Volkswagen Polo GTI review

The Volkswagen Polo GTI has always lacked the cachet of its bigger, thrustier Golf GTI sibling, so you might not have noticed that VW's small car has been available as a hot hatch for a couple of decades.

Perhaps in an attempt to fix that, Volkswagen has made this current Polo GTI the most overtly sporty yet. That means you get lots of bespoke decor, including a red strip across its nose, a subtle but athletic bodykit and eye-catching tartan seats.

If the car’s character can follow suit and offer Golf GTI performance, the Polo GTI could potentially corner the cheaper end of the hot hatch market. Indeed, with the Abarth 695, Ford Fiesta ST and Hyundai i20 N all off sale, unless you want to go electric with the Abarth 500e it only really competes with the Cupra Leon and Mini Cooper JCW.

Does the VW Polo GTI have what it takes to take on the best hot hatches? Let's find out...

What’s new?
July 2023: limited-run Polo GTI Edition 25 goes on sale, although only 350 examples come to the UK. It features gloss-black alloy wheels and a black roof
June 2021: new Polo GTI breaks cover, and is packing 204bhp from its 2.0-litre TSI engine, plus a seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox, digital instruments and beam-shifting LED Matrix headlights
 

As you turn the ignition key, the VW Polo GTI’s 2.0-litre turbocharged engine bursts into life before settling into an idle that sounds fairly subdued compared with rivals with fruitier motors. Even so, it bites harder than it barks, delivering a total of 204bhp to the front wheels. 

You can only have the Polo GTI with a seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox, and while it can be slightly hesitant to pull away from a standstill, it changes gear quickly once you’re on the move, especially with the gearbox set to Sport mode. 

As a result, the Polo GTI can officially catapult itself from 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds. That’s quicker than any version of the Abarth 500e (7 seconds) and entry-level versions of the Cupra Leon but slightly slower than the Mini Cooper JCW (6.0 seconds) and the Leon’s sporty VZ1 version, which cuts the sprint time to 5.7 seconds. 

Like the JCW, the GTI features some artificial noise piped in through the stereo speakers, adding some extra drama to the experience. In fairness, it’s quite convincing and far better than the fake noise made by the Abarth 500e.

Of course, a key characteristic of the best hot hatches is that they’re fun to drive on twisty roads. To help the Polo GTI in this area, VW has fitted it with 15mm lower Sport suspension and adaptive chassis control (DCC), allowing you to push a button to firm up the adaptive dampers.

In Sport mode, the car retains a reasonably comfortable ride but becomes more composed through corners and hugs the road better, especially over dips and crests. It’s a fun thing to hustle down a country road, offering decent levels of grip and reassuring brakes that don’t cause the car to squirrel during hard braking.

An electronically-controlled limited-slip differential helps to maximise traction when exiting corners, but the GTI’s comparatively relaxed set-up means it’s never quite as enjoyable as more aggressive hot hatches – the Ford Focus ST for example. Ultimately, there’s more body lean through corners and it feels less playful at its limit. 

On top of that, while the Polo GTI’s lighter steering feels more effortless than the Focus ST’s, it's not as sharp or precise. That means you’ll still be able to place the GTI where you want it with relative accuracy but it never seems quite as nimble on its toes.

So rather than being designed for thrills alone it comes across as more of a compromise, with a bias towards everyday usability. In Normal or Eco mode, that becomes even more apparent, with the adaptive dampers, throttle response and gearbox all settling into their softest modes, and making the ride noticeably more comfortable and docile than in rivals.

In fact, on the standard 17in wheels, the GTI's ride is hardly any harsher than in a standard Polo, and there’s less road or wind noise at higher speeds compared with rivals.

When it comes to the non-GTI car, we quite like those characteristics, but we'd prefer the hot hatch version to lean towards thrills rather than comfort. The optional 18in wheels firm up the ride slightly and increase road noise.

"I like that the Polo GTI’s Individual mode lets you turn the engine and noise up to full, but leave the suspension, steering and gearbox in their least aggressive modes. That's great for everyday driving." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

The Polo GTI – just like the regular VW Polo – treats you to a brilliant driving position. In fact, the figure-hugging tartan sports seats make it even more comfortable than the non-GTI version.

There’s plenty of seat and steering-wheel adjustment so you won’t struggle to get comfortable, and the standard-fit adjustable lumbar support helps on long journeys.

