Styling
Visually, the Edition 50 is not going to be easy to differentiate from a Clubsport, unless it has been specified (like our test car) in the signature and exclusive Dark Moss Green paint at £830. Beyond that, some red-highlighted 'Queenstown' 19-inch alloys, subtle 'GTI 50' emblems on the insides of the door mirrors and the sides of the tailgate spoiler, and those red decal strips along the sills are about your only giveaway details. It leads to a typically discreet-yet-purposeful-looking hatchback with the GTI Edition 50, although you can ramp up the kerb appeal further with the Performance Pack, which gains an Akrapovic exhaust and forged 19s for its troubles.
Interior
Again, the inside of the Edition 50 isn't much different to that of a Mk8.5 Clubsport, aside from discreet GTI 50 emblems in places (on the steering wheel and emblazoned across the door sills, for instance), red-faced pedals in the driver's footwell to go with red seatbelts, and exclusive Clark GTI 50 checked upholstery with a racing-green line. On top of the better (but by no means perfect) basic ergonomics of the facelifted eighth-gen Golfs, including physical buttons on the steering wheel, there are no real complaints from our side regarding the interior of the Golf GTI Edition 50.
Practicality
Unlike the Mk7 Clubsport S, the GTI Edition 50 retains its rear bench, so it remains a five-door, five-seat hot hatchback with a 374-litre boot as well. In terms of practicality, it's up there with the leading lights in this ever-dwindling sector, although if you want a heck of a lot more interior room from roughly the same underpinnings, you're going to need a
Skoda Octavia vRS instead.
Performance
Volkswagen has taken the EA888 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot in the Golf GTI Edition 50 out to new highs of both 325hp and 420Nm, representing increases of 25hp and 20Nm respectively over the Clubsport model. That makes it the most-potent Golf GTI ever to see the production light of day, placing the Edition 50 just 8hp behind the revised
Golf R and on exactly the same torque plateau as its AWD sibling as well. These hikes are enough to trim three-tenths off the Clubsport's quoted 0-62mph time, the Edition 50 capable of the sprint in just 5.3 seconds.
On the roads, you won't need any more punch than the Edition 50 can hit with. It feels properly, relentlessly quick in the midrange and appears to have no real traction issues either, which is deeply impressive when flowing 325hp and 420Nm through one (leading) axle alone - the XDS+ electronic diff lock is the star here. Sure, the EA888 is not the most tuneful turbo in the world and it would undoubtedly have its acoustics improved by the fitment of the Akrapovic pipes which come with the Performance Pack, but even standard the Edition 50 still sounds menacingly gruff and boosty, and we like that.
We also have no issues with the seven-speed DSG transmission, even if it would be fun if VW had been a bit subversive and offered the Edition 50 with the six-speed manual 'box. The Golf is also decent on fuel, although an overall average of 27.7mpg across more than 250 miles of testing shows how often we were enjoying its performative powers.
Ride & Handling
The Performance Pack does quite a lot to the Golf GTI Edition 50, including a further ride-height drop of 5mm (the Ed 50, like the Clubsport, is already 15mm lower than a standard 265hp Mk8.5 GTI), stiffer springs, recalibrated DCC dampers to reduce roll, the forged alloys on Bridgestone Potenza Race semi-slick tyres, the fitment of the Akrapovic titanium exhaust, and then further detailed chassis tweaks (such as geometry, hub fixings and bushings). It's properly nerdy stuff and promises to take the 325hp car as kinematically close to the hallowed Clubsport S as possible.
Our tester, however, was without the PP, so to all intents and purposes was little more than a Clubsport with 8.3 and 5 per cent power and torque increases accordingly. And yet, we still think there was more granular feel in the Ed 50's steering, more balance and playfulness from its chassis, more intensity of straight-line speed from its enriched 2.0-litre engine and a tad more bite from its brakes.
All in all, on one early-evening thrash on some of our favourite, remote country roads located to the west of the northernmost reaches of the River Trent, we had an absolute blast in the GTI Edition 50, unlike we've had in any Golf GTI before - and it blows the tied-down, AWD security of a Golf R into the weeds, too. In a world thin on the ground with pure-petrol performance hatchbacks, finally we can say that the hottest Golf GTI is among the very, very best there is.
Value
At £48,000 before options, the Edition 50 is clearly a chunky financial proposition. That's about £3,800 more than a Golf GTI Clubsport for starters, and that's
before you've even contemplated the Performance Pack we keep mentioning. Even without that bundle, but with some sundry other items equipped (HUD £610, Area View £345, a PPF wrap for £1,983 and the green paint, among more), our tester was a whopping £52,243. Eek.
Verdict
In our opinion, this Edition 50 was the greatest performance Volkswagen Golf we've ever had the pleasure of sampling - whether they be wearing a GTI,
GTD,
GTE or an R badge. That's because, though, we happened to miss out on the Mk7 Clubsport S (curse it!), a vehicle which is borderline revered by most critics.
But the Ed 50 remains one of the most engaging and enjoyable GTIs you can buy... so why only 4.5 stars overall? Well, two reasons: one, it costs more than £52,000 as specified, which is alarming; and two, we'd like to try it again with the Performance Pack fitted, as we suspect then the Golf GTI will, finally and after five decades of trying, ascend to the peak of five-star glory.
