Fancy a Golf GTI but can’t afford one? Wolfsburg hopes the new 2015 VW Polo GTI could be just the tonic.
Looking more and more like a baby Golf, the latest extra-strong Polo even apes big brother’s tartan seat trim. Read on for the full first news and photos of the new Polo GTI.
New VW Polo GTI (2015): what’s new?
The Polo range has just had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it facelift, and this is the new GTI hot-shot, due in showrooms in December 2014 priced from around £19,800 ahead of UK sales in spring 2015.
It’s the fourth generation of Polo GTI since 1985’s supercharged Polo G40, says Wolfsburg, which counts this as a new model despite its mid-life update status.
In fairness, it does have a new engine and numerous updates to single it out from the outgoing Polo GTI, which slipped quietly off UK sale earlier in 2014.
A new 1.8 TSI for the Polo GTI
That new engine is the four-cylinder 1.8 TSI, whose forced induction pushes power by a dozen horsepower to 189bhp while torque plateaus at 236lb ft.
It’s pretty quick, then. VW claims the new Polo GTI can sprint from 0-62mph in 6.7sec and on to 147mph.
Unlike the last Polo hot hatch, which offered only a seven-speed DSG twin-clutch gearbox, the new one can be ordered with a six-speed manual transmission as well, broadening its appeal.
The Polo GTI can be ordered in three- or five-door bodystyles. New options are likely to include LED headlamps and two-mode selective dampers.