2021 VW POLO GTI

We’ve recently bolstered our fleet of Keepers with a new sports coupe, a high-end roadster and a large SUV (initial reports to appear shortly). While these cars cover plenty of motoring bases, we also sought the services of a compact, nearly-new performance hatch – a punchy ‘puddle jumper’ for predominantly city running.

A shortlist of three cars quickly emerged including the Hyundai i20 N (few to choose from, still highly priced) and Ford Fiesta ST3 (deeply impressive in a sporting sense but a bit harsh for everyday driving). After also trying Mk7 Golf GTIs and a Polo GTI, we concluded we wanted a GTI badge on our car’s tailgate. We further decided the fourth-gen Polo GTI offered all that we required. It came out on top due to its blend of performance, refinement, value, perceived quality and understated styling.

We set about finding a superior, fully-serviced example through the official Volkswagen dealer network, assuming that route would guarantee the best buying experience and long-term peace of mind. Ultimately, we couldn’t go past the white car you see here. It’s a 2021 example with six-speed DSG (no manuals came to NZ) and like all RHD Polo GTIs, it was built in South Africa and slowly made its way here amid pandemic-induced shipping challenges. With less than 15,000km on the clock, the original tyres are quite lightly worn and the car drives just like it should.

With 147kW and 320Nm, acceleration is smooth and strong, and the soundtrack typically brawny and blurty in Sport as the DSG punches through the gears. It’s instantly fun; this car is set up to efficiently dispense its power and pace while flattering half-decent drivers with sublime balance. Go for broke, and torque vectoring across the front axle adds to outstanding grip and stability. Overall, it feels eager and alert in a manner that belies a 1355kg kerb weight and the ride is firm but fluent on sporty suspension settings.

Pleasingly, the looks do not overstate the performance or intent. The Polo GTI sits sensibly low with a chiselled but restrained body kit and tastefully-designed 17-inch alloys. The trailing edge of the roof-mounted spoiler is gloss-black. Traditional GTI cues (red striping, special grille, twin tailpipes) have just the right degree of prominence while highly-prized GTI badges mark the nose, front wings and, of course, the tailgate. Well, that was our expectation, at least! After collecting the car from the showroom on a wet afternoon, we signed off the paperwork, gave the salesperson the superlative rating they were obviously pushing for, and left the polished floor tiles for busy Auckland traffic.

The first thing we noticed was a pronounced judder from the windscreen wipers and a particular reluctance to clear the screen in the driver’s eyeline. No matter, we thought, a fresh pair of wiper blades (quoted price $125) should quickly resolve the problem.

A bigger mystery surfaced when we parked the Polo in the Garage. Somewhere along the line our GTI had lost a key part of its identity! We reviewed our showroom photos and the coveted GTI badge was nowhere to be seen on the tailgate. Had the badge gone missing during the (very thorough) grooming process?

We put this to our salesperson who responded promptly with a photo of the car, sans GTI badge, as it had been advertised online. We had hurriedly signed paperwork in the showroom agreeing that the car was complete with all its original features. Being car-minded people, you would think two pairs of eyes would have been more observant! But we had been distracted by numerous other things during the collection process, not least parting with a large sum of money...

Bottom line: restoring that iconic GTI badge will be our responsibility. Like the faulty wiper blades, it is a little thing in the scheme of things, but little things can so easily sour the overall buying experience and test a fledgling relationship. The service book also appears to have gone astray although a digital record confirms the little GTI has received regular scheduled attention. Thankfully these hiccups have not dampened the excellent driving experience to date and we’re now gearing up for a decent road trip before booking the car in for its annual oil change.

Do you own a similar car? info@kiwigarage.co.nz