The MK5 Volkswagen Golf was originally equipped with a 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine that produced 150 horsepower. Stock, it could reach 60 miles per hour in nine seconds and had a top speed of 130 mph. But this car is different. It has a 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder engine, and that begs the question: just how much faster can it go on the autobahn?
Borrowed from an Audi RS3, the turbocharged five-cylinder engine now produces 420 hp, almost three times the car’s original horsepower. The difference in power is immediately noticeable as the Volkswagen Golf accelerates much more quickly. In no time, it’s effortlessly cruising above 140 mph (230 kilometers per hour).
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But it’s not just the engine that’s changed. The sound it makes is deeper, fuller, and more resonant. It’s also more eager to rev. While the stock motor’s gauges indicate a redline of just over 6,000 rpm, the turbo five-cylinder engine happily clicks off crisp shifts at 6,800 rpm.
On the autobahn, the Golf GTI is the king of speed. Other vehicles move to the right to let it pass. Eventually, it hits 150 mph, with the speedometer showing 242 kph. The 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbo engine still seems like it has more to give. In its current iteration in the Audi RS3, it produces 407 hp and offers a top speed of 186 mph, placing it firmly in supercar territory.
Whether or not the Golf GTI can go any faster is a matter of debate. But what’s undeniable is that the MK5 version completely dominates the autobahn, devouring large sections of it like a hungry terrier. Compared to a modified MK1 Golf we witnessed on a nerve-wracking autobahn run, the MK5 looks stable and composed.
Volkswagen produced the MK5 Golf from 2005 to 2009. In the US, it was rebranded as the Rabbit in an attempt to boost sales by capitalizing on the name’s nostalgic appeal. The original MK1 Golf was also known as the Rabbit in the US, and its GTI model kickstarted the hot hatch trend. Thanks to its popularity, other carmakers like Honda, Toyota, and Ford quickly introduced high-performance versions of their compact economy cars to compete with the beloved Rabbit.
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