Next Gen GTI To Have 300 Ponies - Will Volkswagen Own The Hot Hatch Market At That Point?

What I'm hearing is that the already overpriced Golf is getting more expensive.

MDarringer, I am not trying to challenge you, I am simply wondering why you seem to have negative sentiments towards VW? ..Not asking you to justify, just wondering what experience / circumstances led you to that? Personally, I share(d) your point of view .. I had a VW in the early 2000s and experienced a total of 17 service visits and multiple total failures / tows within the first 3 years of ownership..
Then I changed brands (BMW).. Flawless, pleasant ownership experience, reliability pretty much equal to my Acura Integra GSR that I owned prior to purchasing a VW (Acura got stolen / recovered without an engine and transmission in case you are wondering).

Now, believe it or not, I drive a VW! :-) Long story but I chose a CC as a family car / as a result of a set of circumstances.. I decided to .. give them another chance and it somehow felt right / I really didn't resonate with any "generic" A to B family sedans. Summary: flawless so far (20K miles). GREAT customer service / service experience based on 2 routine "inspections". ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE above my first VW ownership service / customer service experience. ..so.. give credit where credit is due. Perhaps it is .. something .. perhaps they learned and improved.

@Eurodriver MD is a basher, he will spin a VW news negatively regardless.

I sold my interest in a VW dealer because of how steeply they have to be discounted to sell them. VW plays incentive games that make dealers gamble on the incentive and if the dealer reaches the sales goal, VW pays the incentive when they are good and ready. On the warranty side, new VWs are in 24-7 for all kinds of things and VW is SLOW to reimburse. The DSG is an especially fragile transmission. Failures at 70K miles are not uncommon. Some of the 2.0T engines suffered catastrophic failures and if the failures happen outside the ultra-brief warrant, VW raises a middle finger to the customer. The dealer is left to deal with the customer and VW just isn't worth the hassle.

My wife dealt with two abysmal Jettas (a 2005 and a 2011). She got a Ford Flex from our Ford store--we have 3 kids--and the Flex is wonderful. Zero problems.

Funny because we've had 3 VWs, 2 Passats and our current V8 Touareg no major issues. Actually, I've had the same number of issues as our past Japanese and American cars (nothing more, nothing less). By the way, my wife would get another TOUAREG in a hearbeat.
A Flex? You must be the only Flex driver in CA.
Just because you personally had a bad business experience it doesn't mean they have a bad product but you are to much of a dumba$$ to recognize that. You are starting to sound like JDS.

Great comment Matt and as usual based on knowledge at the ownership and dealership experience vs the simple opinions of others that are solely based on a particular brand passion regardless of whether there has been an ownership experience. Not every car or brand can be defined by one or two vehicles as there is much more to it. I had a GM car, new in 1984 and it was such a piece of crap I went 29 yrs before I gave them another chance. Along the way I did have 4 VW's & an Audi A6. I had pretty much zero problems with any of them however I'm not driving or planning a VW purchase anytime soon. There is simply nothing in their line up for me and that goes for Audi too. However, VW does have enormous problems as they've been here longer than any other importer and yet continue to struggle to understand the US market and there is significant arrogance at the root of that. They churn and burn executives nearly as much as the Koreans did about prior to about 5 yrs ago. I also know how they pay their dealers and it is different and margins come pretty much after the sale from the parent. This 300bhp Golf is an interesting piece but what's the market for such a vehicle? Though cool it is yet another reason VW continues to fail.

As someone who owns a 2007 GTI, Im looking forward to the GOLF R400. Ive sat in the TT, and Im not fond of its congested interior. Im not a small guy. I also Like the short wheelbase, and overall good sightlines of the Golf. Im not such a snob that I care the car is beautiful and has badge appeal. If I can get TTRS performance for 10k less, and have something less show-offy, Im fine with that. That being said I do like the 2 series, the ATS -V coupe, and I might give the Camaro a try(just not keen on its retro styling). Still its a good time to have performance car options.

VW needs to move design envelop much further along to bring excitement to the new Golf if it hopes to draw people into dealers.
Its currently a very good car but underwhelming design.

Its called the scirrocco. But I dont think VW NA wants it. But thats the ideal body for R, and R400..

USNA1999 tells us he hasn't had any major issues. Care to tell us about the many smaller issues with your VW fleet?

If MDarringer's comment was not so broad, generalized and inaccurate I wouldn't comment but I am: Five VW's (2010 - 2014 MY) in our immediate and extended family with dealership experience in CA, TX & FL. Very positive ownership and dealership experience with all. As with all cars, VW's may not be for everyone but we have certainly enjoyed them and the experience. Sorry Matt but our engines are not blowing up, the 2010 Jetta with 138K miles is still going strong and the dealerships are definitely not shooting the middle finger at us.

MDarringer: 99% of your comments on Autospies are pretty negative. Instead of being an auto enthusiast you sound more like an auto un-enthusiast.