It’s always interesting to see how products evolve over the years, with this infographic comparing the second-gen VW Golf GTI from 1985 to today’s car.
In a span of 30 years and five generations of Golf hatchbacks, the GTI has matured becoming faster, safer, roomier and more advanced, but also heavier and more expensive.
Priced at $8,990 in 1985, which comes to around $19,600 in today’s money adjusted for inflation, the Mk2 Golf GTI was powered by a 1.8-liter atmospheric inline-four with 100hp (in Europe, it had 112PS or 110hp) paired to a five-speed manual for a reported 0-60mph (96km/h) in 8.5 seconds.
Fast-forward to today and the 2015 Golf GTI Mk7 costs about 25 percent more (when adjusted for inflation) at $24,785 MSRP offering a turbocharged 2.0-liter four with 210PS (207hp) in standard trim and 220PS (217hp) with the Performance Package hooked up to either a 6sp manual or a dual-clutch DSG for a 0-60mph in 5.8 seconds according to the infographic, which doesn’t say for which version, but we assume it’s for the DSG 220PS model.
It might lack the performance and comfort and safety features of the newer GTI, but one thing the older model has going for it is its weight, which at 2,150 lbs (975 kg), is around 1,000 pounds (454 kg) less than the Mk7 that weighs between 3,031 (1,375 kg) and 3,153 lbs (1,430 kg), depending on the model.
As a result, the improvements in fuel economy aren’t as great as you’d expect, with the old GTI returning 23mpg city (10.2 l/100km) and 29 mpg highway (8.1 l/100km) versus the new model’s 25mpg city (9.4 l/100km) and 34 mpg highway (6.9 l/100km).
See all the changes in detail in the infographic made by Spork Marketing for VWPartsVortex below.
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