My Polo weekend

Volkswagen Polo GTI 1.8 Turbo

The Volkswagen Polo GTI may not be as powerful as the Golf GTI and but there is no doubt that this is one fantastic car to drive.

For a start the engine is a gem, the turbocharged engine, like many other from the VAG group delivers power in a friendly manner, there is a surge as the revs go past 2,500 rpm but it is not violent and unmanageable, even in corners and this makes it a car that you can push hard on twisty roads without fear that it would bite your head off.

I took the car up the Ulu Yam road and towards Gohtong Jaya and it handled beautifully although there are times when I wished that it had a limited slip-differential to give added bite when powering out of corners. Since it is a turbocharged car, I like to keep the engine on the boil on fun twisty roads so in this case I am usually running one gear lower in some of the tighter turns.

It means braking early and settign up the car correctly for the turn feathering the throttle mid corner before letting rip once it opens up. This is when the LSD would come in handy to exorcise some of the slip on the inside front tyre as it struggles for grip.

While 150 horsepower and 220 Newton metres of torque is not prodigious by any account, it is enough to take the chassis to the limit. I suppose some of you may suggest slightly firmer damping to sort out any handling issues. Truth is the suspension set up is perfect, there are no real complaints so the only problem left unattended is slight scrabbling under power in turns.

The leather-wrapped steering wheel and boy-racer red stitching communicates well with the driver, telling you exactly when it is going to lose grip so you can lift off a bit when things get out of shape. Although it is a turbocharged engine, you can actually adjust the car’s front wheel grip with the throttle. Admittedly the set up is quite safe with a definite tendency to understeer but it is near enough to neutral to make it a blast on fast weekend drives.

I understand why the set-up is quite safe, the car is intended for first-time performance car drivers and you don’t really want them to start get it out of shape mid corners, especially if they panic and lift off the throttle completely and loosen the tail.

The five -speed gearbox is also a decent shifter with short throws and positive action but it is not a featherweight gearbox that you can change with your fingers. You need strong and well-rehearsed wrist action to slot it safely across the gate and into the next cog. It is slightly rubbery across the gate.

Wolfsburg has chosen the ratio very well, the car will comfortably pick up speed in fourth and top gear from 2,000rpm onwards with sufficient gusto to make it a great highway cruiser.

While on the way up north, I was picked on by a 320i driver who impatiently flashed and ducked into the left lane despite the fact that the road ahead was quite packed with traffic.

Once the path cleared, I simply stepped on the throttle and let the car accelerate away. The 3-series kept up for a few seconds but when the turbocharger was in aria, the double kidney began to lose pace. I opened up about five car lengths before tucking into a generous patch of empty space on the left lane.

Volkswagen quote a top speed of 216 clicks per hour and there is no reason to doubt that, in fact the car can easily slip to 200km.h without drama and hold that speed all day long.

On the highway, the chassis is close to perfect, never floating or wallowing even on the most challenging long undulations and when you drive over shorter waves, it never bumps or crashes.

For the RM138,000 list price this is a very good car but I hear you can convince them to part with the car for less, which makes it fantastic value for money.

While the Polo GTI may not be the biggest car you can get for your money, you do get a beautifully put together cabin although some passengers had issue with the choice of plastic finishing grain, they say it looks cheap even though the quality of the material itself is top notch.

If you are single or have a small family, this may be the car for you because four people can travel in full comfort while daddy drives with a smile on his face.