![]() But when it came time to prep the cars for this program, the company couldn't source new tires for all six of the vehicles. Unsurprisingly, the newer GTI and its ultra-sticky front rubber blew the last-generation model out of the water.Īccording to Volkswagen, it had been loaning out these Euro-spec Mk 8s to media across the country ( including ) on the factory rubber. It wasn't until we'd already completed a lap of the autocross course in each car – realizing that the performance disparity was way too dramatic – that we looked at the tires. ![]() Up front, Volkswagen fitted the Bridgestone RE-71R, a 200-treadwear extreme performance tire that is widely considered the gold standard for competitive autocross. The Mk 8 GTI wore the same tires… on the back axle. These are the original equipment for the current car. The Mk7 GTIs we were testing wore Bridgestone Potenza S001 “max performance summer” tires at all four corners. After half a day of tracking and autocrossing, it's pretty clear the new GTI is better than the old, but this experience did more to show us the value of a good set of tires than an upgraded five-door hatch. What we didn't expect was that a bizarre tire choice would mar this chance to see how VW has improved the world's leading and original hot hatchback.
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