Volkswagen puts a bigger diesel heart in the Polo,
making it a much more desirable small car. We had a big grin on our face after
driving it
Hatchbacks are supposed to be fun, aren’t
they? Unfortunately, India doesn’t think so, well almost. Here people believe
that a small car should be, above everything else, fuel-efficient and should
get them from point A to B. This general perception about hatchbacks gives
car-makers a chance to launch products that focus more on these aspects.
However, one car maker, German of course, has a very different approach when it
comes to hatchbacks. We are referring to Volkswagen. VW is the only
manufacturer in India that offers hatchbacks which are actually fun to drive
and highly efficient. After all, there is no law that says fuel-efficient cars
have to be boring.
The Volkswagen
Polo GT TDI is sharp and has terrific body control but tends to understeer
when pushed very hard
So, when you walk into a VW dealership now,
you have the option of buying the normal Polo, a city runabout with high fuel
efficiency and good driving dynamics albeit with less power, or buy one of the
GT Polos, the meaner and aggressive ones.
For example, if you like an automatic
petrol hatch, then the GT TSI is the car for you. It features a powerful
engine, DSG gearbox, solid build quality and excellent driving dynamics found
in any Polo. If you prefer diesel to petrol, worry not, the company that
re-introduced the concept of hot-hatch in India has a very desirable
proposition for diesel lovers. Enter the Polo GT TDI; yes, a GT diesel hatch
has finally been launched by VW. The diesel Polo was fun, but with the GT TDI
you can now have an ear-to-ear grin plastered on your face at all times.
Diesel’s
are fun and here’s proof - the 1.6 litre TDI with 105 PS and 250 Nm
When you look at the GT TDI, you are not
really looking at an entirely new car. It is very much the same Polo as it was
a few years ago, but this one has a very different and vibrant personality and
a strong character to go with it. Unlike its 1.2-litre-triple sibling, the GT
TDI comes with a 1.6-litre four-pot motor from the Vento. VW simply took the
Vento’s engine and dropped it in the Polo’s engine bay, along with the
five-speed manual transmission. It develops the same amount of power and
torque, 105 PS and 250 Nm. Putting a big engine in a small car may not sound
like a new idea, but very few have done it, and VW have nailed it perfectly.
The
250-litre boot on the Polo GT TDI is decent sized
This heart transplant has changed the Polo
completely. The standard car has always been sharp and agile, but with the GT
TDI it feels completely bonkers once you put your right foot down. It shoots
off like a pocket-rocket from the word go and evidence of that is the 11-second
0-100 km/h sprint. The top whack of 175 km/h further supports the racy appeal
of the GT TDI.
