Volkswagen Polo GTI: Then and Now

Volkswagen’s reveal of the facelift Polo GTI this week brought to an end a comparatively short teaser campaign of what is likely to be one of the most eagerly awaited hot hatches of next year.

Confirmed from the first quarter of 2022, the GTI will once again be built at Volkswagen’s Uitenhage Plant with power from the 2.0 TSI engine upped from 147 kW to 152 Nm while torque remains unchanged at 320 Nm.

Hooked once again to a seven-speed DSG, the junior GTI’s performance figures have also improved with the top speed now being 240 km/h instead of 237 km/h, and 0-100 km/h taking 6.5 seconds instead of 6.7 seconds.

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Unlike the Golf GTI though, the Polo GTI never sported the cult “Grand Touring Injection” moniker from the beginning as the idea of a performance model only became a reality less than two decades ago.

Nonetheless, it has become an icon in its own right and with 2020 having been the Polo’s 45^th anniversary, The Citizen steps back in time to where the junior GTI began.

The first “GTI”

As mentioned, the idea of a go-faster Polo never rated as a topic of interest for the first generation made between 1975 and 1981. In fact, it was only in 1985, four years after the arrival of the second generation, that a performance variant became a reality in the shape of the G40 based on the three-door Polo Coupe..

Limited to 500 examples in left-hand-drive markets only, the G40 employed a supercharged 1.3-litre engine that produced 85 kW transferred to the front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox. Accordingly, top speed was pegged at 195 km/h with 0-100 km/h taking eight seconds.

Before the Polo GTI, there was the Polo G40 that utilised a supercharged 1.3-litre engine. Image: favcars.com

The addition of a catalytic converter five years later though saw output drop to 83 kW, though a two Nm increase in torque bumped the amount of twist of 150 Nm, allegedly the most the transmission could handle without being modified.

Production ended in 1994 but with the arrival of the third generation towards the end of that year, Wolfsburg, having previously used the GTI nomenclature on the Scirocco, opted for the same approach with its smallest model.

Polo Mk III

Debuting in 1998 based on the third generation Polo hatch, a bodystyle South Africa never received as the Seat Ibiza-derived Polo Playa fulfilled that role along with the Polo Classic, the first GTI upped the displacement to 1.6-litres but dropped the supercharger for an initial output of 88 kW.

GTI nameplate officially became a Polo fixture on the third generation model. Image: favcars.com

A facelift the following year though brought an uptake in power to 92 kW with a five-speed manual again being the sole transmission option. Like the G40, the GTI only came with three-doors and aside from the output, it also became the first Polo to exceed to 200 km/h with a top speed of 205 km/h.

Polo Mk IV

The arrival of the fourth generation in 2001 finally culminated in South Africa joining Europe in receiving the global model that became the first to be assembled on local shores from 2002.

It wasn’t until 2006 though, a year after the model’s mid-life facelift, that a GTI would became part of the line-up. For the first time since the G40, forced assistance returned but in the shape of a turbocharger.

The unveiling of the facelift Mk IV Polo resulted in the GTI becoming available in South Africa for the first time. Image: favcars.com

Effectively the same engine that powered the much maligned Golf IV GTI, the 1.8-litre 20-valve unit produced 110kW/220Nm and resulted in the GTI being propelled from 0-100 km/h in 8.2 seconds and on to a top speed of 215 km/h.

The most powerful Polo at the time, as well as the first turbocharged model, it sported the same grille as the Golf V GTI and officially became the first generation Polo GTI to be sold in South Africa with a price tag of R188 700 upon its market debut in 2006.

Polo Mk V

Bowing in 2010, twelve months after the standard model, the Mk V Polo GTI continued on the same trajectory as a mini-Golf GTI not only on the styling front, but also in terms of dynamics with this generation being the first to offer the innovative XDS electronic front differential.

The Mk V Polo GTI heralded more tech but also a downsized engine using both turbo-and-supercharging.

Sitting 15 mm closer to the ground than the normal Polo, the Mk V also embraced Volkswagen’s downsizing trend by forgoing the aged 1.8-litre engine for the turbo-and-supercharged 1.4 TSI that produced 132kW/250Nm.

For the first time, a manual gearbox was not offered with the sole option being the then-new seven-speed DSG. Despite the 400 cc displacement drop, the Mk V was faster than its predecessor with a top speed of 229 km/h and 0-100 km/h in 6.9 seconds.

Facelift in 2014 marked the return of the manual gearbox as well as a new upsized turbocharged only 1.8-litre engine. Image: Volkswagen

A mid-life facelift four years later brought an unexpected change with the manual gearbox returning, now hooked to a brand-new 1.8 TSI that formed part of Wolfsburg’s EA888 range of engines.

The standard ‘box with the carryover DSG optional, output increased to 141kW/320Nm with  the claimed top speed being 236 km/h and 0-100 km/h taking six seconds or 5.6 seconds in the case of the DSG.

Mk VI

With the current Polo’s debut four years ago, the arrival of the GTI that same year brought not only more power, but also more safety tech.

The first to offer a drive mode selector with three settings; Eco, Normal and Sport, it also featured Autonomous Emergency Braking, a digital instrument cluster, standard XDS differential and Blind Spot Monitoring to name a few.

The current Mk VI first debuted in 2017 and before its facelift, produced 147 kW, the most powerful Polo ever made. Image: Volkswagen

Biggest taking point though resided up front. Likely to be the largest engine Polo ever made, Volkswagen shoehorned the Mk VI GTI’s 2.0 TSI engine underneath the bonnet with the same 147 kW output as the Golf V GTI, but with 320 Nm of torque. The standard transmission, until being discontinued earlier this year, was again a six-speed manual with a six-speed DSG being the other.

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With the facelift, the now 152 kW Mk VI is officially the most powerful Polo GTI ever made and with its popularity in South Africa  vested in the same way as the Golf GTI, expectations ahead of its debut next year couldn’t have been higher.