stuart
21-01-2005, 06:54 AM
http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/images/mainsite/gtiaward.jpg
Industry heavyweight What Car? magazine has added to the new Golf GTI’s growing list of accolades by naming it ‘Best Hot Hatch’ in its annual Car of the Year awards. The trophy was presented to Volkswagen AG board member Professor Wilfried Bockelmann at a prestigious ceremony held last night at the Grosvenor Hotel, London.
The influential motoring magazine put the new GTI ahead of stiff competition, enthusing that: ‘What sets the Volkswagen apart from more frenzied rivals is the way it develops strong, usable power right across the rev range. With 197 bhp to call upon from its turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, there’s little need for a heavy right foot or hectic gearchanging to unleash the car’s potential.’
The highly practical and stylish Touran also picked up an award, taking the ‘Best Compact MPV’ title for the second year running. As What Car? put it in its awards issue: ‘If you want to fit lots of people and luggage into a car that’s still easy to park and manoeuvre around town, look no further than the Volkswagen Touran. It offers seven seats in a class where five is the norm, without being an unwieldy drive like some larger MPVs.’
Volkswagen’s new Golf GTI has enjoyed a rapturous reception, with outright Car of the Year awards from BBC Top Gear, Fifth Gear, The Sun and The Mail on Sunday. It has also triumphed in numerous group tests against highly capable class rivals.
Advance orders for the model, which is launched in the UK this month, are around the 2,000 mark, from a maximum allocation this year of 6,000 cars. This considerable interest has been helped in no small part by the highly successful dedicated website www.newgolfgti.co.uk (http://www.newgolfgti.co.uk), where customers can configure and save their vehicle on-line, before placing a deposit at their local Volkswagen Retailer.
Such is the appeal of Volkswagen’s revolutionary Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG), an automated double-clutch transmission which performs incredibly quick ratio changes, that it is already accounting for nearly 40 per cent of sales. Three-door models are taking around 60 per cent of initial sales.
In summarising its reasons for choosing the GTI, What Car? said: ‘Frankly, it’s hard to think of a model more in tune with the needs of the 21st century hot hatch driver.’
Golf GTI awards so far:
BBC Top Gear – Car of the Year
Fifth Gear – Car of the Year
The Sun – Car of the Year
The Mail on Sunday – Car of the Year
What Car? – Hot Hatch of the Year
Zoo Weekly – Hot Hatch of the Year
Industry heavyweight What Car? magazine has added to the new Golf GTI’s growing list of accolades by naming it ‘Best Hot Hatch’ in its annual Car of the Year awards. The trophy was presented to Volkswagen AG board member Professor Wilfried Bockelmann at a prestigious ceremony held last night at the Grosvenor Hotel, London.
The influential motoring magazine put the new GTI ahead of stiff competition, enthusing that: ‘What sets the Volkswagen apart from more frenzied rivals is the way it develops strong, usable power right across the rev range. With 197 bhp to call upon from its turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, there’s little need for a heavy right foot or hectic gearchanging to unleash the car’s potential.’
The highly practical and stylish Touran also picked up an award, taking the ‘Best Compact MPV’ title for the second year running. As What Car? put it in its awards issue: ‘If you want to fit lots of people and luggage into a car that’s still easy to park and manoeuvre around town, look no further than the Volkswagen Touran. It offers seven seats in a class where five is the norm, without being an unwieldy drive like some larger MPVs.’
Volkswagen’s new Golf GTI has enjoyed a rapturous reception, with outright Car of the Year awards from BBC Top Gear, Fifth Gear, The Sun and The Mail on Sunday. It has also triumphed in numerous group tests against highly capable class rivals.
Advance orders for the model, which is launched in the UK this month, are around the 2,000 mark, from a maximum allocation this year of 6,000 cars. This considerable interest has been helped in no small part by the highly successful dedicated website www.newgolfgti.co.uk (http://www.newgolfgti.co.uk), where customers can configure and save their vehicle on-line, before placing a deposit at their local Volkswagen Retailer.
Such is the appeal of Volkswagen’s revolutionary Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG), an automated double-clutch transmission which performs incredibly quick ratio changes, that it is already accounting for nearly 40 per cent of sales. Three-door models are taking around 60 per cent of initial sales.
In summarising its reasons for choosing the GTI, What Car? said: ‘Frankly, it’s hard to think of a model more in tune with the needs of the 21st century hot hatch driver.’
Golf GTI awards so far:
BBC Top Gear – Car of the Year
Fifth Gear – Car of the Year
The Sun – Car of the Year
The Mail on Sunday – Car of the Year
What Car? – Hot Hatch of the Year
Zoo Weekly – Hot Hatch of the Year