The rear seat can hold three people, though it's best suited for two, who can get even more comfortable by tipping out the wide armrest that forms the center seatback. Those sitting in the back have both cup holders and storage cubbies for their stuff. There's plenty of rear legroom, at least when someone in, say, the 5-foot-10 range is occupying the front seat.
Access to the back seat is easier because of a feature that VW calls its Easy Entry System. Here's how it works: You tip the front seatback forward until it snaps into a locked position, then you can slide the entire seat forward to open a good-sized path to the back seat. Slide the front seat back and it stops in its original position and the seat back also returns to its former position so the driver or front-seat passenger can climb in without having to make any readjustments. It works well.
The front passenger's seat offers good legroom and easy access to climate and audio controls, though the seat you want in the GTI is the one immediately behind the steering wheel. This is a car for driving enthusiasts and it's best experienced from the driver's seat.
Both front seats are nicely bolstered so you won't slide around while exploring the car's dynamic capabilities. However, this is not a car for everyone. The seats may be too snug for some, and others won't like the black, grey, white and red-striped Interlagos plaid pattern in the seating and back area between the bolsters. GTI faithful will love these seats, however, and consider the Interlagos plaid an iconic part of the original GTI. Those who really don't like it can always opt for the black leather seats with the small GTI emblem stitched into the upper part of the seat back.
Drivers will like the way the three-spoke, leather-covered and flat-bottomed (like a racecar) steering wheel both tilts and telescopes to enhance steering control and comfort. The alloy pedals with rubber grips are nicely placed for heel-and-toe shifting, and there's a large dead pedal for your left foot when it isn't depressing the clutch pedal.
The steering wheel includes audio and trip computer control buttons. On cars with the DSG transmission, racecar-style paddle shifters are on the steering wheel right at your fingertips.
The instrument panel (which is not shared with the new Golf) features VW's blue-lit gauges with red indicator arrows as well as trip computer to track miles to empty or to display redundant navigation system instructions within the driver's line of sight. The gauge cluster is very readable, even in bright sunlight when the driver is wearing Polarized sunglasses.
Not only are the seats height-adjustable, but so is the arm rest on the center console, so you can put it high for comfortable cruising or lower it so it won't interfere when you get aggressive with the six-speed manual shifter. Cup holders also are positioned on the center console so they don't interfere with gear changing. And when the driver gets really aggressive, there's a grab handle on the center console so the front-seat passenger can hold on.
