CIRCULATING IN WANGARATTA, BENALLA, MYRTLEFORD, BRIGHT, MT BEAUTY, BEECHWORTH, YACKANDANDAH, RUTHERGLEN, CHILTERN AND DISTRICTS
NORTH EAST
May 1, 2015
available online - wangarattachronicle.com.au
PRINTED FORTNIGHTLY — VOLUME 472
Road test BMW X6 50i Storypage3
NEW FORD FOCUS: IT HAS SIMILAR LINES TO THE OUTGOING MODEL, BUT HAS A MORE MATURE STANCE.
Polo GTI is a genuine hot-hatch T
he good sports of Volkswagen – the Golf and Polo – once again have made up a potential winning team with the new Polo GTI hanging on the tail of the Golf GTI, winner of the 2015 North American car of the year award. Now Golf’s smaller brother, the Polo GTI is primed to show what it can do with its recent launch Down Under. Volkswagen Group Australia (VGA) took the compact hot-hatch to the top of the mountain – the Blue Mountains, to be precise – to let the media try it out. The latest Polo GTI is powered by a new 1.8-litre TSI four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, a smaller brother of the 2.0-litre version in the Golf GTI, mated with either a six-speed manual gearbox or seven-speed
By DEREK OGDEN DSG automatic transmission. The GTI Polo’s powerplant puts out peak power of 141 kW, 9kW up on its predecessor, between 4300 and 6200 rpm (manual) and from 5400 to 6200 revs with the DSG double clutch auto. Torque likewise shows variations: the DSG delivers maximum torque of 250 Nm between 1250 and 5300 rpm, the manual gearbox ups that to 320Nm between 1450 and 4200rpm with no change in performance at 6.7 seconds for the sprint to 100 km/h. Both comply with Euro 5 exhaust emission standards, with official fuel consumption at 5.7 litres/100km and 132g/km carbon dioxide emissions with the DSG, and 6.1 litres, 142g/
km, with the manual variant. The 70 fewer Newton metres on tap with the DSG amounted to little shortfall in performance with the DSG able to scuttle past slower traffic in mountain climbs on the launch drive. One incline did give cause for concern when, stopped at traffic lights, the Polo rolled backward on releasing the foot brake before the DSG engaged. As befitting its sporting character, the latest Polo GTI rides on a chassis that is 10 mm lower at the front and 15 mm lower at the rear compared with the run-of-the-mill Polo models, allowing engineers to reduce body roll to a minimum, and improve the hot little hatches’ agility. Styling differences include a freshly designed front bumper, featuring foglights with static
cornering function mounted in the lower area. In true Volkswagen GTI form a red grille line extends into the headlight housing. The car rolls on 17-inch Parabolica alloy wheels highlighted by the red calipers on the fade-resistant brakes. This Polo GTI has ‘GTI’ badging and exclusive side sills, while the rear of the vehicle maintains a functional, yet sporting appearance, with a spoiler and diffuser. ‘GTI’ stamps its mark on the cabin interior with the exclusive tartan upholstery of the seating, a standard feature since the first Golf GTI nearly forty years ago. Sports seats in front are snug and super supportive - maybe a little too much wider than average people.
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