the Bucket: Bucket Seat: VW Polo GTI

The VW Polo has been a the darling child of the VW line-up locally, since it’s first introduction badged as the Polo “Playa”, it took the market by storm and afforded the buyer a budget friendly hatch back from the Volkswagen brand. When the first GTI version was introduced in the second generation Polo, it proved to be a massive success, not only was this the most affordable hot hatch on the market, it also gave buyers the opportunity to own a car with the GTI heritage. Fast forward to today and the latest version of the Polo GTI has hit South Africa, like other models it has gotten a keen interest from the public, with an eye catching starting price and striking good looks many are intrigued by this latest offering. I got a chance to spend a week with the latest Polo GTI and did a fair amount of driving with the car, close to 1000km! Here I my thoughts and experiences with the car.

DESIGN

There’s no denying VW did a sterling job in this latest generation of the Polo, from the solid bar LED lamp in the front to the revised rear end that features new tail lights, the car looks bolder, modern and more mature than the previous generation. The GTI gets the sporty treatment with honeycomb grille, a red detailing along the front, dual LED fog lamps and large multi-spoke rims. The side profile is the same with an added side skirt that gives the car more of a sporty appearance, with the GTI badge mounted behind the front wheel arch. Moving to the back of the car, the iQ LED rear lights are a standout feature at the back with its new L-Shaped design, and VW badge mounted dead centre that also houses the reverse camera. The GTI badge is mounted just below this badge and gives the car a more aesthetically pleasing look. The rear diffuser ends off at the bottom with dual tail-pipes with rear fog lamps either side of it. Overall a very attractive package from the outside, this particular model came with a panoramic glass sunroof which added to the coolness factor of the looks. Moving in on the inside, much of it is standard from the normal Polo with the excel of the steering wheel which is a smaller version from its bigger brother the Golf 8 GTI. The interior features special materials that are unique to the GTI such as colour coded dash inserts and suede sport seats.

PERFORMANCE

The Polo GTI comes packed with a powerful 2.0-litre, 4 cylinder TSI engine that produces 147kW and 320Nm of torque that's married with VW's infamous 6-speed DSG gearbox that is just a synergy of fun. The power to weight ratio of the Polo GTI is perfect to deliver that go-kart like experience, with precise handling and control. While the new Polo GTI does have a soft limiter installed that reduces the vrrpha effect, this car is still plentiful of fun to drive. While in urban cruising the car may prove to be quite thirsty as you would expect, with the average fuel consumption just north of the 8.2L per 100km range, on long distances it quite surprised me with me getting it down to as low as 6.0L per 100km and that was without cruise control! The car does offer a good mixed use consumption as well so it's quite note worthy that it can be light on the pocket when driven efficiently. Standstill to 100km takes 6.7 seconds with a claimed top speed of 238km/h. Fuel tank size is just the same as regular Polo with 40 litres so you maybe be frequenting the filling stations just about every week with this one.

COMFORT

The interior of the GTI is stunning, I quite love how everything is laid out in the cabin and the choice of materials and finishes. The GTI does get some added luxuries that the normal Polo misses out on, like the multi-function steering wheel that has touch sensitive buttons with sliding functions like the GTI. The climate control functions have the same touch sensitive keys with sliding function for the fan speed. The Discover media infotainment system includes navigation with map care, wireless App-Connect, Voice Control, Wireless charging tray, 4-USB C ports (two in the front and two at the back), a virtual cockpit that has multiple view options. The car came with the "Beats" sound system with is an optional extra, its a 6-speak system with dynamic sound but I wasn't overly impressed by it. The car has dual-zone climate control for driver and front passenger with vents in the back for the rear passengers. The front seats get to enjoy heated seats as an option as well as the tilting and sliding glass panoramic sunroof. Other note worthy options included the comfort park package when has keyless entry, park assist and reverse camera. The Safety Package which has travel assist, adaptive cruise control with speed limiter and lane assist as well as pedestrian monitoring.

VERDICT

With the only note worthy rival to the Polo GTI being the Ford Fiesta ST being scrapped from the SA offering, there is no better alternative if you're looking for a small performance hatchback. While many would point at the GR Yaris, the pricing point on that is way off when compared to this. The love interest with the Polo in South Africa continues to grow as I've seen quite a few of the new models on the road of recent and I'm pretty sure the GTI model will follow suit. It's a great little package from VW with an attractive price, the quality of the build stays true to VW and many fans of the brand wont be disappointed with what it has to offer.