Three-door Volkswagen Golf GTI here in January

VOLKSWAGEN has expanded its Golf GTI range to include the new three-door GTI Original variant, which will become a permanent member of the Golf family when it arrives in January priced from $37,490 plus on-roads for the six-speed manual.

Opting for the six-speed dual-clutch automatic raises the price to $39,990, however it still undercuts the five-door manual GTI that starts at $41,490 meaning, the point of entry into the Golf GTI range has dropped by $4000.

The arrival of the GTI Original marks the first time that Volkswagen has offered a three-door GTI in Mark 7 guise, save for the limited-run, DSG-only GTI Performance edition, 150 examples of which were was released earlier this year in the lead-up to the Golf ‘7.5’ mid-life range update.

Volkswagen is offering the GTI Original only with white or red exterior paint, as well as the signature Clark tartan upholstery on the seats.

Other standard specification on the three-door GTI includes 18-inch black Sevilla alloy wheels with red pinstripe, leather sports steering wheel, sports suspension, 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, dual-zone climate control, LED headlights and foglights, rearview camera, front and rear parking sensors and ‘Original’ badging on the tailgate.

A Driver’s Assistance pack is the only available option and it costs $1600.

The Original uses the same powertrain as the five-door version, which is a 169kW/350Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine driving the front wheels.

Volkswagen Australia general manager of marketing and product Ben Wilks said the GTI Original represents what made the first-generation GTI great.

“The Golf GTI is one of the few mass produced cars that can accurately be called ‘iconic’,” he said.

“The GTI was the original hot hatch and the GTI Original embodies its spirit.”Through the first three quarters of 2017, Volkswagen has sold 13,126 examples of the Golf, representing a 13.3 per cent skid over the 15,136 it sold to the same point last year.

It is the fifth best-selling vehicle in the small car segment, behind the Toyota Corolla (28,665), Mazda3 (25,457) and Hyundai i30 (21,103) as well as the Kia Cerato (14,671) which has jumped ahead of it.

2017 Volkswagen Golf GTI Original pricing*

GTI Original	$37,490
GTI Original (a)	$39,990

*Excludes on-road costs