Volkswagen Polo GTI

The Polo GTI spots a similar deco as its older brother, the venerable Golf GTI. From the red lined honeycombed grilles to the GTI inspired "Denver" rims, one may actually mistake the Polo GTI from far as the real time. But there are features that set the Polo different from its more famous brother. The Black moon roof is a dead giveaway compared to the MK6 GTI. This unique facade is so well received that VW decided to include it in its latest MK7 GTI.

Inside the car is another story. The local dealer brings in the more premium option with the suede leather upholstery. The Steering wheel bears resemblance from the regular GTI, and the meters and dials have that GTI DNA to it. But that rest of the cabin feels "no-frills" and cheap. But then that's not what the Polo is about. The Polo's main objective is still being as affordable as possible hence it's still forgiving, considering VW has already tired to offer as much as they can to bring the GTI feel to an otherwise spartan cockpit.

Another discovery is SHOCKING! We all know how wide and versatile the boot of the normal Polo is, in the GTI when I lift up the floorboard of the boot, instead of a deeper lower compartment, it's the spare tyre with it's gigantic tools padding. So by giving it a GTI moniker, they rob us of that boot space? The SE say it's due to the size of the TSI engine, The twinchargers have maxed out the engine bay space that they have to route the battery all the way to the boot, hence eating out the precious space from already tiny boot.

Mixed feelings were felt once we settled down inside the cockpit. Generous red stitchings can be seen on the steering wheel, gear lever and gear knob, but the central amenities area looks plain and unconvincing. We would definitely welcome a simple lid to cover those exposed bottle holders.

The seats are supportive and we love the alcantara bits which adds a sporty feel to this zippy little hatch. Seating position is spot on and every button is within the driver's reach. There's good driver visibility all round. The rear is very squeezy, but we can't fault VW in this area as its not meant to be a full fledged people carrier.

The Drive:

We were extremely excited for this test drive, more so when we are so familiar with the Golf GTI. We did not expect the driving experience to be similar to that of the larger hatch, but we know that it has to be on par with the Golf in terms of refinement since its a German marque after all.

The 7 speed DSG gearbox seem to be the natural choice for every new production VW nowadays, namely the facelifted Tiguan and Passat. I'm not a fan of the 7 speeder dry dual clutch, and owners of the newer VWs can attest to my view. This gearbox can aid in achieving excellent fuel economy especially when paired with the 1.4 litre tsi engine, but the juddering at low speeds both during down and upshifts will irk drivers during city driving. We could not sense any vibration in our test car, but time will tell whether the gearbox can last.

The twincharged 1.4 litre engine is extremely sprightly during low speeds and drivers will ease through traffic. Overtaking is effortless with just a simple prod on the throttle. There's very minimal lag mainly due to the supercharger doing its job before the turbo gains momentum.

Verdict:

It's fast and it does 6.9sec to the century sprint, but we do not feel a sense of involvement with the car. Is it due to the gearbox, or excessive use of force induction to extract the horses and torque out of this nippy Veedub?

Will you always have the urge to take a detour just to enjoy this car for a tad longer?

Yes.

Is it worthy of the GTI badge?

Its a really tough decision, but I'm swaying more towards the negative side.

This car despite being 1.4l but it don't feel like one when you drive it. Its a fast and yet economical car ideal for individual or family use.

Equipping the car with Bi-xenon DRL headlamps, RCD510 with DAB, Sensor pack and convenience pack will make this small car more complete than any other cars.

Spec up the car with Bi-xenon DRL headlamps, RCD510 with DAB, Sensor pack and convenience pack will make this small car more well packaged.

Factory tyres are a let down. Upgrade to B.S RE002 or Yokohama AD08 will bring out the full potential of this car.

The 1.4 Twincharged engine with DSG provides plenty of torque for city driving and fuel economical, Throttle response needs to be tuned with a E-throttle controller as factory setting is just not well suited for a GTI.

The $10k extra for the Bi-xenon with DRL, RCD510, factory rear sensors, etc, etc really uplifts the car into another level.

The heavy sunroof is an extra, spoils the C.G and cozy black interior. The factory option heater seats is really something useless for SGP weather and the design of that seats is of a different shape from the original Polo GTI seats.

The factory tyres needs upgrading as its not coping well with the 250nm of torque. RE002 or AD08 perharps a better match to this car.

5 door model makes it a much more practical car than the Reanult Clio and Opel OPC. Simple piggyback ECU boost power to 210bhp and 300Nm

Expected to much for this Polo GTI, although it's a VW but it doesn't have a conti make feel. It feel very much like a jap/kor car with turbo, poor handling. Not interesting interior.