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| The sign in back reads Circuit Mont-Tremblant, a very good thing when a the track is open and a variety of new 2010 VW GTIs are on hand. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press) |
No matter what your status or economic well being, I'm sure you have a soft spot for the GTI. It didn't become an automotive icon without reason, and because it's the originator of the hot hatch segment it deserves our doting attention. But does this originator remain class leader when weighing pros and cons against its many new competitors?
Well, after 30 plus years of street fighting, some of its rivals have become iconic all on their own, Honda's Civic Si, Mini's Cooper S, and Nissan's Sentra SE-R being just three. Mitsubishi's Evo and Subaru's WRX STi are in a different league because of performance and price, but the regular WRX and relative newcomers such as Mitsubishi's Lancer Ralliart, Dodge's SRT4 and the Mazdaspeed3 can really give the GTI a run for its money, while Kia's new Forte Koup is also a strong contender for those who don't need quite as much performance.
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| On the road the GTI is brilliant! (Photo: Canadian Auto Press) |
Performance in mind, Volkswagen didn't even bother giving us GTIs to test on the street when we arrived at le Circuit Mont-Tremblant in regular 2.5-litre five-cylinder and TDI diesel-powered Golf 3-door, 5-door and Wagon models. I took one off the track grounds for photos for a little street time where I appreciated how enjoyable the GTI is to navigate through the small neighboring town of St-Jovite (the old section of Mont-Tremblant) and down a few side roads, but the majority of time was set aside for Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant, a 4.26 km (2.65 mi) race circuit about 13 km (8.1 mi) north of the main, new village of Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, a destination ski resort that, thanks to a beautiful lake, great hiking trails, golf courses, excellent accommodation, and the racetrack, of course, has become a year round hot spot.
