Driven: New VW Polo Vivo GT
By khulekani / on Jul 20th, 2018 / in Car Reviews, featuredBy Amanda Mfuphi
South Africans have been told that we have a good story to tell. More often than not, these words ring hollow but when I think of the new Volkswagen Polo Vivo, I cannot help but think of these words having some merit in the instance of the only locally built model in the competitive A0 segment (entry-level hatch segment), the Volkswagen Polo Vivo. In fact, a world renowned urban poet (who is gracing our shores this year (Jay-Z)) once said, “numbers don’t lie, check the scoreboard. The numbers are certainly on the Polo Vivo’s side with 193,343 units sold since its market introduction in 2010 thus making it the best-selling passenger model in South Africa for the past seven years. Volkswagen launched the new Polo Vivo earlier this year and we got to sample their top-end model being, the 1.0 TSI 81 kW GT, recently.
Exterior
Just as with the previous generation Polo Vivo, the new Polo Vivo is based on the fifth-generation Polo. It appears Volkswagen loves this trend to not completely phase out its Polo models and rather transfer them to its Vivo range. The new Polo Vivo is 3,972mm long, 1,682mm wide and 1,462mm tall. The GT model front-end design has a much more three-dimensional and sporty look due to its redesigned bumper and larger lower air intake, and it has a silver GT badge which stands out on the grille. Our Polo GT came in a striking red colour with black side trimmings written GT. In the rear area, the bumper has sport lights and the vehicle has a stark black spoiler which contrasts with the red body colour of the GT. The rear area of the vehicle also dawns the GT badge. The rear lights of the new Polo Vivo have been redesigned and are not identical to the fifth-generation of the Polo. Our GT came with 17-inch ‘Mirabeau’ alloy wheel, which gave the vehicle a masculine look.
Interior
The interior of the new Polo GT reminds us that this is no regular Polo Vivo and Volkswagen has enhanced its features. For a car in its segment, the new Polo Vivo has impressive interior features. The Polo Vivo GT has front sports seats and a sports shaped steering wheel for better handling. Other features included front electric windows and a nifty infotainment system which comes with a touchscreen and a USB port. The Polo Vivo GT’s sound system is quite impressive with its six speakers as well as the colour touchscreen infotainment screen with App-Connect. The Polo Vivo GT also has cruise control for those long trips to ensure a pleasant drive. In terms of space, the Polo Vivo has a generous and practical boot space of 280 litres and the rear seats can be easily folded if more space is required. The cabin is decently spacious and two adults can comfortably sit at the back seat of the vehicle. Vokswagen also paid sufficient detail to safety in the new Polo Vivo GT comes standard with ABS, alarm and remote central locking across all the models.
The drive
Our Polo Vivo GT was a 6 speed manual transmission which was powered the TSI engine which delivers 81kW of power. The one thing I enjoyed about the Polo Vivo GT was its engine capability, the vehicle is punchy and on quick on take-off. Although the GT engine is quite powerful, the drive is not as refined as the new Polo TSI as the engine is a bit noisy which does not translate well inside the cabin. That said, the ride quality is impressive and the car is quite comfortable for a city drive and a trip out of town.
Price
1.4 55kW Trendline R179,900
1.4 63kW Comfortline R192,000
1.6 77kW Comfortline Tiptronic R221,900
1.6 77kW Highline R214 900
1.0 TSI 81kW GT R245,000