The Volkswagen Golf GTI is known for its punchy acceleration, great driving dynamics, and sporty styling. But for its fuel economy? Not really. So when our yearlong review GTI started beating the EPA figures by a decent margin, we were just as surprised as anyone to see how far we could go on one tank of gas.
We’re not hypermiling by any means, but with gas prices averaging $3.56 nationwide (and $5.06 in our home state of California), we’re happy to have a car that delivers good fuel economy numbers without compromising its driving abilities.
Since getting the GTI in August of last year, we’ve been averaging 30.5 mpg combined, which is better than the 28-mpg combined rating from the EPA. What’s more, when driving only on the highway, we’ve seen those numbers jump to 35.7 mpg, which is also above the EPA’s rating of 34 mpg.
Looking back at similar long-term vehicles we’ve had in the past, the GTI is doing significantly better than our 2022 Subaru WRX, which delivered 22.6 mpg on average—right in line with EPA numbers. There are a couple of things to note, however. The WRX is a four-door sedan with all-wheel drive, and its 2.4-liter turbocharged flat-four is bigger than the 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 in our GTI hatch. But power numbers are similar; the GTI delivers 241 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque, while the WRX pumps 271 hp and 258 lb-ft.
The previous-generation 2018 Civic Type R, which we also drove for a year, delivered 24 mpg on average over its stay with us, just below the combined EPA estimate of 25 mpg. The Type R is more aligned with the Golf R in terms of performance, but it’s a good reference point for fuel economy.
One thing we’d like to see is a bigger gas tank, as the GTI only holds 13.2 gallons. The WRX has a 16.6-gallon tank, but the 2018 Civic Type R we had only handles 12.4 gallons.
Consider that the average numbers we’re getting in our GTI are with all the MotorTrend staff driving it, not just me. Car journalists aren’t necessarily the slowest, most reserved drivers; we like to drive … hard. The GTI has also been a support vehicle for many photoshoots and video shoots, including this year’s Performance Vehicle of the Year, which means it was following sports cars at high speeds on a track to get the best angles. It’s impressive to see these kinds of figures on our hot-hatch GTI.
So far, we’re happy with the way things are going, and our GTI has been treating us well. Besides the loud tires and poor user-interface technology, something we’ve complained about in the past, the GTI has been a great compact car that regularly delivers a thrilling driving experience.
For More on Our Long-Term 2023 Volkswagen Golf GTI 40th Anniversary Edition:
