We've sung the praises of the Volkswagen GTI here at TireKicker before---in fact, just last year, when we drove the fully loaded 2018 Volkswagen GTI Autobahn and were not the least bit deterred from our admiration by the sticker price which read $37,020 as tested.
So imagine how we feel about the same usefulness, a shade more performance and very nearly the same fuel economy for about six grand less.