I've never understood all the love for this car. When I was shopping for a car in 2010 I looked at this as well as a WRX and many others. The GTI didn't even make the short list. I understand this vehicle is very balanced...I don't know...on my test drive nothing really stood out. I remember during the test drive the salesman being so excited about the power the car had and kept looking to me for affirmation and all I had to say was meh. Low horsepower, no AWD were two factors why it lost out to the Suby. Even with that though, it would have been a contender except for one thing; the price! Did JC himself hand assemble these at the heights of Mount Olympus?
Not to rain on the fanbois' parade as I'm sure for a certain group this is THE car but I just don't understand it. Of course, my experience was from 2010 so things may have improved. I'd look at this vehicle again if it could be had for about 33-35 large. I have a feeling it won't be priced anywhere close to that. ![Undecided :-\](https://www.autos.ca/forum/Smileys/CarTalk/undecided.gif)
Different strokes for different folks...
I test drove a WRX back in 2010 and was very surprised to find myself hating it. Yes, I was expecting the cheap plastic interior, but I wasn't expecting the vague steering and sloppy handling. I really thought it drove horribly (but I'll admit the power was lots of fun).
I also agree that a loaded GTI is pretty expensive, but I also think the base car is well equipped and a great value. I splurged on Navi and the Dynaudio stereo for mine, and it was still less than $32k.
I'd also be curious to redo my GTI and WRX test drives when the new models are out. The new GTI is supposed to be fantastic, but the new WRX is also supposed to be a huge improvement. From the initial reviews I've read, Subaru has apparently fixed the steering and sharpened up the handling so it might be a closer call. And the interior might even be somewhat decent, too.
![Wink ;)](https://www.autos.ca/forum/Smileys/CarTalk/wink.gif)