VW Polo GTI review: what the car critics say
The new Polo GTI is refined, roomy and easy to drive
VW has tried to shrink the character of the Golf GTI into a supermini, said Top Gear Magazine. The Polo GTI is a joyless drive compared to the Golf, but it looks the part with new fins on the front bumper, an LED light-bar and 18-inch alloy wheels. Only available as an automatic, it can do 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds, with a top speed of 149mph. The 2.0-litre EA888 engine has 204bhp, and it is frugal, averaging 35mpg on a whole tank.
Refined, roomy and easy to drive, the new Polo GTI shares the Golf’s MQB platform, said Evo. It has a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch gearbox, operated from paddles behind the steering wheel, with a typical VW slickness to gear changes. The GTI is entertaining enough, with plenty of muscle at low speeds, but it’s too one-dimensional as the pace rises. The steering is quick and precise, but with very little feedback.
The new Polo GTI is about the same size as the Golf (equal in width and only slightly shorter), said The Sunday Times. It’s a cracker of a car, but the interior is “as exciting as the inside of a shoebox”, with cheap, hard plastic throughout. The slider controls on the steering wheel and climate control panel are fiddly, but it is well kitted-out with a decent 8-inch touchscreen infotainment setup and a Beats sound system. UK price from about £28,000.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In pictures: VW Polo GTI
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Why are people and elephants fighting in Sri Lanka?
Under The Radar Farmers encroaching into elephant habitats has led to deaths on both sides
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Indie film's 'very brief' use of AI sparks backlash and calls for boycotts
Talking Points Did the creators of a new horror movie make a deal with the artificial intelligence devil?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Could Taylor Swift swing the election?
Today's Big Question The pop star has outsized influence — and that extends beyond the music industry
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold Published
-
Puglia's rich medieval heritage
The Week Recommends Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II built 'the most flawless of all medieval European castles' in the southern Italian region
By The Week UK Published
-
Recipe: chickpea, cavolo nero and harissa stew
The Week Recommends Tinned tomatoes are warmed by harissa paste and become the base for a versatile stew
By The Week UK Published
-
A Very Private School: a 'moving, if sadly familiar' story from Charles Spencer
The Week Recommends Memoir of the privately educated boarder makes for 'horrific reading'
By The Week UK Published
-
Tropical Modernism: Architecture & Independence – rise and fall of unique design
the week recommends A 'nuanced' and 'scholarly' examination of European architecture across the 'late British empire'
By The Week UK Published
-
Harry Clarke: an 'effortlessly engrossing' one-man play
The Week Recommends Billy Crudup is 'hypnotic' but cannot 'paper over the defects'
By The Week UK Published
-
Lauren Oyler's favorite collection of essays that will leave you deep in thought
Feature The author recommends works by Elif Batuman, Mark Greif, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 waterside homes that float
Feature Featuring a house with two luxury boats in Oregon and a 1968 Gibson Riverboat-turned-home in New York
By The Week Staff Published
-
Dresden: on the trail of a Romantic icon in Germany
the week recommends The Saxon city celebrates the 250th birthday of Caspar David Friedrich this year
By The Week UK Published