Volkswagen Polo GTi
The original Mk1 Golf GTi has a special place in many a petrolhead's heart. Light, lithe and nimble it was, for South Africans at least, the GTi that started it all. It wasn't the first, but it was our first. The Renault 5 Alpine has that credit to its name. They both managed 0-100 in under 10 seconds, and that was plenty quick for the era. And remember it was only a little 1600.
The spirit doesn't quite live on in the modern Golf. Golf today is a big luxurious and spacious car with all the creature comforts, and wouldn't be right today any other way.
The spirit of Golf GTi appeared to end with the last Citi Golf to come off our production lines. The King is dead. However, and you knew I was about to write this, long live the King. With Polo GTi, it is back. In spades. Light, nimble, and while not a threat to any supercar, it does what it says on the box. GTi. 0-100 in 6,9 seconds. And it does this with a 1.4 engine. Impressive. It gets this done in two ways. First Collin Chapman's theory: Just add lightness. It clocks in, for a safe modern car with all the bits we expect, at a mere 1269kg. The second helpful bit is that engine and its accompanying drivetrain. 132kw from the little 1400. Admittedly it is a 1400 with both a turbo and, for good measure, a supercharger bolted on. Impressive, with no perceptible lag or difficulty getting onto the boil. They take this lot and bolt it to VW's excellent 7 speed DSG box. For a little added bonus the whole lot together achieves a miserly 5.9 litres per 100km fuel consumption. Why bother with a diesel? If you drive modestly that is. This is hardly a card to encourage temperance, you are warned. They also have a clever little thing they call XDS which is essentially an electronic diff lock reducing understeer nicely when pushing things a bit.
At R259,000 I think this is a bit of a performance bargain, and if you still relish the echo of the Mk1 GTi, this is one of the better places to bask in that warmth.
It is grown up with niceties, leather and luxury, and in that way distances itself from the original. But it is one of the best ways to get those wings VW used to sell.
