PoloDriver

German tuning company H&R has released a lowered suspension kit for the new 6R, fifth-generation Polo GTI. With a lowering height of 20 millimetres at the front of the car and 30mm at the rear, H&R says that ‘the sporty characteristics of the small car are improved.’ Additional lowering heights from the adjustable H&R Monotube coilover kits can be set at 30mm at the front of the car with a 45-millimetre drop at the rear. Optional H&R stabilisers (for use with the kit) will be available soon.

TRAK+ wheel spacers made of high tensile aluminum alloy can also be specified, regardless of whether they are combined with OE or aftermarket wheels, immediately removing the often unsightly gap between the wheel arch and tyre shoulder. The complete H&R product range – available for over 1350 different vehicles – can be found at specialist dealers and along with the usual H&R quality, components come with a model approval certificate or a TÜV certificate of conformity for parts.

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With the advent of the new 1.4 TFSI Polo GTI, UK VW magazine Volkswagen Driver is looking for owners of 9N3 Polo GTI (2006-2010) owners  to give short opinions on ownership for a forthcoming model profile. In production for four years, the 9N3 GTI had a 1.8-litre, turbocharged engine, good for 148bhp, 0-62mph in 8.2 seconds, and a top speed of 134mph. Only eclipsed by the continental market-only 9N3-based Polo GTI Cup Edition with 178bhp, the outgoing GTI was the most powerful series production Polo at the time. Interested 9N3 Polo GTI owners should email Volkswagen Driver editor Neil Birkitt as soon as possible.

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As the new Polo GTI seems to be flavour of the month around these parts (and as it’s Friday), we’ve found a trio of videos featuring the new small car performance wonder. Our favourite has to be the – German language – onTrack circuit film around the 2.7km LUK test track in Baden Baden, Germany. The first time we’ve seen the new baby GTI driven around and through chicanes with anger, the tester describes it as classless and fun, and although it might be slower than a Mini Cooper Works (but faster than a Honda Civic Type R), he asks if lap times matter that much if you’re enjoying the drive? The second video is from Japan, and is largely useful for visual shots, with some on-road action thrown in. The third clip is a lap of the Nordschleife at full pelt, viewed from the passenger seat of the new 178bhp 1.4 TSI-powered GTI. Volkswagen’s Flash Red German-registered press Polo ‘WOB-NP 123’ must be one of the hardest-working cars in the business…

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The new Polo GTI has been a while coming, but with the first customer car now in the country, the new owner tells us about his first weeks with the car, and his first impressions of the 178bhp twincharged performance Polo…

I’ve had a few incarnations of hot Polos over the years (1999 Polo 16V, 2001 and 2007 Polo GTIs) but this latest model was the most eagerly anticipated. And so far I haven’t been disappointed. I’ve come to this car from a 2007 last-model Polo GTI, but as soon as you sit in the car and close the door, (which has a satisfying ‘clunk’ to it), you realise you are in a car which feels like its from the class above. As noted in comments posted on this website, it does really feel like a small Golf GTI.

Out on the road the supercharged/turbocharged engine is eager to please, and with 184lbs ft of torque, there is plenty of power on tap. Just as happy as a motorway cruiser or negotiating the twists and turns of a country lane, this pocket rocket really is a pleasure to drive. It’s self-assured, gripping the road in whatever direction you send it in. The seven-speed DSG box is a smooth operator with satisfying gear changes, and whether you play with it in ‘Sport’ or stick it in ‘Drive’ and relax, it copes brilliantly. You could drive for miles in this car and still feel refreshed at the end of the journey, not something that can always be said for smaller cars.

Inside the cabin, road and other noise is kept to a minimum, a vast improvement on previous models. Gadgets and gizmos abound in the new GTI helping to give a hi-tech feel, and there are many nice touches for 21st century motoring. The only downside is that there is no Bluetooth option available on the UK specification models (Volkswagen UK’s official response is here – PD). This in a communications age seems a little bizarre and disappointing to say the least. In my opinion, someone at VW has slipped up by not having it included in the car.

So far then, just over a week of new Polo GTI ownership and although I’m still getting to know the car, I have to say it’s a delight and bags of fun to drive. It really turns some heads, too, even those of drivers in their huge and expensive machines. I haven’t regretted one solitary penny and as everyone knows it takes quite a few of them (£19,200 to be precise in this case) to purchase this latest baby GTI. But, thanks to Volkswagen, the supermini has truly grown up and what a classy act it’s turned out to be.

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Hot on the heels of our story from yesterday about the first customer Polo GTI in the country landing, we’re pleased to report that Volkswagen has finally updated the UK Polo brochure to include the latest fifth-generation Polo-based GTI. It’s been in European catalogues since the early summer, so we’re pleased that at last, it is properly included as part of the UK range. The company bills it as ‘the most exhilarating Polo to date,’ and it’s certainly the most powerful, its 1.4-litre, 178bhp engine punting it to 62mph from rest in a claimed 6.9 seconds. Volkswagen also states that the new performance Polo is the ‘most stylish and dynamic Polo we’ve ever built.’ Available online, we don’t know if the printed version of the UK Polo brochure has been updated to reflect the broadening of the range. And while it’s still not quite the standalone catalogue that is available in many European markets, its still big news. Download here.

[Thanks to Court for the tip.]

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