Volkswagen Up! GTi vs Golf GTi MK2: does the little German measure up to its ancestor?

Hot hatchbacks are a type of vehicle that was born in the last century and which, today, is enjoying a real boom. Volkswagen is considered one of the pioneering brands in this segment, something it proved with the creation of the first Golf GTi back in 1976. After 40 years, the German firm continues to work with this type of vehicle, but the GTi badge has spread until it has been attached to several models. Today, the guys at Carwow bring us a comparison too juicy to pass up, in which they pit the current Up! GTi against the iconic Golf GTi MK2 in a drag race.

The first Volkswagen Golf GTi kicked off a saga that was destined for success, something confirmed by the fact that the brand is about to launch the eighth generation of its quintessential sports compact. Today, both the Polo and the Up! have adopted these iconic letters capable of turning them into genuine four-door toys.

The small Up! presents itself as the most modest GTi on sale today, since its power range does not come close to that offered by its two bigger siblings. However, this is no reason to dismiss the German compact, since the figures it declares are capable of putting a smile on our face from corner to corner. Its 1.0-litre engine with 115 CV of power is the ideal candidate to take on a veteran like the Golf GTi MK2, with which it shares the same number of horsepower.

The evolution between the two models is significant, but the Golf GTi has behind it a great tuning that shows on the track. The compact had a naturally aspirated 1.8 four-cylinder engine capable of producing 115 CV, just like its successor, but it has fewer electronic aids than the Up! GTi. This makes the Golf purer, but its grip on asphalt is surpassed by that of the little compact.

As a result, we find a very close contest that ends with the Volkswagen Up! GTi as the outright winner. The presence of a turbo helps the compact take the lead over the Golf, which follows very closely, demonstrating that the work Volkswagen did in the past was not in vain. On the other hand, the Golf GTi takes the lead in the rolling race, thus causing a tie between the two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3dsUugzAXw&frags=pl%2Cwn

Without a doubt, we can see how the GTi badge lives on in today’s Volkswagen models, but the brand had to lay a solid foundation in the past to achieve that goal. In this way, the German marque has shown us that the Golf GTi MK2 was one of the most iconic generations, something we can appreciate when we see how its performance is not so far from that of a current sports compact like the Up!.