High-compression GDI with a thin parts shelf

Honestly, a quality intake and a cat-back exhaust for sound and a small breathing improvement, plus an ECU tune to clean up the throttle and fuelling. None of it makes big power on an NA engine, so spend where it improves how the car drives day to day rather than chasing a dyno number.

Not much. A tune plus intake and exhaust on the 2.0L GDI typically nets only a handful of kilowatts, not a transformation, because there's no turbo to wind up. The honest answer is the YD responds better to lighter wheels, good tyres and brakes than to engine mods.

It doesn't need one to run, and there's no factory turbo to safely unlock, so gains are modest. A tune is worth it mainly if you've added bolt-ons and want the fuelling and throttle dialled in, or if you're running 98 RON and want it optimised for that.

The Nu GDI engines can suffer carbon build-up on the intake valves over time since direct injection doesn't wash them, so keep on top of oil changes and consider a periodic intake clean. The 6-speed auto is generally robust but not a performance box, so it doesn't reward aggressive power adders.