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Could this be the thinking person’s GTi? VW would certainly like to think so.

This is the second generation of the Golf GTE model. After the previous generation’s slightly less exciting look, this Mk8 version is a carbon copy of the newest GTi, with the same gaping front bumper and funky foglights.

It’s only at the rear where you’ll really see the difference, as this GTE has fake exhaust trims rather than the GTi’s actual pipes.

The two cars share the same 242bhp output, too, though they go about it a very different way – the GTE uses a 1.4 litre turbocharged petrol engine combined with a 116hp electric motor – it’s a plug-in hybrid – and can do 37 miles on EV power alone.

It even has some seriously clever learning tech that knows when you go into towns and adapts the hybrid system, so it switches to EV power in town more often. Clever stuff!

Thanks to the weight of the batteries, it’s a little bit slower than the GTi, with 0-62mph taking 6.7 seconds, but it counters with more torque giving a feeling of better mid-range punch.

With the GTi looks and power, combined with the economy and emissions of a hybrid, this may well be the pick of the Golf range!

Win a Golf GTE in the BOTB Dream Car Competition!