There is quite a bit more rasping audible presence about the Edition 50’s exhaust note than a regular GTI has, once that Akropovic system has its active valves open. That’s especially true if you use the car’s little-known ‘emotion start’ feature, which comes with higher revs and a few pops and crackles for good measure. (Hold the start button down for three seconds, then press the brake and vroom!)
There’s more weight and tactile feedback in the Edition 50’s steering too – as well as a sharpened sort of keenness on turn-in that you still wouldn’t quite call outright urgent but sets this car’s dynamic intent apart from any of its GTI range-mates just the same. It all adds up to quite a distinctive – and promising – 100-yard ‘handshake’.
In roll-on, give-and-take driving, once you’re used to the slightly more forthright pipes, the car feels only marginally quicker, more urgent and more dramatic than a GTI Clubsport – because 25 horsepower isn’t a great deal, after all, in a car that has only as much torque as a current VW Golf R.
The slightly rortier induction noise – while much of it is clearly synthesised by the audio system – does give the car’s performance character a more purposeful cutting edge when you’re using the sportier driving modes, though. And if there’s anywhere that car does seem to actually hit harder than a regular GTI, it’s right at the top of the rev range, above 5000rpm, which makes for a usefully broad power delivery during circuit driving.
In other moments, however, you can dial the car’s feistiness back down a few pegs, and drive it – on the school run, office commute, or wherever you might not want to feel the full force of its personality – as if it were any other GTI. The DSG gearbox is never as brusque with its shifts as some track-intended transmissions can be, but it’s capable of being gentle and smooth as well as quick and positive with its paddle shifts.