After finishing second to Ford’s Fiesta ST in the December 2006 comparative test and dead last two years ago in our January 2007 shootout at Killarney, can Volkswagen’s junior hot hatch, the Polo GTI, redeem itself in the third round?
Unlike two years ago, this time round the Polo GTI is up against a field more evenly matched. With styling cues adopted from its big brother Golf GTI, the Polo GTI sports a honeycomb grille with red detailing, black headlamp surrounds, five-hole 16-inch alloys with red calipers peeking from underneath and the subtlest of rear tailgate spoilers.
The GTI’s dark cabin creates a typically Teutonic sombre ambience. Apart from the GTI logo on the lower spoke of the rake- and reach-adjustable steering wheel, there is some attractive red stitching on the steering wheel rim, hard-brake and gearshift gaiter and the edges of the seatbelt.
Feature-wise, the GTI comes with power windows, air-conditioning, heated electric mirrors, headlamp beam adjustment, trip computer and rear foglamps. The radio/CD audio system is MP3 compatible and has eight speakers.
With its 1,8-litre turbocharged engine producing 110 kW at 5 800 r/min and 220 N.m at 1 950 r/min, the baby GTI sprints from zero to 100 km/h through a five-speed manual gearbox in 8,24 seconds and goes on to a top speed of 216 km/h.
The Polo GTI, which includes a host of safety features like ABS, ESP and DSC as standard, will renew its rivalry with the ST in the January 09 issue of CAR magazine.
Read South African circuit racing stars Hennie Groenewald and Philip Kekana’s track appraisals of GTI in the January 2009 issue of CAR magazine, in which we put 18 of South Africa’s hottest hatches to the test at Killarney.
Listen to hot hatch exhaust notes.
Download wallpapers from the Track Shootout here: Batch 1, Batch 2 and Batch 3, or Batch 4.
Watch two Ultimate Hot Hatch Shootout videos
You can also view the behind-the-scenes or the Franschhoek Pass Shootout galleries.
Buy a VW Golf Gti on South Africa’s most trusted car marketplace.
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