Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport 45 2021 UK first drive

Given the 45 is mechanically identical to the regular Clubsport (assuming that Clubsport is shod with the optional 19in wheels), we'll keep this bit brief.

The driving position is good – great, even, although not exquisite, like that of the Honda Civic Type R. It's just a little too upright for that, and while we're picking holes, the seats themselves are too squidgy for something of this performance level. Still, in terms of everyday use, very few do it better. 

On the move, the first thing you'll appreciate is the steering response. It's measured but nicely alert, as though the car is telling you that, if you want, it can be extremely agile, but it isn't going to hammer that fact home by feeling in any way nervous when you just want to get from A to B. The extra weight (and, equally, the more apparent changes in weighting during cornering) in the action imparted by the Clubsport-spec front suspension also makes the car rewarding even at a canter, and more confidence-inspiring than the regular GTI.

Greater sense of occasion in the driving environment wouldn't have gone amiss, though, especially for an anniversary special. Where are the much-improved, full-size paddles from the Golf R? And while an Alcantara-trimmed steering wheel isn't mandatory for hardcore limited editions, it might have been nice to find one in the 45.    

As for ride quality, with the DCC dampers fitted, you're given 15 options for the damping force, but anything beyond the midway point between Comfort and Sport isn't suitable for less than perfect British B-roads. On poorer surfaces, the suspension is easily agitated, even in Comfort, and to the extent that it elicits rattles from the interior. The regular Mk8 GTI is already set up on the stiff side, sacrficing some suppleness for aggression, and the Clubsport's shorter springs clearly narrow the sweet spot of this chassis further. Best find a better road. 

Do so and there's plenty to like. The Clubsport 45 doesn't charm with an elegant sense of flow and it's not especially adjustable unless you're feeling very, very committed. (In truth, in this sense, the Golf R is more engaging on the road.) However, there's a lovely precision to its body control, which feeds into a sense of accuracy and dependability. A hint of torque steer now and then keeps things exciting, but mostly the battle between engine output and contact patch is very niced matched, and the car will happily take full throttle in the lower gears. Which, to dispel any doubts you may have, is pretty damn exciting with 296bhp on tap. 

The 45 is a fine hot hatch: catch-your-breath quick, reasonably communicative by modern standards, sharper than the base GTI, and more composed on technical roads than much of the opposition, including the Ford Focus ST. 

However, you get all that with the regular, £2750-cheaper Clubsport, driving which you’ll not especially miss the rasp of the 45’s fancy exhaust, or the brittleness its larger wheels impart on shoddy roads. This time around, we'd pass up the limited-edition special in favour of the car it's based on.