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REV UP - A tale of two Polos
By CPL Andrew Hetherington
Volume 50, No. 13, July 26, 2007 |
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It is a hard choice – two Volkswagen Polo small hatches.
One is a five-door fuel-efficient, 1.9-litre diesel TDI and the other a three-door, turbo-charged, GTI hot hatch, which seems to have spawned from its bigger brother; the Golf GTI.
My preference out of the two is the GTI model for its handling, engine response and value for money. However, the TDI five-door is still a practical, responsive drive, which returns great fuel economy figures. During this test, I managed about 900km on one 45-litre tank of diesel.
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VW Polo TDI 5 Door Manual
Price: $22,990 plus ORC.
Power: 74kW of power and 240Nm of torque from a 1.9-litre inline turbo-diesel engine.
0/100km/h: 10.7 seconds (claimed).
Fuel consumption and type: Diesel 5.0L/100km (Combined).
Co2 emissions: 135 grams/km.
For: Great fuel economy, environmentally friendly, hatch practicality, entertaining drive and value for money.
Against: Bland interior styling.
Best suit: Anyone looking for practical, value for money transport, which is fuel efficient, environmentally friendly and from a well-known and respected European manufacturer. |
VW Polo GTI 3 Door Manual
Price: $26,990 plus ORC.
Power: 110kW of power and 220Nm of torque from a 1.8-litre turbo-charged petrol engine.
0/100km/h: 8.2 seconds (claimed).
Fuel consumption and type: 7.9L/100km (Combined), RON 98 P/ULP.
Co2 emissions: 190 grams/km.
For: Is fun to drive, has a very responsive turbo engine, turbo whistle during acceleration, sweet-shifting five-speed manual gear box, looks just like, and behaves in a similar fashion to, its bigger brother the Golf GTI – fantastic value for money.
Against: Only three doors.
Best suit: Anyone wanting a fast, nimble small hot hatch. |
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