PoloDriver

Following its market introduction in Europe – UK customer and VW retailer cars are now arriving – the latest sixth-generation Polo GTI has been launched in South Africa. Priced from R375,900, the new hot Polo is over R12,000 cheaper than the model it replaces, despite having more on-board technology and – with 147kW / 197bhp – more power.

Almost identical to the European-specification model, one of the main reasons for the South African Polo GTI’s lower price is that of local assembly. The car is built at Volkswagen South Africa’s Uitenhage factory, rather than imported from Europe, and features the same 2.0 TSI turbocharged engine as its continental cousin, too.

2018 Volkswagen Polo GTI (South Africa)

2018 Volkswagen Polo GTI (South Africa)

Key ingredients
The key ingredients are the same as the latest European Polo GTI. There’s 320Nm / 236lb ft of torque from the engine, 15mm lower sports suspension, VW’s ‘XDS’ electronic differential lock, and a whole host of technological safety systems. These include assisted parking, a blind spot monitor, driver and rear traffic alert systems, as well as a tyre pressure loss indicator.

All new sixth-generation Polos receive an automatic post-collision braking system, and an advanced safety package is available on the GTI which includes blind spot detection, electric folding mirrors, parallel park assist, park distance control systems and a rear view camera.

As with other GTIs, the South African Polo GTI is front-wheel drive. It features coil spring struts and lower wishbones with a track-stabilising scrub radius. The front running gear also features an anti-roll bar, and the front coil springs have telescopic gas-filled dampers integrated into the spring struts. The rear running gear consists of semi-independent twist-beam suspension with an integrated anti-roll bar, featuring gas-filled dampers and separate springs.

‘A great driving experience’
Volkswagen South Africa states that ‘in the new Polo GTI the engine starter button becomes the trigger for a great driving experience’, and, having put the car through its paces at the Ascari race circuit near Malaga recently, we’d agree. We’d also confer with Volkswagen South Africa’s statement that the GTI concept allies ‘dynamism, safety and comfort’, and in the case of the 1,335kg Polo GTI, part of that dynamism comes from its fast 6.7-second 0 to 62mph time and 237km/h / 147mph top speed.

The 1,988cc ‘EA888’ TSI engine delivers maximum power between 4,400 and 6,000rpm, with maximum torque coming in from just 1,500rpm up to 4,400rpm. Like its European counterparts, the South African Polo GTI is launched with only a six-speed DSG gearbox, and the option of ‘Sport Select’ suspension with active dampers. As well as the two ‘Normal’ and ‘Sport’ modes, new Polo GTI drivers can also choose from four ‘Normal’, ‘Sport’, ‘Eco’ and ‘Individual’ settings in the standard ‘Driver Profile’ selection.

2018 Volkswagen Polo GTI (South Africa)

2018 Volkswagen Polo GTI (South Africa)

2018 Volkswagen Polo GTI (South Africa)

2018 Volkswagen Polo GTI (South Africa)

Dynamic and purposeful look
As important as the driving experience, though, when it comes to a GTI, are the looks. And just as with its mechanical make-up, the South African Polo GTI is identical to its European relatives. The enlarged dimensions of the new Polo allow for a more dynamic and purposeful look, but extra GTI signifiers identify the top-flight sports model. The traditional red grille stripe and badge (now also in red), and honeycomb grille are present, while the grille stripe flows into the optional LED headlights.

A more muscular front bumper with sections picked out in gloss black add to the design, while the rear boasts a gloss and matt black rear spoiler, an under-bumper diffuser, a pair of chrome exhausts and darker, tinted LED tail lamps. In profile, keen GTI spotters will see the 17-inch ‘Milton Keynes’ (‘Parker’ in the UK) alloy wheels – 18-inch ‘Brescia’ rims are available as an option – and the matt black sill extensions. Red brake calipers and the ‘GTI’ ‘arrow’ badge on the front wing also mark out the new Polo GTI.

Colours, as with the original Golf GTI of 1976, are limited. The traditional Deep Black Pearl Effect, Flash Red, and Pure White can be chosen as well as the new Reef Blue Metallic. Inside, the roof lining and pillars are trimmed in Titan Black material, while the seats feature ‘Art Velour’ upholstery, and sadly not the ‘Jacara’ check material of European cars. Black leather is an option, though, and the dashpad covering can be specified in Deep Iron or Velvet Red finishes, although Flash Red cars will strangely only come with Deep Iron dashpads.

