Volkswagen Polo GT TSI long term review first report

A high-tech new TSI engine and seven-speed automatic make the Polo GT both practical and loads of fun.

Published on Aug 29, 2013 05:34:00 PM

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Volkswagen Polo GT TSI long term review first report

If you really crave a hit of strong acceleration, which no doubt the GT has the ability to deliver, there’s a much better way, one that I find myself now employing on regular basis. All you need to do is knock the gear lever to the left and go down a gear or two ‘manually’. The tachometer flicks up past 3000rpm almost instantly, straight into a fat wad of power and torque, and you instantly get a joyous, strong burst of acceleration even if you don’t use full throttle. This carries on all the way to 6000rpm and feels absolutely great. Now the GT simply rockets past traffic with a snarl, making this one of the fastest intra-city cars there is. Once the overtaking is done, I tend to knock the gear lever back into D; that is until the next overtaking opportunity arrives. I must say, the grin factor is massive.

What’s also amazing is the tactile feel it delivers. The gearlever is as well built as on any Rs 20 lakh luxury car and the mechanical sophistication of the perfectly sprung lever is so good, it feels really special. Also, since pushing the gear lever to manual and pulling it back to a lower gear is similar to downshifting into second on a manual gearbox, you feel quite involved as well. Suddenly I like this car much more. And what makes it so desirable to use on a daily basis is this car’s unique ability to inject a dose of excitement into your commute.