Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR Test: latest cartridge
Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR Test: latest cartridge
The Golf GTI TCR crowns the career of the Golf 7 GTI before switching to the eighth generation model. Power up to 290 hp and look virile announce the color of this GTI capable of spinning at 260 km / h.
The Golf GTI TCR crowns the career of the Golf 7 GTI before switching to the eighth generation model. Power up to 290 hp and look virile announce the color of this GTI capable of spinning at 260 km / h.
Voiture à l'essai : Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
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À partir de
47 590 €
1 050 € de malus
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The Volkswagen Golf 7 will retire at the end of 2019 to make way for the eighth generation model. For her final straight, she is armed with an ultimate cartridge and not just any one since this new Golf GTI TCR is the most powerful Golf GTI: 290 hp against 245 at the current GTI Performance and 265 for the late Clubsport version launched in 2016 and whose S version of 310 hp has not been marketed in France.
Presented in 2018 at the famous Wörthersee in Austria, a kind of mega-concentration where every Golf GTI fan has to go on pilgrimage, the Golf GTI TCR is named after the 350hp racing model that runs on the circuit as part of the TCR championship. passenger cars. It receives aesthetic attributes that distinguish it from other GTIs: black roof with aileron, specific shield bottom, generous diffuser, decorative stripping on the flanks and 19-inch Reifnitz rims.
The Golf GTI TCR is a little more aggressive than usual, but without leaving its politically correct appearance that it cultivates so well. Note that the new Pure Gray color, as on our test model, is specific to this version of the Golf and, obviously, a red border adorns its grille as the first GTI in 1976.
The plumage is fine, but it is obviously the below that interest muscular compact lovers. The 2.0 turbo of the Golf GTI TCR is raised to 290 hp and the couple climbs to 380 Nm (it is respectively + 45 hp and + 10 Nm compared to the GTI Performance). Power is distributed to the front wheels via the DSG7 gearbox (no mechanical gearbox) and the limited-slip Haldex differential. The set is complemented by a reinforced cooling system with two radiators, perforated brake discs, chassis lowered by 20 mm (compared to 15 mm on the GTI), steeper damping by 10% and DCC adaptive damping in series. However, Volkswagen does not touch the geometry of the gear for his super GTI, as Seat has yet done for his Leon Cupra R vs Cupra.
Driving the Golf GTI TCR
The firm damping associated with the 19-inch wheels with low-profile tires (235/35 R19) causes a rough road feel and even too much typing on imperfect bitumen with the Sport mode activated. In Normal mode, the driving profile does not offer the versatility of a GTI Performance since it is the discomfort that dominates. In exchange for its greater stiffness, the GTI TCR offers an imperturbable and precise behavior at high speed on a beautiful bitumen, like that of the circuit of Portimao (our video below).
On the road, this version is formidable efficiency in cornering and braking but its chassis does not show the extra soul yet suggested by the performance. The Haldex differential is effective, but without really sticking the car inside the exit curve path and the direction retains this impression to slightly filter the work of the front wheels. A slightly sharper behavior would have been welcome on this super-GTI, as can be done with a Mégane RS with four-wheel steering and a self-locking mechanical Cup version.
The Golf GTI TCR is a little more aggressive than usual, but without leaving its politically correct appearance that it cultivates so well. Note that the new Pure Gray color, as on our test model, is specific to this version of the Golf and, obviously, a red border adorns its grille as the first GTI in 1976.
Driving the Golf GTI TCR
On the road, this version is formidable efficiency in cornering and braking but its chassis does not show the extra soul yet suggested by the performance. The Haldex differential is effective, but without really sticking the car inside the exit curve path and the direction retains this impression to slightly filter the work of the front wheels. A slightly sharper behavior would have been welcome on this super-GTI, as can be done with a Mégane RS with four-wheel steering and a self-locking mechanical Cup version.
The Golf GTI TCR takes advantage of its 2.0 TSI at higher values. This turbo four-cylinder direct injection is both flexible, sturdy and breathe hard to go fast ... very fast. The 0 to 100 km / h in 5.6 s proves the good health of the couple TSI / DSG7 and the top speed at 260 km / h is rare in this category, even if it does not serve much to share separately on some portions of the Autobahn in Germany. The GTI TCR accompanies its efforts with a sound which varies according to the driving mode selected: discreet in Comfort, suggestive in Normal and more rude in Sport. Thanks to the sound generator located at the base of the windshield, but also to the stainless steel exhaust with double flow, specific to this version, whose metallic sonority is a pleasure.
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