This, the fifth-generation Golf GTI, has a 197bhp turbocharged 2 litre engine. It will be welcomed by enthusiasts who have accused Volkswagen in recent years of losing the spirit of the original hot hatchback by equipping the GTI with engines scarcely more powerful than those of mainstream models.
Like the first GTI from 1976, the new model has a distinctive black grille with red accent lines, bigger wheels and twin exhausts. A modern fashion feature, borrowed from Porsche, is the use of red brake callipers showing through the 17in alloy wheels. Special GTI seats, a flat-bottomed suede-rimmed steering wheel, and aluminium trim set the interior apart from other Golfs. The new GTI has a six-speed manual gearbox as standard but can be specified with VW’s excellent twin-clutch semi-automatic transmission.
The 2 litre FSI engine has direct petrol injection and is also used in the latest Audi A3 and A4. VW promised the Golf GTI would be under £20,000, and it is, though only just, at £19,995.
A 0-60mph acceleration time of around 7 seconds and a top speed of 146mph make the new GTI much quicker than the last model, but still behind the most extreme of the hot-hatch competition, including the £19,500 Renaultsport Mégane 225.
Jam-busting with a mobile phone
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It is the perennial decision facing drivers stuck in a traffic jam: stay on the road and hope that whatever is causing the tailback clears itself, or cut your losses and take the next exit.
However, the mobile phone operator 3 is planning a new system that for the first time will let you see whether the roads ahead are clear or clogged. It might even be able to show the cause of the hold-up.
The system uses pictures from the existing network of roadside traffic cameras and beams them to its customers’ phones.
At present drivers can receive traffic information by calling one of many jam-busting hot lines or via in-car systems such as Trafficmaster. This is the first system to allow you to see the road ahead for yourself.
The images will be similar to those seen on television traffic bulletins filmed by so-called “jam-cams”.
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Camera footage of congestion from hot spots on the M1, M4, M6 and M25 will be the first to be offered to subscribers of 3, and the system could be running within a year.
If the scheme is a success, views from other cameras around Glasgow and Edinburgh will be offered, and 3 says it could ultimately install its own cameras to supplement those run by local authorities.
Suzuki does a Swift change
Also to be unveiled in Paris is the new Suzuki Swift, a sharply styled supermini from a company not known for the brilliance of its designs.
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There is definitely something of the new Mini in the look of the Swift, which will be available with three or five doors and offer 1.3 and 1.5 litre petrol engines and a 1.3 litre diesel.
Suzuki is a small car specialist that is much bigger than it may appear. It makes 2m cars a year and builds them all over the world — its cheapest model, the £5,995 Alto, comes to Britain from India.
The Swift was designed primarily for Europe and will be made in Hungary by Magyar Suzuki Corporation. Its diesel engine is from Fiat, thanks to an association that both companies have with General Motors.
The boxy Suzuki Ignis has been doing well in rallying this year, both in Britain and at an international level, and it is significant that the new Swift was previewed at the Paris Motor Show two years ago by the Concept-S — effectively the production model in rally garb. A competition Swift will appear next year. The design and finish of the Swift’s cabin is a notable improvement on its ageing predecessor, which was withdrawn from sale 18 months ago. Prices of the new model are likely to start at around £9,000.