Time to settle down and go home. Back in Comfort mode, everything relaxes and decompresses, transforming a riotous sport compact into a regular hatchback with a vaguely firm suspension. On the oft-broken pavement that snakes through Los Angeles, every bump, crag, and expansion joint was both physically and acoustically well isolated, especially when you futz with the Dynamic Chassis Control's (DCC) 15-position slider to dial in your preferred level of aggression.

Who Asked for This?

Now we get to our singular glaring issue with the all-new VW GTI. It seems VW is keen on superimposing the all-electric ID4's interior tech onto its other new products, meaning the GTI's interior is almost entirely devoid of physical buttons. Instead, touch-capacitive panels adorn the dash and steering wheel, operating just about every function available. The headlights, climate control, drive modes, volume, tuning, cruise control, and cluster menu selection are all operated via these single-piece, backlit gloss plastic panels.

What's not touch capacitive is squirreled away in the sharp and pretty touchscreen infotainment system, but some items seem almost purposefully obfuscated. The traction control, for instance, is buried behind the vehicle settings menu under the "brakes" subsection. It's all very cutting edge and futuristic, but it feels very much like the solution to a problem that didn't exist. We got used to the touch controls within a few hours of seat time, but they never became second nature. What's more, most of the once-glossy surfaces became a modern art installation of greasy fingerprints and nasty smudges. Buttons, please.

Pricing—What We (Don't) Know

What we cannot report on is just how well equipped (or not) the new GTI will be when it hits dealers, as our example was a German-market car, skinny Euro registration plate and all, and the equipment levels could notably differ. Heck, we don't even have a clear idea of pricing, but figure it land somewhere around $31,000. For now, if you want to grab one of these, we think the wait will be well worth it. As the U.S.—and Volkswagen—increasingly cuts ties with internal combustion, it's nice to know joyful cars like the 2022 Volkswagen GTI will be with us until the final switch is flipped.

SPECIFICATIONS	2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI
BASE PRICE	$31,000 (est)
PRICE AS TESTED	$39,000 (est)
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door hatchback
ENGINE	2.0L/242-hp/273-lb-ft turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4
TRANSMISSION	7-speed dual-clutch auto
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	3,046 lb (62/38%)
WHEELBASE	103.8 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	168.7 x 70.4 x 57.3 in
0-60 MPH	5.4 sec
QUARTER MILE	13.9 sec @ 103.9 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	104 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.96 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	25.0 sec @ 0.74 g (avg)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	Not yet rated