GTI. Just the mention of those three little letters will extract approving 'Oooos...' and 'Ahhhs...' from grown men who've driven it. The Golf GTI has been recognised as one of the most well rounded, best handling and practical hatches of all time. So much that the car is now in its sixth generation and still going strong.
Myself, an unbeliever till I actually had one for a couple of days now truly appreciate the almost maniacal devotion fans have for the German hatch. Proof is in the annual pilgrimage that GTI fans take to Worthersee to celebrate the hatch. For Volkswagen to grant the Polo that same power badge means the Polo GTI is just a scaled down version of the larger GTI with all of the same goodness right?
Exterior
At first glance, the Polo GTI (PGTI) looks almost exactly like its larger sibling but perhaps just slightly further away. Walk closer to the car and you realise it's literally a smaller GTI. Well it seems Volkswagen got the looks right then. In the trademark white exterior, the PGTI looks almost identical to the GTI. Right down to the iconic red surround that outlines the honeycomb grille in the front.
Myself, an unbeliever till I actually had one for a couple of days now truly appreciate the almost maniacal devotion fans have for the German hatch. Proof is in the annual pilgrimage that GTI fans take to Worthersee to celebrate the hatch. For Volkswagen to grant the Polo that same power badge means the Polo GTI is just a scaled down version of the larger GTI with all of the same goodness right?
Exterior
At first glance, the Polo GTI (PGTI) looks almost exactly like its larger sibling but perhaps just slightly further away. Walk closer to the car and you realise it's literally a smaller GTI. Well it seems Volkswagen got the looks right then. In the trademark white exterior, the PGTI looks almost identical to the GTI. Right down to the iconic red surround that outlines the honeycomb grille in the front.
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All around you get the familiar GTI cues like the rear windscreen spoiler and the 17 inch GTI rims that were first spotted on the Mk5 GTI. The PGTI also gets slightly wider wheel arches that hint at the improved stability of this flagship model.
Parked next to the less illustrious Polo, you notice the PGTI's lowered ride height which gives the small hatchback a more assured stance. In the rear, the car gets a hint of the GTI's diffuser impression with a pair of chrome pipes to round up the GTI trinkets.
While the GTI visual cues are there, the PGTI doesn't differentiate itself dramatically from the base Polo models. This understated exterior can work both ways for those who prefer a stealth approach to pouncing on unsuspecting hot hatches on the road.
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Interior
The racy bits of GTI glory continue on the inside as you enter into the Polo's cabin. While the general theme is familiar Polo, you do get a sense of the GTI touches with red stitching around the cabin livening things up a bit.
One of the more obvious cues is the iconic flat bottomed three spoke steering wheel that proudly wears a mini GTI badge at the bottom. In typical GTI form, the steering wheel is chunky and perfect for lock to lock action when the occasion calls for it. While instruments remain more or less the same as in the standard Polo, the speedometer here reads up to 280kmh. A quiet reflection of the PGTI's more esteemed performance.
The seats maintain their simple fuss free manual affair as in the Polo but get a racy twist. The seats front and back get a Alcantara-like material inlayed into the seats.
Moving on to the centre console, the fit and finish here is exemplary as with most Volkswagens, all the buttons give a reassuring tactile feel.
The racy bits of GTI glory continue on the inside as you enter into the Polo's cabin. While the general theme is familiar Polo, you do get a sense of the GTI touches with red stitching around the cabin livening things up a bit.
One of the more obvious cues is the iconic flat bottomed three spoke steering wheel that proudly wears a mini GTI badge at the bottom. In typical GTI form, the steering wheel is chunky and perfect for lock to lock action when the occasion calls for it. While instruments remain more or less the same as in the standard Polo, the speedometer here reads up to 280kmh. A quiet reflection of the PGTI's more esteemed performance.
The seats maintain their simple fuss free manual affair as in the Polo but get a racy twist. The seats front and back get a Alcantara-like material inlayed into the seats.
Moving on to the centre console, the fit and finish here is exemplary as with most Volkswagens, all the buttons give a reassuring tactile feel.
The audio system in the Polo is excellent as in many other Volkswagen models. Sonic performance is adequate for most listeners and a conveniently placed audio AUX-in plug is on hand should the CDs and radio start to get mundane. The remote controls for the audio are replicated on the left spoke of the steering. Here, the tactility of the buttons once again demonstrates the Volkswagen quality.
In the rear, the seats will accommodate two adults comfortably though three would be a bit of a squeeze. Legroom wise, the PGTI fairs reasonably well.
Boot capacity isn't the most spacious but is augmented with the split folding seats. There's also a boot tray that allows you to store important items out of sight from prying eyes.
