2018 VW Polo GTI Review – White Good

And I don't mean "is it as good as the last one”. I mean is it as good as it needs to be? I'm going to skip ahead to the end right now and just say it. Yes. It is. It really, really is. In fact, I'm wondering if it isn’t better than the VW Golf GTI.

Sibling rivalry

Obviously there are boxes it needs to tick if it wants to challenge its larger sibling, things like speed naturally, refinement, and with that comfort. Well it does the job practically as well and for a bargain too - at R375,900 it comes in R180,000 under the Golf. It’s certainly more grown up, in premium feel and sheer size too than the car it replaces. In fact the Polo GTI now feels about the size of a Golf of two generations ago. It’s a looker too even in white, with a sharp exterior, fierce 17-inch alloys hoops in each corner and extensive use of LED lamps and daytime running lights.

Red means… You’re inside!

And when you’re done gawking at the bodywork, lower a bum into a soft leathery pew, preferably the driver’s seat rendered in Art Velour two-tone black and grey. Here you’re met with a classy cabin that reminds you again of the Golf, but gets a youthful red band across the dashboard, matching the other red elements both inside and out, that indicate it is in fact a GTI.

Red dashboard won't be to everyone's tastes

It’s cast from the obligatory plastic that lives in most cockpits these days and if I’m honest it isn’t for everyone. There’s a ton of features in here of course - technology, safety, multimedia, that sort of thin. But the button that has me the most excited is the one marked Driving Modes. Predictably, it comes with several of them ranging from Eco to Normal or Sport, then there’s Individual mode for tuning the GTI to your own driving preferences. Nifty.

What lurks beneath?

The new TSI engine is more powerful than ever at 147kW and 320Nm. It's turbocharged 2.0-litres has been mated to a six-speed DSG auto 'box and makes for an engaging driving experience. They conspire to smash the 0-100kph mark in just 6.7 seconds – a mere 0.3 seconds off the pace of the Golf GTI.

I’m currently in Sport, obviously – and it’s quick progress for sure. The noise is good – a bassy percussion set with the signature burp at the top of each gear change that you come to expect from a dual clutch transmission.

No manual here :( But the dual clutch auto is very, very good

Gear changes are rifle-bolt satisfying here, but I do miss a manual transmission. However, if we are being honest I am relieved to have both my hands on the wheel when travelling this quickly, especially when the tarmac gets all kinds of spaghetti and the red mist fully descends. It means I can focus on carving up apexes while the front wheels do their part fighting with the laws of physics. And well, at least you get a manual handbrake lever.

You can drive it like an absolute hooligan and it will only reward you with that most crucial of GTI perks, outright performance. It’s engaging too, precise when you want it to be, compliant the rest of the time and with a steering wheel that loves to give feedback. And even though I’ve spent most of this trip in Sport mode, I can confirm that switching to one of the other settings is immediately noticeable. For example, when I drop it to Eco mode everything just slows right down.

Okay, let’s wrap this up

And that is fine too. A hot hatch isn’t meant to spit fire 24/7, you’re meant to be able to live with the damn thing. That’s right - they’re meant to challenge sports cars when the mood takes you and be practical when the need also arises.

This is that, and at this pace you can appreciate all those modern conveniences I mentioned earlier. And if you get bored, you can always drop a gear and make most other cars disappear. Focus only on the GTI credentials then and I think there is a lot here to compare it favourably to the original Golf GTI. It wasn’t the poshest car at the time, rather a skunkworks weapon built by bored engineers to not only be fun, but to challenge the performance establishment.

And in the process it helped bury the British roadster scene at the time. This. Feels like that. Only the sports car it challenges simply by virtue of being this good, also has a GTI badge on its bum.

Volkswagen Polo GTI Specs:

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