Many call it downright ugly, but styling is subjective. Look closely and you might see a hint of BMW 2002 in the high roof and large glass area. From behind the new GTI is all European, and very reminiscent of the first GTI's. Leather seats, CD player, 4-wheel discs, and a sunroof bigger than the Grand Canyon, all conspire to make the GTI one of the best cars on the market at any price. Dashboard controls are arranged in a neat, orderly fashion - more functional than fancy.
Manual seats adjust into several positions, and are firm, supportive and sporty.
Front seats also move up and forward to allow easy access for back seat passengers, no more spleen damage from contorting and squeezing past the front seats. More cars should be using this ingenious mechanism. Typical, for VW, blue with red lights on the instrument panel look great. Large tachometer and speedometer are easy to read. A turbo boost gauge would be a nice addition to the instrument cluster, but that would be more for pleasure than purpose.