Watch the Golf hit 150 mph, but stay tuned for the roar of the engine.
September 17, 2023 on 7:21 p.m. ET
The MK5 Volkswagen Golf was originally equipped with a 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine that produced 150 horsepower. Stock is capable of hitting 60 mph in nine seconds at 130 mph. However, this car has a 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder under the hood. So the question is, how much faster will it go on the highway?
Borrowed from the Audi RS3, the turbocharged five-cylinder produces 420 horsepower, nearly three times the car’s original output. The extra power is immediately apparent as the Volkswagen Golf gets up to speed much quicker. It will soon exceed 140 mph (230 kilometers per hour).
Gallery: 2023 VW Golf GTI 40th Anniversary Edition
6 Photos
However, not only the engine has changed. The timbre of the sound it emits is deeper, fuller and more resonant. It is also a more cheerful roar. While the gauges indicate the stock engine is newly tuned to just over 6,000 rpm, the turbo five kicks out sharp shifts at 6,800 rpm.
On the highway, the Golf GTI is the fastest car. Other vehicles pull to the right and let them pass. It eventually reaches a speed of 150 mph and reads 242 km/h on the speedometer. The 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbo engine seems to have more to offer. In the current Audi RS3, it produces 407 horsepower and offers a top speed of 186 mph, which is well into supercar territory.
Whether or not the GTI can go faster is up for debate. What’s not up for debate is that the MK5 absolutely devours the highway, inhaling big chunks of it like a starving terrier. Compared to the modified MK1 Golf we’ve seen doing the superficial motorway, it looks stable and unflappable.
Volkswagen produced the MK5 Golf from 2005 to 2009. In the US, it was renamed the Rabbit in an attempt to increase sales due to the name’s nostalgia factor. The original MK1 Golf was called the Rabbit in the US and the GTI model started the hot hatch craze. Thanks to its popularity, other automakers like Honda, Toyota, and Ford have thrown hot versions of their compact economy cars into the market to grab a piece of the rabbit pie.
