Filed under: Tokyo Motor Show, Hatchbacks, Volkswagen
Volkswagen launches new Polo GTI
VW continues its new model push with a performance version of its Polo. The company borrowed heavily from the Golf GTI to come up with its new Polo supermini, which hits selected markets this spring, after having debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show in late 2005.
A significant step up from the last Polo GTI, which delivered 125 hp, the new GTI model pumps out 150 hp, good for 0-62 mph in 8.2 seconds.
The baby GTI is powered by a turbocharged and intercooled 1.8-liter, 5-valve per cylinder, four cylinder engine. Other performance upgrades include 16-inch alloys sporting 205/45 rubber, and a lowered suspension with standard ESP. Oh, yes, and red brake calipers, too! More pics after the jump.
[Source: Volkswagen]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Brian Cabral 4:41PM (4/04/2006)
I'm not sure where I read this (probably AutoBlog), but the current generation of Polo is the same size as the original Golf I (aka Rabbit in the U.S.)
So is the Polo GTI really a "baby GTI" as you state in this post or a return to the original concept of a (truly-fits-in-your) pocket rocket?
Boy I wish they'd sell these in the U.S. I might have to move to Europe!
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tr 4:46PM (4/04/2006)
awww...it's like a baby GTI! too bad we won't see it in the US...
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jb 4:58PM (4/04/2006)
VWoA foolishly hangs on to the notion that a decontented, overweight, 5 cyl. Golf is the answer to luring entry level US buyers, not a cool little Polo with a hot engine and cool plaid interior. Idiots.
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JH 5:01PM (4/04/2006)
Wow, i wish our "real" GTI looked this good. All of the design elements that just don't seem to work on the Golf GTI either work in this smaller scale, or have been improved. The lights, the grille, especially the back window.
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Jeff the Baptist 5:07PM (4/04/2006)
150 HP from a turbocharged 1.8L? Exactly how much (or more accurately how little) boost are they running?
With those specs I'd rather have the 1.9L TDI. It's a second slower to 60, but it gets a lot better mileage and has way more low end torque.
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How to Get the Girl of your Dreams 5:09PM (4/04/2006)
not for me, but could be good for someone
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Michael Karesh 5:17PM (4/04/2006)
The Golf, Civic, Focus, etc. have gotten so large it's no surprise that we're now seeing an increasing number of smaller cars. Even a Honda Fit weighs about 2,500 pounds, though.
Hopefully VW hooks onto this trend by finally offering the Polo here. I'm a member of the "smaller is better" crowd. Yes, you can easily fit three kids in the back of a Mazda Protege5.
The engine sounds like the same one offered here not long ago. Very easy to boost well over 200 horsepower with just a chip, from what I understand.
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Aki 5:32PM (4/04/2006)
I've always liked the Polo over the Golf. Civics, Corollas and Golfs are definitely getting bigger and bigger, turning into different beasts altogether.
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zeroSignal 5:35PM (4/04/2006)
Where do I sign up for one? Great little car!
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Mr. Fletcher 5:43PM (4/04/2006)
With the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris coming over to the US why oh why doesn't VW bring over the Polo?
More importantly why don't they also bring over this Polo GTI! Personally I would want something a little bigger, but I can see this pocket rocket selling well. Please improve the quality control and VW could have a winning lineup.
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Jon Lind 6:04PM (4/04/2006)
That power output is dismal considering the dimensions of the engine. I bet they cranked down the boost to keep it socially acceptable. I'm thinking this may be a great candidate for big power increases via chipping.
Sounds like the only competition for my MINI Cooper S. They should bring it on!
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New Yorker 6:12PM (4/04/2006)
Great! The proportions and design look fantastic for what a GTI should be! The (Golf) GTI weighs 3,308lbs and the (Polo) GTI weighs 2828lbs at least that is a little more hot hatch. There is an original GTI in my neighborhood and this here Polo GTI looks like it should be the MK V (Golf) GTI. What happened to hot hatches!?
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GCH 6:13PM (4/04/2006)
Yes, it bothers to see Europeans and even Latin Americans getting all these fine vehicles and here we are, just being offered what Big Brother decides what's good for us.
Good thing it's changing though, judging by what we are seeing now (the Yaris, Versa, and the Fit.)
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Tom Design 6:28PM (4/04/2006)
Sharp little car, but that pig nosed grille filled with black plastic just reads cheap.
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iQuack 7:29PM (4/04/2006)
Is this just another VW model for enthusiasts in the U.S. to wish for?
Seems like a never ending stream of stylish and powerful VWs that we won't get.
Could be that VWs best cars would be too costly to sell here unless they're "decontended" for us. That company hasn't done squat here since the BUG days of the '60s; the current GOLF is almost old enough to vote!
Hard to see why a few people (aging hippies, maybe?) keep loving VWs considering what the company offers buyers in the U.S. Might be nice if VW improved its service record, too.
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fizzandpop 8:20PM (4/04/2006)
Glad you brought up ageing hippies. I live at ground-zero for our Jerry-worshipping, soap-dodging friends (The Upper Haight, SF). Here are my observations:
Ageing hippies that have made some money, yet still dress like guitar-techs tend to live in Marin, yet come down to the Haight on weekends. They absolutely always drive either a late-model Corvette, or a Ford F-150.
Those who came in the sixties, hung around, and still live in the same two-thousand square-foot, $200/month rent-controlled apartment, always drive delapidated Volvos that spew out god-knows-how many polutants, yet still have Save the Earth stickers on them. These self-rightous assholes are currently trying to get all street parking banned, safe in the knowlege that they have nice garages to store their wrecks in.
Then their are a gang of "free spirits" who live in the neighborhood in converted school buses and decrepid Winabegos. They pay nothing in taxes, yet use all our social services, and still demand a payout.
Not forgetting the software-engineer ageing geek hippy in his Prius, the weekend boomers visiting the Haight to recreate the summer of love and parking in my driveway in their brand new Explorers and Yukons, and my favorites, the Harley-riding clowns who race around the streets setting all the car alarms off on a Sunday afternoon.
As soon as I can get a Bentley and drive around with a One Less Hippy sticker on it, the better.
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Wall Man 8:31PM (4/04/2006)
This looks exactly like the 1.8T that's been in the VW's and Audi's. So with a bit of tuning, ala chipping, expect and easy 200hp.
It would be great if they brought it into US and Canada.
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Eric 11:48PM (4/04/2006)
And I'm not in possession of one of these....why?
Oh, right.
All the cars I want are in Europe, and I'm in the US.
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pauln 12:15AM (4/05/2006)
This current Polo is bigger than the Golf I; it's actually between Golf II and III in many dimensions. Car inflation is insidious. I read in German magazine that VW is planning a smaller and cheaper "Jetta" for the NA market based on Golf IV platform. The new multi-link rear suspension in the new Golf/Jetta costs $500 more than the previous, and that is hurting profitability in the very price competitive NA market.
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iQuack 2:14AM (4/05/2006)
Great comments, fizzandpop, and what you say is correct.
I live in S.F. so got a laugh out of the truth.
I'm near the Embarcadero, so not many hippies around here for which I'm thankful--they were boring in the '60s and their leftovers would be especially repulsive now.
I just love the limousine liberals around here--nice people who never took (or passed) a class in economics 101. This is a great place to live if you can stand the Socialists who seem to run the city--nice weather when it's not raining, too.
Back to the subject of cars, there are plenty of late model VWs around here. They're probably owned by over-the-hill flower children who made successes of themselves after giving up the weed.
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