Grapo Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 (edited) Got my Polo yesterday, driven 200 miles (picked car up on 10miles) hear are my initial thoughts.ExteriorWhen you first look at it, the obvious thing you notice is the paintwork. ‘Candy White’ is only available on the GTI, but not everybody is going to no that and to be honest there aren’t that many things glaringly obvious that make it stand out to the rest of the range. If you dig a bit deeper you begin to notice things. There is a subtle double tailpipe out the back, small black side skirts with back and front valence, and GTI badge on either end. The most obvious thing is probably the trademark GTI black grille with honeycombed centre and red piping; the black headlights also contrast well with the white paintwork to give a meaner front end to the rest of the range. The shoes it wears are scaled down 16” Monza’s, a la its bigger brother the Golf GTI, wrapped in 205/45/R16 tyres. The brakes (unsure of the size) are finished with red painted callipers, which follows the red theme of the piping on the outside. The effect of this subtle styling is that it could go un-noticed if it wants to but if you look a little deeper it’s definitely a GTI.InteriorAs you open the door you’re greeted by GTI sill plates, just to remind you what you’re stepping into, in case the exterior didn’t give it away. The seats are wrapped in Interlagos (‘tartan’) cloth, which harks back to the days of the original Golf GTI; leather was an option but to be honest I really love the fabric. The front seats are very supportive with big side bolsters that hold you in nice and snugly, in fact if you were of an above average weight you would probably be a little too snug. Once in the drivers seat your greeted with a nice dashboard layout, with sunken dials ringed in silver. The dashboard lights are obligatory VW blue, which in my opinion is the perfect colour for interior lights at night. The steering wheel is a nice size, not too big and nice and chunky feeling to it; this, along with the handbrake has red stitching to go with the red in the fabric and the red stripes on the seatbelts. The cabin has a soft touch dashboard and black/anthracite fabrics elsewhere, with a faux metallic centre console, which does brighten up the cabin a little.Performance and HandlingThe most surprising thing about this little car is when you turn the key in the ignition barrel. It bursts into life with a deep throaty grumble from the exhaust, which carries on burbling ready to go. Dip the throttle a little and the exhaust burbles loudly, even with the windows up I was surprises, and pleased, at how loud the exhaust is. Its not ‘cherry bomb on your Nova’ loud, but a nice performance sound.The Polo GTI is powered by the age-old 1.8T 150bhp VW powerplant. Peak torque comes in at a low 1,950rpm and immediately propels the car forward with a very audible whistle from the turbo. This surprised me a lot as it is quite pronounced, but I guess it follows the soundtrack set by the exhaust. I have only covered about 200 miles so haven’t pushed the engine to the limits but I can definitely say its quicker than the Lupo GTI. I would hazard a guess that it is also quicker than the ‘official’ cautious 8.2 to 62mph sprint time. It really flies and is definitely in its element on fast B-Roads and motorways where you can take full advantage of the decent torque figures.The gear change is a bit stiff at the moment. It doesn’t like droping into 4th from 5th and feels very strange coming out of reverse, hopefully it will loosen up a bit. The handling was also a pleasant surprise. I had never driven a Polo GTI when I bought it (yes I know, crazy) and reading the reviews I have the impression it was going to be a bit crashy and wallowy, however it rides really well over bad surfaces, and is pretty flat round corners. It grips extremely well and feels more confident than the Lupo GTI, which used to bounce round uneven roundabouts on its coilovers. The Polo just feels very very solid and without taking it to its limits is a very capable car. The brakes are pretty good, nothing to write home about but stop the car well without having much feel through the peddle. OverviewAs first impressions (200 miles covered) goes I’m totally won over by the car. It looks near perfect to me, yeah maybe it rides a bit high, but its size makes it look more to scale than the bigger Golf GTI. The interior is pretty much perfect, it isn’t in your face, the seats are fantastic and the cabin just oozes quality (as does the thud from the door closing). The engine is brilliant as well and will only get better with more miles on it. I have two major gripes. One is the lack of Xenons, wasn’t even an option, and the second is the lack of a gas strut to hold the bonnet up! VW cutting costs again. Here are some pics for you to enjoy.G Edited September 13, 2007 by Grapo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
db Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Sounds good, i'm sure you'll be able to get hold of a xenon conversion kit for it, which should help matters. Good review, i've read handling and performance wise it's quite a capable little machine. May this be the start of happy ownership! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lupo D Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 ...And the pics...!? D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBR Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 All sound good. Can't see the Pic's though.Gas strut on the bonnet missing... That is such a "quality" touch... shame they got rid of it....Talking of VW cost cutting... My father in law collected his new polo and it appears they don't come with engine covers any more.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapo Posted September 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 ...And the pics...!? D.Whoops!Edited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyW Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Glad you are liking it, can't beat that new car feeling!I was impressed with the Polo (as I think I *might* just have mentioned before!), its a great all rounder I think. Its clearly not as sharp a drivers car as something like the 197, but I get the impression that like the Lupo its a better mix of safe handling, good everyday road manners and being nippy when required.It also looks bloody brilliant in white, very classy.Edited to add, love the pics, as I said above x10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Gorgeous little beast in the best colour too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lupogtiboy Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 a good an honest opinion on a car i've yet to try out. also must say that those are truly amazing photos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapo Posted September 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Cheers guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2001gti Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 very nice motor m8, looks awesum in white. i want one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver! Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Very nice car. Personally I think it looks better than the MK5 Golf GTi and in my opinion white has always been the best colour for a car.Just needs a subtle drop, nothing too serious or you won't get into the bingo car park! Enjoy! And I look forward toi seeing 'dirty' photos of this car.R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigz™ Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Its about time!Looks good though, love the engine cover.As above about the bonnet strut, wonder if a Lupo strut will fit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stealthie Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Ditto on liking the engine cover, funny though how it is white can you imagine the state some of these are going to end up in?!I really want one of these Gti's and would get one in white with the same interiour too In my opinion it's the best combination to go for with this one!See you around as I live near Bluewater (looks like the pics were taken there?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyeBaz Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Very NiceIt would be perfect if they did the MK5 GTi Monza II polished alloys in 16" or 17" formHow's the MPG ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Looks fantastic!Bet your really pleased, I know I would be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steffro Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 looks great mate, loved this car since it appeared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vworks41 Posted September 16, 2007 Report Share Posted September 16, 2007 Very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
payna Posted September 16, 2007 Report Share Posted September 16, 2007 love it, looks very tasty in white..... enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam K Posted September 16, 2007 Report Share Posted September 16, 2007 reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lupo D Posted September 16, 2007 Report Share Posted September 16, 2007 Loveble...!All You need now is to put her on lowrider way and some black alloy...! D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vworks41 Posted September 16, 2007 Report Share Posted September 16, 2007 Or these....did i mention they're for sale he he Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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