I guess you could call the Polo Blue GT a warm hatch given its performance credentials. The 1.4-litre TSI engine is as smooth as you like and with 150hp it's neither boring nor overpowered. Add to this the 17-inch 'Montani' alloy wheels, 'Blue Silk' metallic paint and suspension that has been lowered by 15mm to improve aerodynamics and it's hard not to call it a handsome little car. In fact I've been conscious of the attention it has been getting on the roads from other drivers and it isn't just to do with the fact that it's on a 151 plate.
What has impressed me the most thus far though is the engine. Not from a performance perspective, rather from a fuel economy one. You see, this car is equipped with Volkswagen's Active Cylinder Technology (ACT), which in most cases when you're simply cruising along will shut down the two inner cylinders of the engine in order to save on fuel consumption.
Not that you'd notice though, as it does so virtually unnoticed. A small Eco symbol appears on the dash to indicate when this is happening, but were it not for that you'd barely notice and as soon as you touch the throttle pedal all four cylinders fire. It's seamless in how it works and I've been keeping the on-board computer displaying the real-time fuel consumption to keep an eye on it and the results so far have been surprisingly good. More details later.
Key tech specs:
- €23,720
- Six-speed manual gearbox
- Front-wheel drive
- 1.4 TSI (150hp)
- Emissions of 110g/km
Further reading: