Polo GTI

[Young_Warrior]

VW has released the first official pictures of the new Polo GTI hot hatch, which will appear at this month's Tokyo Motor Show.

Under the bonnet is a 148bhp turbocharged 1.8-litre petrol which will hustle the Polo GTI to 62mph from standstill in just 8.2sec. The top speed is 134mph, while combined fuel consumption is 36.2mpg.

Power is transmitted via a six-speed manual gearbox. The Golf GTI's optional twin-clutch Direct-Shift Gearbox is unlikely to make it into the Polo.

Styling draws heavily on the looks of the Golf GTI. At the front, there's the same deep, red-trimmed honeycomb grille, while black-rimmed headlamps give the Polo GTI an aggressive look. Then there's the red brake callipers, striking 16-inch alloy wheels, polished twin exhausts and rear roof spoiler.

Inside, the Polo is kitted out with tartan-trimmed sports seats, leather steering wheel with red stitching, metal pedals and aluminium detailing on the dash.

Pricing and specification has yet to be confirmed for the UK, but expect the Polo GTI to cost around £15,500 when it goes on sale in January.

VW says it is unlikely that the Polo will also receive the 180bhp version of the same engine employed in the Seat Ibiza 20vT Cupra.

 

[niky]

WTF? Tartan trim? Like on the Suzuki LC concept? Did I miss something? Is tartan the new carbon-fiber? Is it going to start raining frogs?

 

[barryl85]

I think that 0-62 time is poor, but it is a beautiful little car!

 

[Razo]

I seriously find it hard to see any differnece between that motor and the Golf GTi.

 

[Race Idiot]

I seriously find it hard to see any differnece between that motor and the Golf GTi.

I know what you mean, the current Polo just looks like a smaller golf. Well to be honest the new polo isn't that small anymore, I swear it's almost the size of a MK4 Golf now.

 

[T5-R]

Volkswagens model range is getting silly. The Golf grows bigger, the Polo becomes the same size as the old Golf, the Golf grows again as does the Polo, introduction of the Lupo to effectively replace the old Polo. Now they've abandoned the Lupo to replace it with the Fox or whatever.

Maybe in 10 years time the Golf will be the same size as the Passat and the Passat will become the same size as a terraced house. In any case the now outdated Seat Leon (new one is ug-leh) looks better than all of the recent Golfs anyway in my opinion.

And yeah this new Polo GTi looks far too much like the Golf in that pic.

 

[niky]

Volkswagens model range is getting silly. The Golf grows bigger, the Polo becomes the same size as the old Golf, the Golf grows again as does the Polo, introduction of the Lupo to effectively replace the old Polo. Now they've abandoned the Lupo to replace it with the Fox or whatever.

Maybe in 10 years time the Golf will be the same size as the Passat and the Passat will become the same size as a terraced house. In any case the now outdated Seat Leon (new one is ug-leh) looks better than all of the recent Golfs anyway in my opinion.

And yeah this new Polo GTi looks far too much like the Golf in that pic.

Japanese cars are the same way. The new Mazda 3 weighs just about as much as my old 626, and is quite a bit taller. Stupid inflation.

 

[McLaren'sAngel]

Hiya! Meow! (='.'=)

I think its a nice looking car, but would like some more horsepower to go with it. I am really starting to like the front ends of these new VW. 👍

 

[Dave A]

If you want more powere your meant to go for the Golf.

 

[barryl85]

Hiya! Meow! (='.'=)

I think its a nice looking car, but would like some more horsepower to go with it. I am really starting to like the front ends of these new VW. 👍

I agree its very poor, 148bhp from a 1.8ltr! + the 0-62 time is really poor for a small car! I would expect it to be in the 6's and be at least 170bhp

If you want more powere your meant to go for the Golf.

👍

Edit: I meant to say! The styling VW is going for is coming from their business counterpart 'AUDI' which is nice BUT is sad as it means that both companies dont have (as much of) their own appeal as they used to, i'd rather have seen something new rather than the front end of a Golf and Polo looking like an A3! 👎

 

[McLaren'sAngel]

If you want more powere your meant to go for the Golf.

Hiya! Meow! (='.'=)

I would actually like a Jetta!

 

[Young_Warrior]

I take it thats the old GTI's lump which is easily upgraded to 200hp via chipping.

Althugh I too worry about the volkswagen GTI brand it just doesnt reall excite anymore and pack a punch like say Type-R.

 

[Wolfe]

Volkswagens model range is getting silly. The Golf grows bigger, the Polo becomes the same size as the old Golf, the Golf grows again as does the Polo, introduction of the Lupo to effectively replace the old Polo. Now they've abandoned the Lupo to replace it with the Fox or whatever.

Maybe in 10 years time the Golf will be the same size as the Passat and the Passat will become the same size as a terraced house. In any case the now outdated Seat Leon (new one is ug-leh) looks better than all of the recent Golfs anyway in my opinion.

And yeah this new Polo GTi looks far too much like the Golf in that pic.

The same thing is happening to other manufacturers, like Niky said.

Another example is BMW: the 3 series keeps getting bigger and bigger, so they introduced the 1 series....

As safety and luxury demands continue to rise, so will the sizes of cars, and as long as people continue to expect their favorite cars to keep getting "better," manufacturers will continue to burden the same model names with more-luxurious, safer, bigger, roomier versions...

 

[Ev0]

I wonder how it handles... that is the main point of a performance oriented front drive hatchback afterall.

If it handles really nicely, I'd buy one in a heartbeat, especially if the sport seats in it are the same as from the Golf GTi.

 

[niky]

The same thing is happening to other manufacturers, like Niky said.

Another example is BMW: the 3 series keeps getting bigger and bigger, so they introduced the 1 series....

As safety and luxury demands continue to rise, so will the sizes of cars, and as long as people continue to expect their favorite cars to keep getting "better," manufacturers will continue to burden the same model names with more-luxurious, safer, bigger, roomier versions...

That sucks, though... it ruins my fond memories of cheap old affordable entry-level cars. I've driven four generations of Sentra, but the new one just screams "huge pig!" to me. It's so damn heavy that they needed a new engine to make a performance model... the old performance engine, the SR20, used to get the Sentra to 60 in a respectable 7.5 seconds. In this (hopefully) last Sentra, the same engine only gives out 9's and 10's. Pathetic piece of cr*p.

They should've just kept the old Altima if they wanted a car that size... oh, wait, they still have an Altima. It's just as big as the Maxima, which got bigger. I pity the Max, as it's as big as humanly possible for an FF, it has no place to go anymore but the auto graveyard.

 

[a6m5]

Under the bonnet is a 148bhp turbocharged 1.8-litre petrol which will hustle the Polo GTI to 62mph from standstill in just 8.2sec. The top speed is 134mph, while combined fuel consumption is 36.2mpg.

Yeah, 0-62 mph is just OK, but 36.2 mpg! Yessssss! 👍

That sucks, though... it ruins my fond memories of cheap old affordable entry-level cars. I've driven four generations of Sentra, but the new one just screams "huge pig!" to me. It's so damn heavy that they needed a new engine to make a performance model... the old performance engine, the SR20, used to get the Sentra to 60 in a respectable 7.5 seconds. In this (hopefully) last Sentra, the same engine only gives out 9's and 10's. Pathetic piece of cr*p.

They should've just kept the old Altima if they wanted a car that size... oh, wait, they still have an Altima. It's just as big as the Maxima, which got bigger. I pity the Max, as it's as big as humanly possible for an FF, it has no place to go anymore but the auto graveyard.

I agree. My first car, '85 Maxima was probably about the size of the current gen Sentra. Bigger isn't better in this case. I currently drive Altima 2.5s('04) and sizewise, it's pretty much in the same class as Maxima as you've mentioned. Maxima just has more luxury(alright, it looks slightly better too).

Where are all the cool small cars? I heard that Honda will be bringing in a small car to replace the overgrown Civic? I think it was called Joy or something, I can't remember. I also liked the look of the Suzuki Concept. I don't know if they ever released it, but if they come to the U.S. with great mpg, I'd certainly consider it. I really liked the design. 👍

Edit: Looked just like this:

Looks like it was the new Swift.

 

[niky]

The new Swift is a great little car. Initial reports are of good handling and chassis balance.

The new Honda is the Jazz/Fit. (new being a relative term, it's been out in other markets for quite a while, and has been here in sedan form for over a year). It's a neat, tidy little car with a huge interior and nice stiff handling, but is nowhere near as good a drive as my Protege because of that electric steering rack and stupid suspension. It's got McPhersons in front and a torsion beam out back. It's also a little tall and van like, and still around 1000 kilos. Neat car, and it's got a cult following here in Asia already, but they don't have any enthusiast versions except the 1.5 VTEC, and that only does the business in around 9 seconds.

 

[a6m5]

Yeah, Swift looks like a quality car. I sure hope Suzuki's exporting them to the U.S. I don't know where I got "Joy" name from. I think the article I read said it's going to be called "Fit".

 

[Wolfe]

Yeah, Swift looks like a quality car. I sure hope Suzuki's exporting them to the U.S. I don't know where I got "Joy" name from. I think the article I read said it's going to be called "Fit".

Well, the U.S. has seen the Swift before, so there's a decent chance of it coming here...