2016 Volkswagen Polo GTI review, test drive

The 192hp Polo GTI could make the hot hatch market reach fever pitch. Hormazd Sorabjee has a blast in it.

Published on Oct 06, 2016 01:20:00 PM

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2016 Volkswagen Polo GTI review, test drive

Yes, it’s far more low-slung than the Polo we know, and the wheel arches are more muscular to accommodate the fatter tyres but there are no changes to the body panels. All you get are the GTI cues like the honeycomb grille that merges into the lights, red accents all over the car, the flat-bottomed steering wheel with the GTI logo and tartan seats which, again, is very GTI. However, we doubt the cloth seats will make it to India and most likely, VW will have to cover the insides in as much leather or fake leather as possible to justify the price tag.

The truth is, you can’t justify the price for a car that asks for so many bucks for the bang. But what a bang it is! In real world conditions, it’s power-to-size that matters and no car optimises that ratio as well as the Polo GTI.