This is not quite the same car I had the opportunity to drive at the Volkswagen full-line drive last year – a Euro-trim vehicle, it had the late-availability Performance Package which includes a who-cares 10-hp bump, bigger brakes, and hydraulically actuated torque vectoring up front. That car was an absolute blast, better even than the much more powerful Scirocco R I also drove.
This car is not quite so much fun. It’s more buttoned-down, more sensible, more of a Venn-diagram overlap with an Audi product. It’s deft enough to be a great point-to-point car, but the “whee!” factor is a little light. With a six-speed, you can probably get away with a more basic car. If you’re going to go DSG and you want a bit more fun baked in, wait for that Performance Package.
  2015 Subaru WRX CVT, 2015 Volkswagen GTI DSG. Click image to enlarge |
Value
At $32,895 for the four-door version, the GTI looks massively more expensive than the $29,995 entry-level WRX sedan. And the Subaru comes with all-wheel-drive, of course. Ouch.
However, all that’s happened here is that VW Canada has ordered the sort of cars they’ve been selling the most of: very well equipped ones. To get a WRX with the same equipment level as the standard GTI – sunroof, LED running lights, rear spoiler – you’d have to spend $32,495 for the WRX Sport.
Thus, it becomes a balancing act trading off the WRX’s all-wheel-drive do-anything power versus the GTI’s classy 18-inch alloys, trick adaptive front lighting and more refined interior. The basic WRX is very good value, but move even one step up and the GTI is very closely matched.
It’s also cheaper to run, with official fuel economy figures of 9.5L/100 km in the city and 7.2 L/100 km on the highway. This next to the WRX’s less-good 11.0 L/100 km city and 7.9 L/100 km highway. You can put the Subaru into Intelligent mode to squeak out a few more miles per tank, but observed real-world mileage shows at least 1 L/100 km in favour of the GTI.
As a quick note on reliability, well, that’s hard to judge on two brand new vehicles. But don’t think the Subaru’s going to be completely bulletproof next to the theoretically high-maintenance GTI. In the past, Subaru has had issues with everything from head gaskets to ringland failures. Neither is the GTI’s history anything approaching complete dependability. It’s the old case of cheap, fast, or reliable: pick any two. Still, both cars do a better job of getting closer to that holy trinity than most (did someone say Mini? Wasn’t me).
  2015 Volkswagen GTI DSG, 2015 Subaru WRX CVT. Click image to enlarge |
Conclusion
The seventh generation GTI is the real deal, no matter what the transmission is. It’s the ultimate all-rounder, polished and refined, and then polished and refined some more until the four-decade-old ideal has become a glittering diamond. It’s beautiful – and a bit cold.
And then there’s the WRX, which frankly doesn’t seem to care which transmission you plunk in it, but could we please go find some gravel and go walkies? Preferably sideways?
Talk about your hallmarks of the golden age of motoring – a manufacturer can build a car with a dang CVT in it and it’ll still be fun. However, there’s only one clear winner of this competition and it’s the GTI. I’d still wait for the performance package (or, let’s be honest, for the WRX to come back as a hatch), but when it comes to having your cake and driving it too, the GTI is tough to beat. You could say it’s a parrrrrrrragon of the breed.
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Pricing: 2015 Volkswagen GTI DSG
Base Price: $27,795 (3dr)
Base Price: $32,895 (5dr)
Options: $3,190 (Technology package [touchscreen satellite navigation, forward collision warning]- $695; Leather seating – $1,095; DSG transmission – $1,400)
Freight: $1,395
A/C Tax: $100
Price as tested: $37,580
Pricing: 2015 Subaru WRX CVT
Base Price: $29,995
Options: $3800 (Sport package [power driver’s seat, trunk spoiler, LED headlights, fog-lights, automatic headlights] – $2,500; CVT automatic – $1,300)
Freight: $1695
A/C Tax: $100
Price as tested: $35,590
Crash Test Results:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