2018 Volkswagen Polo GTI (South Africa)

2018 Volkswagen Polo GTI (South Africa)

2018 Volkswagen Polo GTI (South Africa)

The new South African Polo GTI’s cabin is as impressive as it is on other sixth-generation Polos, with an eight-inch ‘Composition Media’ colour touchscreen infotainment system as standard – the ‘Discover Media’ system is optional – and the option of the 10.25-inch Active Info Display digital instruments. GTI-specific features include white ambient lighting, and a multifunction display plus driver information system.

Available to order now, find out more about the the Volkswagen South Africa Polo GTI at the Volkswagen South Africa website.

2018 VOLKSWAGEN SOUTH AFRICA NEW POLO GTI: RECOMMENDED RETAIL PRICES

GTI
2.0 TSI 147kW DSG, six-speed DSG, 5dr: R375,900

All prices include VAT and emissions tax. The new Volkswagen South Africa Polo GTI models come with a 3-year / 45,000km Service Plan, 
3-year / 120,000km warranty and a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty. Service intervals are 15,000km.

Volkswagen India has replaced the petrol-powered Polo 1.2 with a new version packing a 1.0 engine. The new Polo 1.0 produces almost identical power to the now discontinued 1.2-litre engine – 75bhp as opposed to 74bhp – but is slightly down on torque (1.2: 81lb ft / 110Nm at 3,750rpm, 1.0: 70lb ft / 95Nm at 3,000-4,300rpm). As before, a five-speed manual gearbox is standard.

The new three-cylinder Polo 1.0-litre MPI is between 14kg to 24kg lighter than the outgoing 1.2-litre car dependent on specification. Volkswagen India quotes official fuel economy of 18.78km/l, an improvement of 2.31km/l over the 1.2. Indian Autos Blog also reports that the new multi-point-injected 1.0 engine is likely to power the new MQB platform-based sixth-generation Polo when it arrives in India, around 2020.

New Polo GTI considered for India
Reports are also circulating that the new Polo GTI is also being considered for India. The fifth-generation Polo GTI is already sold in the country, but with a slightly altered specification with smaller wheels than the now-discontinued European versions. If the sixth-generation car made it to India, it would appear as a ‘CBU’ (Completely Built Up car) and sold in limited numbers, as seen with the current car, and although the first 99 units sold as fast as the GTI accelerates, the second batch needed to be discontinued to shift.

Indian Autos Blog reports that a price over INR 25 lakhs would have to be stomached, which would put the MQB-A0-based Polo GTI perilously close to the Mini Cooper S. For comparison, the much larger Skoda Octavia RS can be had for around INR 26 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi). The new Polo has yet to arrive in India, as complexities with the MQB platform make it expensive to produce locally, although Volkswagen India is said to be working on a budget version of the chassis module, codenamed ‘MQB A0 IN’ to reduce costs.

Limited edition Polo Pace launched
In the meantime, Volkswagen India has also announced a new limited edition version called the Pace, based on the current Indian-market fifth-generation Polo. Taking the INR 6,10,700 to INR 6,20,700 (ex-showroom Delhi) Polo Comfortline as a starting point, the Pace gets 15-inch ‘Razor’ alloy wheels, dual-beam headlamps and airbags as standard. Powered by either the new 1.0-litre MPI engine with 75bhp or an 89bhp 1.5-litre TDI, the special Polo Pace model also features ambient interior lighting, electric windows, and front fog lamps.

On the same day the sixth-generation model is launched in South Africa, today the wraps have been taken off the latest racing Volkswagen Polo which will contest the 2018 Engen Volkswagen Cup. The first circuit racing version of the all-new Polo, the 2018 Engen Volkswagen Cup car is based on the GTI model, which will arrive in South Africa later this year.

‘Push to Pass’ system
Carrying the same ‘Beware the Confidence’ tagline as the standard car’s launch materials, the Engen Volkswagen Cup GTI has a 2.0-litre, 197bhp four-cylinder turbocharged engine which produces 251lb ft / 340Nm of torque at 1 bar of boost. There is also a new ‘Push to Pass’ system which releases another 23bhp for 10 seconds, similar to that seen on the 2012 Scirocco R-Cup cars.

In a difference to the intial batch of European road cars, the 2018 Engen Volkswagen Cup Polo GTIs have a six-speed manual ‘MQ350’ gearbox, taken from the latest Golf GTI. Locally-sourced SAX shock absorbers sit suspend the standard Polo’s five-door body, while the car sits on coil springs front and rear, and rides on Dunlop semi-slick tyres.

