Inside, red on black Recaro sport seats offer incredible comfort and more lateral support than most anything else this side of a Dodge Viper. VW's traditional 3-spoke steering wheel, one of my favorites, is wrapped in perforated black leather with red stitching, which happens to match the hand brake of the same motif. VW brought back the legendary 'golf ball' shift knob from its distant past, with the GTI emblem gracing its top. Alloy foot pedals, door sills and interior trim spice up the already well made cabin while a powerful 8-speaker Monsoon AM/FM/CD/cassette audio system booms out the entertainment.
VW has had fair time to sort this new variation out due to it being based on the rare GTI 25th Anniversary edition, a 2001 model year European exclusive. Unlike the new 241-hp R32 AWD GTI on its way to the states (not Canada) the 337 makes due with a stock 180-hp 1.8-L 4-cylinder, a wonderfully balanced engine with more grunt than most of the top hot-hatch offerings from Japan or the U.S. - straight ahead acceleration was not a problem that needed to be addressed. Moving the 337 up a notch above the stock GTI 1.8T is a short throw 6-speed manual transmission, replacing the standard 5-speed gearbox.