Archive | Polo GTI

19 August 2011 ~ 1 Comment

Two silver Polos on the drive:
our Volkswagen UK Polo GTI arrives

Look at that. Two silver ‘sports’ Polos on the drive. Only 18 years and 103bhp separate them. Whereas our long-term 75bhp Polo GT coupé relies on simple mechanical make-up and charm to make up for its lack of electric fripperies, Volkswagen UK’s 178bhp Polo GTI press car is packed with tech. Top of the technological spec sheet must be the 1.4-litre twin-charged engine, which features both a turbocharger and a supercharger. Then there’s XDS, an electronic differential lock, and electric everything. We’ve got J6 VWW for two whole weeks and we’ve got lots of miles planned. We hope to exploit its performance, test its dynamic polish, and see if it’s as all-round a package as its bigger brother, the Golf GTI. Follow the updates on our Twitter feed at @polodrivercom, and if you’ve had experience of Volkswagen’s latest pocket rocket (or its closely related SEAT or Škoda cousins), tell us what you think.

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20 July 2011 ~ 0 Comments

Polo GTI: Twitter and website
press round-up

It might have taken a while to come on stream, but the smallest VW GTI seems to be impressing folk. Our Twitter feed has been littered with Polo GTI-related tweets over the last few weeks, so here’s a quick round-up of our content that you may have missed if you don’t follow us. And if you don’t, why not?

Polo GTI awarded Motor magazine’s ‘Bang For Your Bucks’ prize: http://goo.gl/fb/4fk54

The Volkswagen South Africa Date Drive results are in. And, a Polo GTI can make you sexier! Check out the infographic to see the evidence: http://twitpic.com/5melk6

Sam Wollaston of The Guardian newspaper in the UK writes about his all too brief encounter with the Polo GTI: http://t.co/kPEZ78a

Two Polo GTIs are also featuring in long-term test experiences. Ian Dickson, cars editor of MSN is running a five-door red model, and Stephen Dobie of evo magazine is running a three-door white car. Find out how they are doing by following @the_roadtester and @evoStephenDobie on Twitter respectively.

Finally, don’t forget you can read about our first drive of the 178bhp performance Polo here: http://ow.ly/5G2vc

For extra PoloDriver.com content, conversations and links that aren’t on the main website, remember to follow us at www.twitter.com/@polodrivercom

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08 July 2011 ~ 0 Comments

Polo GTI awarded Motor magazine’s ‘Bang For Your Bucks’ prize

The latest version of the Volkswagen Polo GTI has scooped Australian car magazine Motor’s fiercely-fought ‘Bang For Your Bucks’ award. According to Motor, the performance Polo was the ‘hands-down performance bargain of the year. We pumped its Bang and Buck scores into our formula for the last five years and it won, every time,’ the judges wrote. ‘When we set up our formula, you were never supposed to be able to buy this much performance for just $27,990,’ the judging team continued.

The annual ‘Bang For Your Bucks’ winner is decided by the competitor’s ability over categories such as dynamics, handling, performance and speed. One of the key attributes in the Polo GTI’s success is the clever 1.4-litre, 178bhp/132kW engine which uses a supercharger to provide boost at lower revs, before a turbocharger kicks in at higher engine speeds. Add a trick seven-speed DSG twin-clutch gearbox to the package, and Volkswagen have clearly created a technology-packed winner.

‘We are pleased the judging team at Motor magazine appreciated the Polo GTI’s all-round potential and obviously its affordable performance,’ said Anke Koeckler, Volkswagen Group Australia’s Managing Director. ‘With the larger Golf GTI winning last year’s Motor “Bang for Your Bucks Award”, the 2011 Polo GTI definitely lives up to the legendary badge with its superior handling properties combined with uncompromising engine responsiveness and impressive safety and economy figures’.

[Image: Motor magazine]

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08 June 2011 ~ 0 Comments

PoloDriver.com 2011 Volkswagen Polo GTI first drives

Fresh from day of driving the latest Volkswagens last Wednesday, here is our first drive report of the 2011 Polo GTI. We tested both three and five-door versions, and can report that the 178bhp performance Polo is a real firecracker and a lot of fun. Yes, it costs £18,795 (which is twice as much as our Polo GT Coupé did in 1994), but as a cut-price Golf GTI, it’s an enticing proposition. See how we got on driving around the leafy lanes of Berkshire by clicking on the magazine graphic below, or if you can’t see the preview, visit this link. The fifth of our special digital ‘mini-magazines’, check out the PoloDriver bookshelf for our previous four titles. The first issue features mini-tests of the current Polo range in general, while the third is an account of our first drives of the SEL 1.2 TSI and 1.2 BlueMotion TDI.

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02 June 2011 ~ 0 Comments

At last! PoloDriver.com 2011 Volkswagen Polo GTI first drive preview

We spent yesterday at Cliveden, driving the latest additions to Volkswagen UK’s ever-expanding range around the sunny and leafy lanes of Berkshire. The star attraction of the press office event was the Polo GTI, which although having been on sale for almost a year, we still haven’t yet driven. Thankfully – at last – that has now been rectified, and it exceeded our expectations. Proving that the Polo can wear trainers when it wants to, it felt performance-focused, out-and-out sporty, but with a comfortable and mature edge. Come back in a few days when we’ll post about our findings proper (and also report on the other cars that we drove), but in the meantime, here’s a snapshot from the day’s fun activities.

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