On the road: VW Polo GTi – car review
The Polo GTi, a 1.8-litre engine, 190bhp - it's as poky as a Scotch bonnet, and as ready to go as a man in a pub whose eighth pint you've just spilled. It comes as a surprise to your fellow road user, who might mistake you for a regular Polo driver. But a regular Polo can't pull you out of bed, while this can get you from zero to 62 in 6.7 seconds. It is somewhat ridiculous - the fabric on the seats looks like the kind of tartan a low-level conman might wear after he'd got married and his wife had told him to tone it down a bit - but it is extremely fun.
You can choose between manual and automatic. I had the six-speed manual: the efficiency is not as good. It's in the same band as the automatic, but 10 extra g/km will be significant for some. But it is a droll little drive, more like a delinquent companion than a car. It's about as small as it could be, and pulls off like a rocket. Motorway driving is a blast: even in 6th, you get lots of torque. "Nobody's more surprised about this than I am," said my face as I hurtled up the rear carriages of the other motorists.
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