the dash is a 10-inch touchscreen, and it’s from here you can dive into many layers of menus to see your tyre pressures, where power is being sent, trip info, and control the stereo or adjust the heater. Speaking of heating, below that screen is a little touch bar, on which you can swipe left or right to lower or raise the infotainment volume, or adjust the temperature without having to use the screen itself. On the GTI-esque steering wheel, meanwhile, there are haptic feedback buttons for the cruise control, media volume and to adjust the instruments. They work just fine, but, again, do they really need to be touch-sensitive?

One nice touch is a little plaque-like panel with shortcuts to the assist systems, climate settings, parking menu and drive modes, as well as the button for the hazards. Being able to quickly access the drive modes is a real positive, rather than them being several screen clicks away. It’s just a shame the panel itself looks like a bit of an afterthought, stuck over the air vents on the dash.

Tartan seats are a real win, finished to match the blue GTE colour scheme.

The GTI is loaded. But for more than £36,000 basic and nearly £40k as tested you’d hope it would be. Every new Golf gets lane-keep assist, emergency braking, Bluetooth, LED head and taillights, daytime LEDs, air-con and two USB-C ports. GTE buyers get heated door mirrors, keyless entry and go, adaptive cruise control, blind spot warning, parking sensors front and rear (but not a camera), VW’s more-complicated-than-it-needs-to-be App-Connect, which incorporates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, WeConnect Plus (a three-year deal that brings with it a sim card and various connections to VW) and 18-inch wheels. If you want heated, cooled, electrically adjustable leather seats, as we enjoyed, you’ll need an extra £2,100.

There’s nothing wrong with a sporty hybrid – in fact the idea is rather appealing. The trouble is bridging the gap between the fun-factor of a hot hatch, in this case, and a hatchback that’ll waft you around in silence using only electricity. Sadly, clever though the hybrid system is, the GTE doesn’t hit the mark for driving thrills.