‘Most successful racing formula’
Mike Rowe, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa said: ‘Volkswagen Motorsport would like to thank Engen for their on-going sponsorship and commitment to what we see as South Africa’s most successful racing formula as well as the competitors who have the confidence in the series to make the change to the all-new car.’

Those 24 competitors will contest a total of eight rounds in 2018, the 22nd year the Polo-based Engen Volkswagen Cup has been run. ‘We are very excited for the start of the 2018 racing season,’ continued Mike Rowe. ‘I am sure that all the Engen Volkswagen Cup competitors are raring to go.’

‘The series, which has become known as the School of Champions, is a special one in South Africa and has crowned a total of 16 different national champions. It also an immensely competitive one as only five people have managed to win it more than once,’ he added.

GTI badge debut
The closely-fought Engen Volkswagen Cup series is a one-make series where performance is kept equal to provide entertaining motor racing. Teams are only permitted to adjust the chassis set-up and tyre pressures, while the engine power is also limited. The 2018 season sees the ‘GTI’ badge make its debut on a South African Polo Cup racer in the series’ two-decade history.

The 2018 South African circuit racing season starts on 24 March, when a comprehensive field of more than 24 young Polo drivers aged 15 to 27 line up for the start of the 2018 Engen Polo Cup at the Kyalami race track in Johannesburg.

2017 was yet another busy year for the Volkswagen Polo. The launch and introduction of the all-new sixth-generation model has been the major news, and although there has been no Polo rally action in 2017, the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTI has dominated the World Rallycross Championship in the hands of Johan Kristoffersson.

But, with a debut for the new Polo GTI R5 later in 2018, the stages look set for a Polo return to asphalt and gravel action. The Engen Volkswagen Cup in South Africa is due to run new-generation Polo GTIs, too, in 2018, so next year’s Polo motorsport activity is shaping up very nicely.

Right now, though, we round up the Polo’s biggest achievements in 2017. (Bold entries are illustrated by the picture above that particular month’s list of events.)

January

• Al-Attiyah confirms no Polo R WRC in 2017 FIA World Rally Championship
• PSRX and Volkswagen Sweden rallycross team confirmed
• Polo Sound special edition launched in Germany
• Indian-market Polo GTI wins Autocar India’s Performance Hatchback of the Year award
• Polo is the tenth best-selling car in Europe (JATO).

February

• FIA prohibits complete homologation of 2017 Volkswagen Polo R WRC
• Polo GTI 230 special edition for Switzerland
• Guy Wilks confirmed for Polo RX in 2017 World Rallycross Championship
• Polo-based VW Ameo wins Car India and Bike India’s ’Compact Sedan Of The Year’ award
• Polo is the seventh best-selling car in the UK.

March

• Citi Vivo special edition launched in South Africa
• 1,250,000th Polo production jubilee celebrated by Volkswagen South Africa
• Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI R-Line launched in South Africa
• PSRX Volkswagen Sweden reveals 2017 World Rallycross Polo GTI Supercar
• Volkswagen Motorsport announces new Polo R5 rally car testing plans
• Indian-market Polo GTI wins the Thrill of Driving Award at the Times Auto Awards
• Polo-based VW Ameo wins the Compact Sedan of the Year at the Times Auto Awards
• Polo is the seventh best-selling car in the UK.

April


• PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTIs show pace at World RX of Barcelona
• Kristoffersson drives Polo GTI Supercar to World RX of Portugal podium
• Volkswagen India launches limited edition Polo GT Sport
• Indian-market Polo GTI wins Flywheel Auto Awards’ 2017 Performance Hatchback of the Year award
• Indian-market Polo GTI wins BBC Top Gear Awards’ 2017 Hot Hatch of the Year award
• Polo is the ninth best-selling car in the UK.

May

• Fifth-generation Polo-based Volkswagen Vento Allstar and GT launched in Malaysia
• World RX of Hockenheim podium place for Kristoffersson and Polo GTI
• PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo GTIs dominate World RX of Belgium with double podium
• Sixth-generation Polo prototype drives and ‘sneak peek’ video published
• Solberg and Kristoffersson do the double at World RX of Great Britain
• Polo is the fifth best-selling car in the UK.

June

• Volkswagen launches sixth-generation Polo ‘teaser’ video campaign
• Johan Kristoffersson takes second 2017 World RX victory in Norway
• First images of new Polo revealed ahead of 16 June world premiere
• New sixth-generation Polo unveiled at Berlin world premiere event on 16 June
• Polo is the eighth best-selling car in the UK.

