Well, here they are, although different than the ones seen in The Grand Tour season finale months ago. In the show, Jeremy drives a Golf GTi with five doors while James drives an i3 with the Range Extender feature. In here, I have a three-door GTi and a standard i3 without the REx feature but still, they act as similar as the ones in the show, giving me the ideal opportunity to get to know about the cars.
First, let's get to know about the car of the past, although it came out from the present times, the Volkswagen Golf GTi. On its seventh generation, the Golf GTi is utilized on the Volkswagen Group's MQB platform, which results to better ride quality and uncompromising safety. Under the hood, the 2.0L four-cylinder turbocharged engine has been upgraded so now it produces 216HP of power, resulting to 0-62mph time of 6.9 seconds and onwards to 152mph. Apart from the performance, the GTi features improved handling such as the improved XDS electronic control differential lock, adaptive chassis control, and progressive steering, making this hot hatch as sporty as hot hatches can get.
Now, what about the car of the future, the BMW i3? Being one of the firsts of BMW's new i sub-brand, the i3 features futuristic styling with unbiased efficiency and dynamics electric car consumers are longing for. The electric motor that powers it produces 167HP of power and 184.4ft-lb of torque, bringing most of the power to the rear wheels, which is rather a surprise for an electric car like this. Although the top speed is just a dismal 93mph, the i3's electric motors deliver peak torque instantly, meaning it can get off the line quicker than the Golf GTi from a standstill, as demonstrated in that Grand Tour episode I mentioned. At full charge, the i3 can go up to 99.4 miles and when set to ECO PRO + with less air conditioning and power saving measures. 124.2 miles of electric range.
It's amazing that I get to meet along the car of the past and the car of the future but the question is, which one will prevail? To find out, I went to Brands Hatch to settle this debate.
You may remember that in the drag race portion of this comparo, despite the i3's peak torque, the Golf GTi managed to overtake the i3 and won, making the future very rubbish on television. So, what about the way it behaves when these two are taken very seriously for that matter?
As I tried these two machines, there is a clear difference between these two as even though the Golf GTi has improved handling compared to the previous GTis of yesteryears, it has a tendency to understeer just like any other front-wheel drive car but it feels so lively to drive with and brings out the GTi's true potential as a hot hatch that you can use it everyday.
The i3 maybe rear-wheel drive but it's no drift machine because of the nature of this electric compact but despite that, it has a healthy handling dynamics because the batteries are mounted in the middle for better weight distribution and because of extensive use of carbon fiber on the interior as well as aluminium chassis, not only it's rigid but also very lightweight.
Now, let's find out which one will be the best on a one lap round Brands Hatch. This will decide which will prevail for the future of driving...
And now, the results...
GTi -1:00.222
i3 - 0:59.622
That was a close call for these two machines because even these cars are between less than a second apart, they really are too close to call when it comes to figuring out which one is the best. I mean come on, I'm starting to admire that the BMW i3 behaves like a Golf GTi in every tangible way and because they're similar in terms of dynamics, looks like the boys are absolutely useless at handling these machines with common sense.
In the battle between the past and the future, it's hard to decide which one will prevail because as the world turns away from fossil fuels, electric cars will become the dominant figure of the future of motoring but some warned that with the rise of electric cars, the world's power supply can't keep up with the trend. In the meantime, while we appreciate the rise of electric cars, the conventional automobile should not be forgotten because even though we spend so much money on refueling our rides, it's safe to say that it was made to get through your ideal points of interests without the drama and as the world's bureaucrats are unleashing a scorched earth policy against petrol and diesel, it could be the ideal time to savor the moment of driving a car with internal combustion engine like there's no tomorrow. And that is the bottom line.
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