2015 Volkswagen Polo GTI Powers Up in Time for Paris

Volkswagen's Golf GTI is an icon of the performance and refinement, so much so that in many countries, it's known simply as "The GTI". Finally, we may have a Polo that actually deserves the same badge. In fact, it's so good that it might now deserve it more than its lazy big brother, which hasn't tried to be a performance segment leader for almost a decade.

The Polo new hot hatch packs 192 PS and a chunky 320 Nm of torque. That last nicely rounded figure is more than pretty much anybody else has in this segment, including the new MINI with its 2-liter engine from BMW, which only has 300. Sprint times of 6.7 seconds to 100 km/h (same as the MINI) are also at the top of the class, the same as the top speed, which is said to be increased to 236km/h (was 228km/h).

One-upping the competition on the engine front

The outgoing Polo GTI pushed downsizing to its limits. While some of its competitors still used 2-liter mills, German engineers decided to use a 1.4-liter with both a supercharger and a turbocharger, in order to deliver 180 PS without turbo lag. It was ambitious, too ambitious perhaps. The twin grenade felt like it didn't know what you wanted, a bad match for hooning down the proverbial winding country road.

While its arch-rivals have followed its lead and downsized, most notably the Clio RS, which went from 2.0 to a 1.6L, the Polo GTI goes one-up and increases the displacement. The result is a natural-feeling turbo 1.8-liter with more power, more torque and better acceleration, not to mention improved fuel consumption.

All supermini hot hatches except for the Cooper S offer either a manual or an automatic gearbox. The Polo GTI now has both. Fans are saying this is finally a real successor to the 9N, a simple manual+1.8T being viewed as the ideal combination. In theory, we totally agree with them, but we won't know for sure until early 2015 when rubber hits road.

Everyone likes vanilla ice cream

The 2015 Polo GTI is still not as interesting to look at as a Fiesta ST or Clio RS. There are no F1 wings and certainly no massive air intake at the front. But, they have made some good changes for the 2015 model, including sharper-looking wheels, LED headlights and a red strip across the grille and headlights that will make non-connoisseurs ask "is that the new Golf GTI?"

When Renault decided to water down the Clio RS and make it a four-door automatic, they looked at the Polo GTI, which was more successful. Sure, the old Clio 3 RS 200 was a lot of fun, but many people simply want a small, very fast hatchback, not a Group N rally car for the road.

By adding a simple gearbox and a larger engine, what Volkswagen has done with the 2015 Polo GTI is to engineer the perfect vanilla ice cream portion. Sure, it's not double-chocolate Stracciatella, but it appeals to everybody.

A performance bargain

Prices have just been announced in Germany, with deliveries to take place in the coming months. With a manual, the Polo GTI costs €22,275, jumping to €23,750 when you opt to have the 7-speed DSG gearbox. That might sound like a lot, but the baby hatch is only 0.2 seconds off the pace of a Golf GTI, which starts at €28,675 in Germany. That new MINI Cooper S we mentioned starts at €23,800.