In the rear, the seats will accommodate two adults comfortably though three would be a bit of a squeeze. Legroom wise, the PGTI fairs reasonably well.
Boot capacity isn't the most spacious but is augmented with the split folding seats. There's also a boot tray that allows you to store important items out of sight from prying eyes.
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The Drive
For the whole GTI concept to work, Volkswagen had to put a brilliant engine under the bonnet for the PGTI to garner any credibility like its bigger brother. Here, Volkswagen chose to stuff their brilliant 1.4-litre twin charged award winning motor under the bonnet.
This clever little engine has served Volkswagen well by offering an incredible amount of performance with excellent efficiency. It combines two forms of force induction into one to create tidy little package. Inside, a supercharger takes care of boost all the way till 3000rpm where the turbocharger kicks in all the way to the top of the rev range at 7000rpm. This tandem charging system enables the straight four to produce 180bhp with 250Nm of torque. Plenty of grunt for a car this size.
The engine is hooked up to the familiar seven-speed dry clutch DSG box that we've seen in a number of Volkswagen models lately. Unfortunately the same issues with peaky acceleration from standstill and hesitant gear selection at low speeds remain.
Like the Golf GTI, the century sprint is dispatched in just 6.9 seconds. But that's where the similarities start to diverge. Toss the PGTI into a bend faster than you should and the XDS traction control system starts to get all panicky and errs a little on the paranoid side. All the while the ESP system blinks constantly to let you know it's working very hard to keep the little hatch from merging with the guardrail or hedge on the side.
For the whole GTI concept to work, Volkswagen had to put a brilliant engine under the bonnet for the PGTI to garner any credibility like its bigger brother. Here, Volkswagen chose to stuff their brilliant 1.4-litre twin charged award winning motor under the bonnet.
This clever little engine has served Volkswagen well by offering an incredible amount of performance with excellent efficiency. It combines two forms of force induction into one to create tidy little package. Inside, a supercharger takes care of boost all the way till 3000rpm where the turbocharger kicks in all the way to the top of the rev range at 7000rpm. This tandem charging system enables the straight four to produce 180bhp with 250Nm of torque. Plenty of grunt for a car this size.
The engine is hooked up to the familiar seven-speed dry clutch DSG box that we've seen in a number of Volkswagen models lately. Unfortunately the same issues with peaky acceleration from standstill and hesitant gear selection at low speeds remain.
Like the Golf GTI, the century sprint is dispatched in just 6.9 seconds. But that's where the similarities start to diverge. Toss the PGTI into a bend faster than you should and the XDS traction control system starts to get all panicky and errs a little on the paranoid side. All the while the ESP system blinks constantly to let you know it's working very hard to keep the little hatch from merging with the guardrail or hedge on the side.
While the chunky steering is reassuringly grippy, the PGTI lacks the same accurate steering feel found on its bigger brother. Front end grip is excellent as you feel the PGTI claw itself around a bend. Depending on how you like your hot hatches, the PGTI gives a noticeable amount of torque steer when you try to floor it off the line. While some might frown over it, I for one think it adds to the feistiness that hot hatch owners yearn for.
The PGTI's lower and stiffer suspension means it doesn't suffer as much body roll as the Polo Sport we tested before. While firmer, the PGTI isn't uncomfortable on the roads. In fact, we think it can be firmer still to neutralise body roll further.
Conclusion
Despite the GTI badge, the PGTI doesn't carry the spirit of its more esteemed sibling as well as we'd expect. At best the PGTI presents itself to be what we expected of the Polo Sport but slapping the GTI badge on was a bit of a stretch.
This however isn't the fault of the PGTI, it's just that the Golf GTI has built up such an incredible reputation with its sorted chassis and brilliant handling that its younger sibling is just finding it a little too hard to emulate.
What do you think? Jot down your opinions at the comment box below.
The PGTI's lower and stiffer suspension means it doesn't suffer as much body roll as the Polo Sport we tested before. While firmer, the PGTI isn't uncomfortable on the roads. In fact, we think it can be firmer still to neutralise body roll further.
Conclusion
Despite the GTI badge, the PGTI doesn't carry the spirit of its more esteemed sibling as well as we'd expect. At best the PGTI presents itself to be what we expected of the Polo Sport but slapping the GTI badge on was a bit of a stretch.
This however isn't the fault of the PGTI, it's just that the Golf GTI has built up such an incredible reputation with its sorted chassis and brilliant handling that its younger sibling is just finding it a little too hard to emulate.
What do you think? Jot down your opinions at the comment box below.
