PoloDriver

The new Polo GTI has been a while coming, but with the first customer car now in the country, the new owner tells us about his first weeks with the car, and his first impressions of the 178bhp twincharged performance Polo…

I’ve had a few incarnations of hot Polos over the years (1999 Polo 16V, 2001 and 2007 Polo GTIs) but this latest model was the most eagerly anticipated. And so far I haven’t been disappointed. I’ve come to this car from a 2007 last-model Polo GTI, but as soon as you sit in the car and close the door, (which has a satisfying ‘clunk’ to it), you realise you are in a car which feels like its from the class above. As noted in comments posted on this website, it does really feel like a small Golf GTI.

Out on the road the supercharged/turbocharged engine is eager to please, and with 184lbs ft of torque, there is plenty of power on tap. Just as happy as a motorway cruiser or negotiating the twists and turns of a country lane, this pocket rocket really is a pleasure to drive. It’s self-assured, gripping the road in whatever direction you send it in. The seven-speed DSG box is a smooth operator with satisfying gear changes, and whether you play with it in ‘Sport’ or stick it in ‘Drive’ and relax, it copes brilliantly. You could drive for miles in this car and still feel refreshed at the end of the journey, not something that can always be said for smaller cars.

Inside the cabin, road and other noise is kept to a minimum, a vast improvement on previous models. Gadgets and gizmos abound in the new GTI helping to give a hi-tech feel, and there are many nice touches for 21st century motoring. The only downside is that there is no Bluetooth option available on the UK specification models (Volkswagen UK’s official response is here – PD). This in a communications age seems a little bizarre and disappointing to say the least. In my opinion, someone at VW has slipped up by not having it included in the car.

So far then, just over a week of new Polo GTI ownership and although I’m still getting to know the car, I have to say it’s a delight and bags of fun to drive. It really turns some heads, too, even those of drivers in their huge and expensive machines. I haven’t regretted one solitary penny and as everyone knows it takes quite a few of them (£19,200 to be precise in this case) to purchase this latest baby GTI. But, thanks to Volkswagen, the supermini has truly grown up and what a classy act it’s turned out to be.

Hot on the heels of our story from yesterday about the first customer Polo GTI in the country landing, we’re pleased to report that Volkswagen has finally updated the UK Polo brochure to include the latest fifth-generation Polo-based GTI. It’s been in European catalogues since the early summer, so we’re pleased that at last, it is properly included as part of the UK range. The company bills it as ‘the most exhilarating Polo to date,’ and it’s certainly the most powerful, its 1.4-litre, 178bhp engine punting it to 62mph from rest in a claimed 6.9 seconds. Volkswagen also states that the new performance Polo is the ‘most stylish and dynamic Polo we’ve ever built.’ Available online, we don’t know if the printed version of the UK Polo brochure has been updated to reflect the broadening of the range. And while it’s still not quite the standalone catalogue that is available in many European markets, its still big news. Download here.

[Thanks to Court for the tip.]

It may be raining outside, but here’s something to brighten all prospective new Polo GTI owners’ moods. Is this the first customer 2010 Polo GTI in the country? Our entry reporting on the first UK magazine road tests of the new hotshot Polo has become something of a mini-forum, with Polo GTI-owners-to-be who have placed orders with their local Volkswagen retailers commenting about the various build stages of ‘their’ cars. It seems that the latest Polo GTI is something of a hot ticket right now, and prospective buyers can wait anything between 12 weeks and 6 months for cars to arrive. Our special correspondent collects his car tomorrow and it’s pictured here in the retailer’s parking lot, resplendent in its Flash Red paint and protective polythene. In something of an exclusive, we hope to bring you the proud new owner’s first impressions over the next few days.

Volkswagen has recently had to close its Uitenhage plant due to industrial action by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) in the component industry. The closure at the start of the month has hit right-hand drive export Polo production (including early builds of the new GTI model, with some prospective UK Polo owners reporting delays in their cars arriving). While there was no strike at the plant itself, the company was bracing itself for a ‘substantial loss of volume’ from the fall in production numbers of export and local market Polos, as well as a decline in output of the highly successful South African-only Polo Vivo.

‘The company deeply regrets this unavoidable situation, particularly as the company was starting to recover from an eight-day motor manufacturing industry-wide strike, which also severely impacted customer deliveries’, Volkswagen said when asked about the situation. We suggest that if you have a five-door UK-bound Polo on order, keep up to date with your Volkswagen retailer for news of its arrival. Three-door Polo UK deliveries shouldn’t be affected, as these cars are manufactured at the Volkswagen Group’s Pamplona plant in Spain.

Following on from its junior hot hatch group test starring role in the July 2010 issue of CAR, the new Polo GTI has recently been given a full workout for the magazine’s website. The arrival of the 178bhp performance-orientated Polo seems to have been delayed with extended build dates reported, as well as a shortage of dealer stock, but it should hopefully be worth the wait. CAR reports that although ‘Volkswagen’s new Polo GTI is a very competent car, its rivals are raucous and delightful, or chic and stylish, and the VW seems to ignore both camps and offer something more refined.’ So it may be no firecracker like the red hot Renaultsport Clio 200 (or the even more extreme and on-edge ‘Cup’ versions), but what’s wrong with that? Volkswagen GTIs have always offered refinement and classless practically with a sporting edge, and the latest Polo GTI, at first glance at least, seems to continue that tradition.