2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI S

The break-in period for the GTI’s EA888 2.0-liter turbo is 1,000 miles. So at around 1,001 miles we took the GTI to the test track. There, on a warm, sunny Fontana day, the GTI put down impressive numbers: 0 to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds, quarter mile in 14.7 seconds at 96.9 mph, 60 to 0 braking in 105 feet, figure eight in 25.7 seconds, and average lateral acceleration of 0.93 g. Our long-term 2012 BMW 328i, with a 240-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo, was quicker to 60 (5.5 seconds) and the quarter (14.1 seconds at 98.2 mph) but couldn’t match the GTI in braking (113 feet), figure eight (26.3 seconds), or average lateral accel (0.89 g). And back in ’12, that Bimmer listed for $50,845. Easy to see why the GTI-led Golf lineup won our 2015 COTY. The GTI garnered praise from our staffers from the get-go. Its original chaperone, Rory Jurnecka, who’s now at our sister pub Automobile, gushed over the GTI’s utility, which he noted was able to accommodate his family of five during Thanksgiving, not to mention a 6-foot vintage sign from an old Fiat dealer showroom. I appreciated the GTI’s turbo punch, especially when entering the highway or exiting a tight turn on a mountain road. I also enjoyed its 26.6-mpg observed fuel economy; that my kids (and their booster seats and toys) fit comfortably in the back seat; the utility of having a cargo-friendly hatchback, certainly one with fold-down rear seats; the large front-door pockets with integrated cupholders that can fit a 1-liter bottle; the easy-to-use infotainment/nav system, whose real-time traffic updates and auto rerouting never steered me wrong; and the sublime feel of the helm in Normal mode, which makes a case for losing the numb Sport-mode steering.