I really wanted to do that. It’s a GTI after all. Not the Golf GTI, but its little brother: the Polo GTI. The Polo got a facelift with new safety features. If you flip the car and land it back on its feet, there’s post-collision braking. After the stunt it’ll brake. There are new engines with 14% additional tax liability, but that’s not interesting. Maybe a little bit, but this GTI is the bomb. The previous GTI had a 1.4 twin-charger; a turbo and a supercharger. These engines aren’t known for their reliability. VW realizes that now.This car got upsizing for the first time. It got a bigger engine; a 1.8 TSI. It’s derived from the Golf GTI engine, the EA888. I don’t know what you need the code for, but some people like to hear it. 189 hp and 236 ft lb torque is nice. This isn’t a heavy car. Even in 6th and 5th gear at lower rpm it wants to go. The engine doesn’t sound exciting. We don’t have the sports package. It’ll give the car a sound symposer generator or whatever, making more noise.It won’t be exciting; it’s still a 4-cylinder. The performance is fun. 0-62 mph in 6.7 seconds. The top speed is 147 mph. And, nowadays it’s available with a manual gearbox. The previous GTI only had a DSG, which is still available now. Stick shift in a hot hatch is fun. Yes, the DSG is more efficient. It shifts super fast, which you can’t do yourself. Unless you work for Autoblog. When you forget to declutch. The DSG is fantastic. The engineer responsible for the suspension was bragging during the presentation. Now I’m driving it, I don’t think its boring. The handling could be sharper, but when you lift in a corner the rear will step out. Especially on this slippery asphalt in Spain, going downhill. It moves more than I thought. On the outside and inside it’s a real GTI with all its embellishments. Of course there’s the plaid seats (fabric is standard), a GTI steering wheel; it’s pretty. I think the dashboard is outdated compared to other VW products, but the materials are great. On the outside…The red line in the grille and headlights, GTI badges, 2 exhausts… I think it’s finished. The car has some competition. Clio, Fiesta, and let me think… Cars like that. I think it’s grown up. I think the Fiesta handles better, but this is a VW. You notice this in the little things. The satnav has mirror link. I didn’t get to try it, but it works well. The Polo is the first car in its class which has optional LED headlights.
That says everything. Prices. With stick shift its over 24,000 euros in the Netherlands, with DSG a little over 25,000 euros. An extra set of doors costs 500 euros extra. I think that if you don’t have a big family or a bigger car, there’s no reason to get a 14% Polo or Golf.Or even the 7% Golf GTE. This is really fun to drive. Yes, it has 25% additional tax liability. That sounds expensive, but the car is only 25k. Ticking some boxes won’t drive the price up that much. It gets you a very nice car. Subs – Maru .
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