2018 VW Polo GTI: The Vital Statistics
The new Polo GTI takes a little bit of muscle from its big brother and comes equipped with the Golf’s GTI’s 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine. The new Polo does 197bhp and is 236ib ft of torque and hits a sweet 7.0sec 0-62mph, racking a top speed of 150mph VW claim. Very impressive.
Far or near it’s easy to identify that it belongs to the Volkswagen family, the new Polo includes a much longer roofline tapering towards a rear, roof-level spoiler. A fine horizontal keyline running along the car’s flanks lowers the visual centre of gravity, to help give the Polo a sleeker, more grown up look.
There’s plenty of room for tall adults in both the front and the back. Also the boot is bigger than the older model. The new Polo has a 351-litre capacity which beats all of its key rivals in its class such as the Fabia and the new Ford Fiesta. Good job.
In the UK an 8.0in touchscreen infotainment system comes as standard.
The Trendline and Comfortline are powered by different versions of the same 1.0-litre, direct-injection, three-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine, featuring stop-start functionality, and driving the front wheels exclusively. This is one cylinder and 200cc short of the current Polo engine, but outputs have been boosted.
In the base spec, the compact triple delivers 70kW at 5000-5500rpm and 175Nm at 2000-3500rpm, and is offered with a choice of five-speed manual gearbox or seven-speed ‘DSG’ dual-clutch auto transmission.
Step up to the higher output option and you’re looking at 85kW/200Nm (with the peaks arriving at the same rpm), backed up by either a six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG. The Beats will also be powered by this combination.
The GTI will boast a 147kW 2.0-litre four, married with a six-speed manual or six-speed DSG, and the Highline features a new 100kW 1.5-litre ‘TSI Evo’ four-cylinder petrol engine with cylinder deactivation, pushing drive through a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch.
