Price and specs announcement – Volkswagen Polo GTI with new bigger 1.8TSI engine

VWSA is busy launching the updated Polo GTI.  As baby VW GTI, the first Polo GTI received the 1.4-litre with VW Twincharger concept of combining supercharger and turbocharger.  It was not lacking in power.  For the new one, the engine is swopped for the bigger 1.8 TSI turbo.

So up from 1.4 to 1.8 means a huge power and torque hike, right?  Well, the 1.4 was a Twincharger whereas 1.8 is turbo only, with power increasing from 132 to 141kW, available sooner (5400 instead of 6200 r/min) but torque still stands at 250Nm (unchanged) though spread wider and lower, changing from 2000-4500 to a broader 1250-5300 revs.   The sprinting ability is important in any GTI:  0.2 was dropped off the stopwatch to now read 6.7 seconds from 0 to 100km/h.

SA only gets the 7-speed DSG gearbox, whereas Euro markets also have a 6-speed manual option, with engine torque upped to 320Nm.  We also, sadly, don’t get offered either the sporty 3-door body nor the classic VW GTI black&white&red tartan check cloth.

Following on from the local launch of the Polo facelift with new 1.2TSI engines, the GTI remained unchanged – the reason is that Polo GTI is imported from Europe, as is 1.2TDI BlueMotion, while 1.2TSI models are produced here in South Africa.

The Polo GTI facelift takes the crisper tauter lines of the Polo facelift, but echoes the Golf 7 GTI by using the same red line pulled from the grille through the headlight housings.  Some teLED headlights are an option, which is unique in its segment, and now also available on other Polo models.

Price moved up from R 315 100 to R 326 400.