Rush Hour: Polo GTI – ‘little brother talks the torque’
Road handling is pretty much what you'd expect it to be in a car of this pedigree.
Volkswagen has increased its local Polo range to include the 2.0 TSI Polo GTI. It’s also the first Polo GTI to have that engine. The Polo is cool enough already, but those three letters – GTI – add a whole lot more street cred.
ALSO READ: Loads of space, style and speed in new VW Arteon
It’s not as solid, fast or flashy as its big brother, the Golf GTI, but it certainly has a lot in common. The ‘flash red’ colour of the car offset the rampaging grey of my hair quite nicely, I thought.
Some people took a second look – at the iconic brand, not at me (obviously).
Those three letters have some serious pulling power, of that there is no doubt.
Speaking of pulling power, the car is eager to go, blasting out of the stalls and getting to 100km/h in around 6.7 seconds.
Price in the six-speed car is (as standard) stated as R375 900. Power is 147kW at 4 400rpm and seriously impressive torque of 320Nm is reached at just 1 500rpm.
The throaty roar at start up does not disappoint. It boasts a top speed of 237km/h but I got nowhere near that, despite encouragements from my small children.
Where do they get this need for speed? Certainly not from dad.
Fuel consumption (combined) is 5.9 litres/100km. The tank can take 40 litres which can last a bit, unless you have a very heavy right shoe.
Luggage capacity is 350 litres, which is okay, but not vast.
The charcoal blue and black trim, with the legendary red stripe in the radiator grille, gave it a hot look and feel, adding to its famed sportiness.
One of the more helpful features was the park distance control. It’s not quite as fancy as, say, the VW Arteon’s onboard camera, but you can see by way of a sensor image how far away you are from your dog or pot plant.
Keyless entry is always fun, even if you stab underneath the steering wheel a few times before realising you don’t need to insert the key anywhere.
Air-con is great, as were the seat warmers, especially on chilly winter mornings. They were also wonderful in easing some tight lower back muscles after a game of golf.
There are other fancy things, like Discover media navigation with mapcare, app-connect and voice control; lights and vision package (auto-dim mirror, auto headlights and rain sensor); active info display and a smoker’s package plus a panoramic sunroof.
It comes with a three-year warranty/120 000km, plus a three year/45 000km service plan. Service intervals are 15 000km.
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