Auto Expo 2016 : Volkswagen Polo GTI Unveil

[CorsaVeloce]

On the second day of the Auto Expo 2016, Volkswagen unveiled their hot hatch for India, the Polo GTI. This car is what most enthusiast in the country are looking forward to, and would be priced upwards of 15 lakhs.

It would be offered in only the 3-door variant. VW has not yet decided on the features it'll pack, but the 7-speed DSG along with the dynamic damper control should make it. As this car is a different chassis than the regular Polo, it will take the CBU route initially, which may further push up the price.

The interesting part to look out for is whether or not there will be buyers for a hatch at the steep price! Also, as VW is expanding their portfolio this year, it expects the GTI to be a game changer. The only competition this car has is from the Punto Abarth, which is considerably cheaper but lacks the finesse and quality that Volkswagen offers.

This car, has the latest GTI interior - the sports steering with paddles, new GTi cluster, Panoramic Sunroof and the fancier gear knob for the DSG.

The GTI also gets the latest edition of the VW infotainment system, along with Auto Start/Stop, Traction control, Temperature controlled seats and a dedicated "Sport" mode.

On the outside, its hard to tell the difference from the front, except for the red-line GTI grille.

The rear is more aggressive with the rear diffuser, which looks really nice!

Side view of the car truly reveals the aggressive, sporty nature of the car and the 2 doors really look awesome!!

[Jijo_Malayil]

Take a look at this review done by Autocar India recently

[NikilSJ]

Here's couple of more pictures of the Polo GTI previewed at the Auto Expo.

The Polo GTI gets sportier bumpers than the standard ones. However, the Indian version misses out on the LED DRLs.

The red line extending into the headlight from the grille adds a bit of flair to the front end.

The Polo GTI comes with 17-inch wheels which look sporty. Note brake calipers painted in red.

The Polo GTI's 215/40 section tyres should handle all that power pretty well.

The wing mirrors get integrated turn indicators. The two door Polo looks insane in profile.

The rear half of the car looks gorgeous thanks to the three door configuration. It gives the Polo GTI a more sporty look.

The tail lamps are slightly redesigned version of the ones you'd normally find on a stock Polo. The twin pipe exhaust looks pretty darn good. Hope it makes a racket too!

The doors are longer for easier access to the rear seats.

The Polo GTI gets manual adjustment for the driver's seats. Quite disappointing if you ask me, especially when you are shelling out quite a lot of dough for the car

Controls for the sunroof.

The Polo GTI gets a tiny little black spoiler as well.

The clocks are quite similar to the standard Polo.

The flat-bottom steering wheel gets GTI badging as well as red double stitching.

Cruise control available as standard on the Polo GTI.

ahead of the gear lever are three ports for aux-in, USB and a 12V charger

Dead pedal quite narrow for my liking.

7-speed DSG on the Polo GTI.

[Arjun]

I think the pricing its too steep. I hope, once it moves out of the CBU route, and starts being assembled or built in India, the prices would come down, and in the south of 15 lakhs, which would make it have a better appeal.Being a 3 door, it is going to be only focussed for the enthusiasts and removes the family car buyer who wanted to have a powerful sleeper car from the picture.

[Roshun]

I think the pricing its too steep. I hope, once it moves out of the CBU route, and starts being assembled or built in India, the prices would come down, and in the south of 15 lakhs, which would make it have a better appeal.Being a 3 door, it is going to be only focussed for the enthusiasts and removes the family car buyer who wanted to have a powerful sleeper car from the picture.

Exactly. I mean, the power is nice to have, but at twice the price of a GT TSI - I don't think it's worth the money. For that kind of money, an enthusiast can buy a GT TSI and then go shopping for performance parts in the Volkswagen store. For another 3-4 lakh, you could easily tune a GT TSI to put out 140 bhp / 250 Nm torque from the standard 105 bhp / 175 Nm.