USED CARS
James Ruppert
KICKING TYRES
Mk7 VW Golf GTI offers back-road mirth even without a stick shift
Last week, I was advising an Autocar reader who needed to switch from a manual to automatic on account of a dodgy knee. I covered only direct-replacement Minis; now let’s see what else is out there with five doors and a different badge.
He might just be tempted. Whatever the servicing and practical spannering downsides (and owners say there are several), the answer to owning an interesting car means finding an Alfa Romeo. The modern Giulietta is sort of Mini-sized, and here’s a 2014 Veloce. It was the Italian Volkswagen Golf GTI when new, and it cost £28k. Now this 240bhp screamer, with its flat-bottomed wheel and bucket seats, is just £9000. It’s done 80,000 miles with four owners and looks rather fun, despite the auto ’box.