Or two. Such are the peaks the market continues to scale that a pair of seemingly small, punchy specimens start at forty grand apiece. Then hurtle towards fifty with a handful of extras.
Plenty of people might never notice, leasing either of these for circa £500 a month rather than buying outright. And as hot hatch and coupe icons alike drop from the price lists with worrying frequency, you might even argue we should be thankful this test remains possible at all.
Each car represents the latest iteration of a very familiar recipe. The Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport is the firm's topmost front-wheel drive hot hatch and adds over 50bhp to the regular GTI with 296bhp and 295lb ft peaks from a tuned version of the familiar EA888 2-litre four-cylinder turbo engine. Here it's mated exclusively to a seven-speed DSG transmission with VW's VAQ differential newly gathered into a dynamics management system for more precise reactions. The headline is a 13-second reduction in Ring lap time over a stock GTI, but buyers are more likely to notice the dashing aesthetic makeover. A 15mm drop in ride height, more aggressive camber up front and an assertive (and functional) rear wing add up to a much punchier looking car than we're used to from Wolfsburg.
As standard, it slices a clean line between GTI and R pricing at £41,890, though the car you see here has spiralled up to £49,385 with the help of 19-inch alloys, a panoramic roof, an upgraded media system and - most crucially to folks like us - the £875 DCC adaptive damping that brings with it a Nürburgring 'Special' mode unique to the Clubsport. And you thought Honda's admittedly brilliant Civic Type R was pricey...
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Evo UK.
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This story is from the June 2023 edition of Evo UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
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