You sit lower than you do in the standard Polo but your visibility is still excellent compared with in many hot hatches. Rear visibility is bolstered by standard-fit front and rear parking sensors, and a rear-view camera is available as a paid-for option.

Powerful matrix LED headlights come as standard and give you great visibility when driving at night. They allow you to keep the full beam on at all times without dazzling other road users.

The logical dashboard lay-out makes it easy to find all of the controls you’ll use often. It’s just a shame that all of the air-conditioning controls are touch-sensitive buttons and sliders. They can be fiddly to use, but still better than diving through menus on the touchscreen, as you do in the Cupra Leon and Mini Cooper JCW. 

The Polo GTI's dashboard is built mostly from pleasant soft plastics, with less-desirable scratchy plastic kept quite well hidden. You get a bright red slab of plastic across the middle of the dashboard – some will find that attractive while others might find it a bit garish.

All-in-all, the Polo GTI's general interior quality isn’t quite as appealing as the Cupra Leon’s but it's a step above what you’ll find in the more expensive Abarth 500e and Ford Focus ST.

You get an 8in infotainment touchscreen as standard, with DAB radio, Bluetooth, sat nav, and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring. The system has high-quality graphics and responds quickly enough to your prods so we wouldn’t bother paying to upgrade to the more expensive 9.2in Discover Pro system. 

Our only slight demerit would be that, despite having a few touch-sensitive shortcut buttons around the screen, the system is mainly operated using the touchscreen. The thing is, you’ll experience that in all of the rivals too.

"The physical buttons on the GTI’s steering wheel are a real breath of fresh air when compared with the rubbish touch-sensitive ones that you’ll find on other VWs." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

The VW Polo GTI puts on a good show when it comes to front space, giving even a pair of six-footers plenty of head and leg room. Indeed, it's easier to get comfortable in than the slightly smaller Abarth 500e but the Cupra Leon gives you even more space.

It’s a similar story for those sitting in the back, with the Polo GTI offering more knee and head room than the 500e. It also has a wider rear bench that can seat three people, as opposed to the two seats you’ll find in the back of the 500e. Again, though, the Leon offers even more space, while the larger Skoda Octavia vRS gives you loads more room.

Another tick in the Polo GTI's favour is boot space: its 305 litres trounces the 500e’s 185 litres and isn't too far short Cupra Leon’s 380 litres. We managed to fit four carry-on suitcases in the boot of a GTI, meaning you shouldn’t struggle to fit your weekly shopping back there.

Even so, the Octavia VRS will be the choice for those looking for performance and practicality because with 600 litres it has almost double the GTI’s boot space.

The GTI misses out on the adjustable boot floor you’ll find in the standard VW Polo but gets 60/40 split-folding rear seats as standard. Even so, with the seats folded down, you get a generous extended loading space with no awkward step up on the seatbacks.

"While the Polo GTI has three rear seats, I still found it a real squeeze when me and two friends sat in the back. If you do that a lot, the Skoda Octavia vRS is a much better choice." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

When you look at the cash prices of many hot hatches – including the Audi RS3, Ford Focus ST and Mercedes AMG A45 S – the VW Polo GTI looks like a real bargain. In fact, it’s the cheapest petrol-powered hot hatch on the market and is only undercut by the all-electric Abarth 500e. 

With official efficiency figures promising 43.5mpg, the Polo GTI just about matches the Mini Cooper JCW and is more efficient than its more aggressive rivals, including the Focus ST. Likewise, it’ll make a cheaper company car than many of those rivals, although the Abarth 500e and plug-in hybrid versions of the Cupra Leon will be cheaper for BIK tax.

Despite the Polo GTI's price tag, you still get plenty of standard equipment, including 17in alloy wheels, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, electronically folding and heated wing mirrors, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, two-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control and a 10.25in digital driver's display.

Safety experts at Euro NCAP awarded the Polo GTI the full five stars and a high score for protecting adult occupants in the front. Safety equipment includes automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assist, road-sign recognition and a driver alert system that can detect signs that you're getting tired.

When it comes to reliability, the regular Polo sat right near the top of the small car category in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey. Volkswagen as a brand placed in 18th place out of 31 manufacturers, above Fiat (25th) but one below Cupra. Mini finished top of the table.

VW’s three-year, 60,000-mile warranty should give you some peace of mind and you have the option of extending it if you don’t mind paying a little more.

"While the Polo GTI isn’t the most dynamic hot hatch, I like that it still exists to give people a value option that’s quite fun to drive." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

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