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In somewhat of a surprise reveal (although we should have seen it coming), the new Polo GTI R5 rally car was unveiled tonight in Mallorca, at the official media driving presentation of the new production Polo GTI. The new motorsport version of the sixth-generation Polo has already been out testing and has been designed to compete in the WRC2 class of the FIA World Rally Championship from the second half of 2018.

While the car seen in the official release images is a mock-up (the black-tinted windows were a trick employed at the 2011 Polo R WRC reveal to mask a non-finished interior) Resplendent in Volkswagen’s red, white and grey ‘bar and block’ livery used on to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Golf GTI last year, the GTI R5 looks ready for action, and even though it wears the five-door clothes of the production car (all sixth-generation Polos have five door openings), with its enlarged front bumper and wheel arch extensions, it looks tough in a similar way to the four-time world championship-winning Polo R WRC.

1.6 litres, 272bhp, four-wheel drive
Power has been confirmed at 272bhp, and the GTI R5 is four-wheel drive, unlike the road car, which is front-wheel drive only. But, like the road car, the GTI R5 uses a four-cylinder turbocharged engine with direct fuel injection. However, in the R5, it has a capacity of 1.6 litres – the production GTI has a 2.0-litre unit – to comply with FIA regulations.

Maximum torque is 400Nm / 295lb ft, and the power is put down through a five-speed sequential racing gearbox. A 1,320kg weight means the GTI R5 sprints to 62mph from rest in just 4.1 seconds, a whole 2.6 seconds faster than the production Polo GTI. The steel body is made in Pamplona alongside regular Polos, and is strengthened with a roll cage and a first-class safety package. Development of the new Volkswagen rally challenger was helped by the know-how from the Polo R WRC programme, which resulted in a car which dominated top-flight rallying from 2013-2016.

Work on the Polo GTI R5 started at the beginning of 2017, with initial tests in mid-November on asphalt and gravel tracks at Fontjoncouse, France. Great Britain is next on the GTI R5 testing list, with time scheduled in for later this month. Volkswagen Motorsport Technical Director François-Xavier ‘FX’ Demaison and Project Manager Jan de Jongh are taking the reins for the GTI R5 programme. There’s no doubt the GTI R5 is in experienced hands: Jongh, as race engineer, cared for world champion Sébastien Ogier’s Polo R WRC.

‘A magnificent moment’
‘The Polo GTI R5 came through the initial tests without any problems. The feedback from the test drivers was very positive,’ said Demaison. ‘It is obviously beneficial to call upon an experienced team of engineers and mechanics, who helped to develop the Polo that won the world rally championship. And it goes without saying that, as we have in the past, we are also taking advantage of the close and excellent cooperation with the colleagues in the technical development department in Wolfsburg, as well as our Škoda colleagues, who have been offering their customers an R5 car since 2015,’ he continued.

‘Presenting the new VW Polo GTI R5 to the public was a magnificent moment,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets. ‘The close relationship to the road-going Polo GTI is unmistakable. In the rally Polo, the GTI family has another spectacular ambassador. Our team and our colleagues at Volkswagen Design in Wolfsburg deserve credit for this. Over the coming months, the Polo GTI R5 must prove itself in a series of tough scenarios, in order to ensure that it can build on the success of its predecessor in customers’ hands.’

Homologation and debut in 2018
Homologation of the new Hanover motorsport machine will take place next summer, before the first cars are delivered to customer sports teams. The first time the GTI R5 will turn a wheel in competitive anger is likely to be the autumn. The FIA’s R5 regulations first applied in 2012, and cover rally cars aimed at customer teams, privateers and young drivers. Over 400 cars have since been built by five manufacturers for competition in national and international series all over the world.

The new Polo GTI meanwhile, is available for pre-sale ordering in Germany from 5 December 2017, and is priced from 23,875 euros. Powered by a 2.0-litre TSI engine with 197bhp, standard sport running gear features on the latest member of the GTI family, and buyers have a choice of optional Sport Select running gear, too. A six-speed DSG gearbox will be standard initially, with a six-speed manual to follow. UK availability is yet to be revealed, but we’re already excited!

And whether the Polo GTI R5 will continue the success of the Polo R WRC we’ve yet to find out. The coming months will answer some initial questions, but with a championship-winning and hugely successful team as well as proven ingredients behind it, we expect it to be a major WRC2 player at least…