It’s the battle of the long names, as the Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport 45, a new 2021 limited edition Golf GTI, takes on our favourite big hot hatchback of recent years, the 2020 Honda Civic Type R Limited Edition.

The Golf 45 edition celebrates, as the name suggests, the GTI’s 45th anniversary. As such, this special model gets a power boost over the regular Golf GTI to 296bhp, which is good for 0-62mph in 5.6sec, and a top speed of some 166mph. The special Golf costs £39,380 in the UK.

That puts in on a par with the very rare 2020 Civic Type R Limited Edition, just 20 of which came to the UK, shorn of air conditioning and a stereo to make them lighter. It cost £39,995 and has a little more power than the Golf, at 316bhp, which gave it a 5.7sec 0-62mph time and a top speed of 169mph.

Which, though, is the nicer car to drive? Limited Golf, or Limited Civic? Our testers Richard Lane and Matt Prior take to the roads to find out.

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