By: Dave Abrahams
Uitenhage - The big news about Volkswagen’s 2015 Polo GTI, released in South Africa on Friday, is that the 132kW 1.4 TSI engine gives way to a newly developed 141kW 1.8 TSI - and that, from the second half of the year, it’ll be available with a six-speed manual ‘box, alongside the current seven-speed DSG double-clutch set-up.
Either way, the maker claims it’ll go from 0-100km/h in 6.7 seconds and top out at 236km/h, while burning a nominal six litres per 100km in two-pedal format, or 5.6 with manual shift.
It also gets new bumpers, flared door sills, 17-inch ‘Parabolicca’ alloy rims over red brake callipers, a new rear spoiler, ‘dark red’ tail-light clusters, and signature GTI red strips in the grille and headlight clusters - which are now also available for the first time on this model with LED headlights (dipped and main beam) and LED daytime running lights.
The cabin is trimmed in anthracite with chrome trim and flashes of GTI red, a revised centre-stack layout and new, heatable sports seats upholstered in alcantara synthetic suede with synthetic leather inserts.
The all-new six-speaker infotainment system with a 5.8-inch colour touchscreen that pops up menu details when your hand gets near it, and features Bluetooth connectivity for cellphone and audio streaming, as well as an MP3-capable CD player, USB port, auxiliary jack and an SD-card input.
The optional Mirrorlink feature pairs compatible Android smartphones to the touchscreen, simply by putting the phone in a special slot in the centre console.
MOTORVATION
The all-new 1798cc EA888 tuorbopetrol four is actually a scaled-down version of the two-litre TSI in the current Golf GTI, with water-cooled exhaust gas routing to the turbocharger, which is built into the cylinder head, and a new rotary-slide thermostat valve that constantly adjusts the flow of coolant through the engine to keep it at optimum operating temperature.
It even has different mappings for manual and DSG transmissions - peak power is delivered from 4300-6200rpm in the manual version, with 320Nm on tap from 1450-4200rpm, whereas the DSG settings produce the same 141kW from 5400-6200 and a substantially detuned 250Nm over a flatter torque curve from 1250-5200rpm – resulting in identical performance figures.
The suspension has been dropped 10mm in front and 15mm at the rear, compared to the vanilla-flavour Polo, with a stiffer anti-roll bar at the front and 215/40 low-profile rubber for more precise handling.
Standard driver aids include hill hold, cruise control, automatic post-collision braking, and the XDS+ transverse electronic differential lock, which works by braking both inside wheels in hard concerning to reduce understeer.
Pressing the electronic stability control button switches off traction control; hold it for more than three seconds and the ESC goes into Sport mode, which lets you get quite severely out of shape before it steps in to save you from yourself.
Also available for the first time on a Polo GTI is electronically adjustable damping, as part of the new, optional 'Sport Select' suspension and 'Sport Performance Kit'. Pressing the 'Sport' button on the centre stack tightens up the dampers, sharpens the steering and throttle responses and, on DSG cars, automatically changes from D to S mode.
This option will become available when the manual version is released in the second half of 2015.
PRICES
Polo GTI 1.8 TSI 141 kW DSG - R326 400
This includes a three-year or 120 000km warranty and a three-year or 45 000km service plan; your Polo GTI will need to go home to Mama every 15 00km. The price for the manual version will be released when it gets here.