New Polo GTI to hatch a five-door
Golf GTI's baby brother to come in three- and five-door, seven-speed DSG onlyThe hugely popular Volkswagen Golf GTI -- which accounts for one-in-four Golf sales in Australia -- could soon be challenged from one of its own kind.
The all-new Polo GTI threatens to take sales away from its bigger, more expensive brother, with strong speculation that it will be available in two body styles -- three-door and five-door -- when it goes on sale locally at the end of the year.
Volkswagen claims the same 0 to 100km/h performance for the Polo GTi as for the current king of hot hatches, the Golf GTI (6.9 seconds). And it has grown in size so much that it has the same interior space as a Golf from 10 years ago.
Significantly, the Polo GTI also uses 20 per cent less fuel than the Golf GTI (just 5.9L/100km combined average) -- and will likely cost at least $10,000 less than its bigger brother.
The current three-door Polo GTI costs $26,990 but this price is likely to rise by $1000 or so to account for the seven-speed dual clutch, self-shifting transmission, the only gearbox available with the new model.
But even with a $2000 premium for two extra doors, this could still put the five-door Polo GTI just below $30,000, making it at least $10,000 less than the starting price of a Golf GTI.
Volkswagen Australia spokesman Karl Gehling told the Carsales Network: "We don't think there will be a lot of cross over [from Golf GTI to Polo GTI]. The Polo has grown, but so too has the Golf, so there is still a size difference between the two cars."
When asked about price, Gehling said: "It's too early to comment on pricing but, as with the current Polo, the pricing of the Polo GTI will be very competitive."
How they compare:
Polo GTI versus Golf GTI
Price: $27,990* (est) versus $38,990*
Power: 132kW versus 155kW
Torque: 250Nm versus 280Nm
Consumption: 5.9L/100km versus 7.3L/100km
0 to 100km/h: 6.9 seconds versus 6.9 seconds
*starting prices for three-door models
Follow the link to read our review of the new Polo GTI from the European launch.
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