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-   -   Volkswagen Polo 1.2L GT TSI : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/135550-volkswagen-polo-1-2l-gt-tsi-official-review-3.html)

Good review. I guess you have run into the best of the TSI + DSG combo - seamless performance - rapid gearshifts, great midrange etc. I don't think VW intended this to be a volume model - they sort of replaced 1.6 with this even in the price by adding DSG. Perhaps there would be a manual coming soon. I'm pretty sure that the DSG will be faster than the manual, no matter who drives and will also give better fuel economy. This is true about almost all of the high performance VW hatchback - The Golf GTI, the Golf R are faster and more efficient with the DSG.

Much awaited review Avi! And I totally echo what Viddy mentioned about 1.4L K series Swift and the Figo upgrade. (But not 1.6/1.5L but the 1L Ecoboost :D).


Question for you :
At TD time did VW have any statement to make regarding the gearbox reliability? This question must have been surely raised.

How different is the drive compared to 1.6? Autocar test timing isn't much different between the two.

I agree, manual must also be launched for this engine. However, this engine is a gem and beats anything upto 1.6l hands down, being the world engine of the year winner.

Haven't driven the TSI yet (will leave it to mobike to answer) but my guess is they are as different as chalk and cheese. the 1.6L VW petrol engine produces 153 Nm of torque@ 3750 rpm. Same number of horses to boot. The beast of a TSI produces 174 as early as 1500 RPM :eek:. The lack of low end grunt is painfully obvious on the 1.6 and it always amuses me when people refer to the now-extinct 1.6 Polo as an enthusiast car- NOT with that engine!

This is a good trend where manufacturers are bringing performance hatchbacks. Probably to differentiate themselves in the hatch space were it is pretty crowded. So we have 2 new performance products in few months time- liva trd and now polo1.2 GT. With petrol-diesel gap set to reduce, no wonder action is in petrol and not diesel as earlier.
TSI+DSG is too good. Hope this is priced right

Unfortunately though I think this will flop. If you are an enthusiast and want a glorious handler, you are better off buying the fiesta 1.6 sxi which is a steal (should easily be cheaper than this by a Rs. 1-1.5 lakh - income tax department has infact filed a case against ford for selling fiesta petrols below cost !!).

Stretch the budget a little more and I suspect the new t-jet would be only a lakh more or so above this which has probably 80% of the technology but will have an overload of features, great handling and of course boot and better looks (rain sensing wipers, auto head lamps, bluetooth etc.) . Or for the same price you can get a 2 year old skoda laura tsi with <10,0000 kms on the clock and mod it heavily. With a DSG this falls in no man's land - very few people in India discern a DSG's benefits and unfortunately the risk of a conk-out still far outweighs the benefits, at least, as of now.

If you are an average joe who wants to have fun around the bends, you might as well buy the swift petrol zxi at < Rs. 7 lakh OTR. You can run amok without worrying abour gear box or reliability. Why pay Rs. 9 lakh OTR for a TSI hatch when you can get a t-jet for Rs. 10.5 lakh - bigger engine, more space, more features, better handling, boot ?

This is perfect for someone who needs a quick automatic hatch as a daily driver. It is powerful enough, can be remapped to 140bhp and it has the brilliant DSG. Sure some extra care needs to be taken with the DSG (like putting it into N at even short stops) to stop it from getting hot and possibly leading to failure. But on the whole for someone who doesn't need a boot this is a great car. Also brilliant to see ESP offered in this segment.

People are comparing this to cars like the T-Jet and the Fiesta, but this car is in a niche of its own. For example me, I've got 3 sedans and a mini suv at home. I use the Accord as a daily drive, besides being heavy on fuel it is also pretty big. Something like this would be perfect for me (after a few mods of course). What worries me more than the DSG is VWs after sales service, in fact it worries me a lot more than the DSG.

Now this car with a remap, intake and exhaust, upsized rims and tyres, a nice set of coilovers and of course paddle shifts will be perfect.

Wow! Great review! Thanks!

What a car! Being a Laura TSI owner, i can imagine the brilliance of this engine.

Looks could have been more aggressive with better wheels, flat bottom steering wheel, exclusive bright/sporty colors only available for Polo GT TSI to give owner a more premium product ownership.

Its sad that no manual tranny is available for now. VW is definitely targeting it at a niche segment of consumers and not going for volume. DSG will surely bump up the price. Great product from VW stable nevertheless.

OT- It is time TBbhp also includes short video reviews (like acceleration, engine and muffler sounds etc) as part of official test drives to take it to the next level.

Great Review. What i wanted to know is whether ESP is available on the other Polo's as well or only for the GT? Additionally i read somewhere that the spare wheel that comes along with the GT is also Alloy. Could you confirm this?

Info: A birdie tells me that Polo GT 1.2 TSi will be priced at 6.5 lac Ex-Showroom Thane. 20 days waiting with colors white and black.:D

Price seems to be reasonable enough for car of this order.

Price appears too good to be true. :Shockked:

If it happens so, can see many t-bhpians queuing up in front of the showrooms.

Finally; a true successor to the old Fiat Palio GTX. Well done VW.

Fiat India; don't keep your customers waiting for the Abarth. Start offering a T Jet edition of the Grande Punto.

The VW GT has nailed it spot on. There has never been a hot hatch that bettered the old Palio for the last 13 years. This time, we have something genuinely good. Excellent equipment levels, Quality, Safety net, Performance, and Technically brilliant. What more can you ask for from a car.

Once again, the GT will be a niche car. A car you always look for and when you do see one, you respect the owner for the car he/she has chosen.

An added bonus would have been the SR body kit or something to distinguish the GT. Those badges don't do enough.

There does not appear to be any inter cooler piping but I do see plumbing for the liquid cooled turbo charger. Its about time every car had this to save the turbo.

I believe the DSG will be quicker than a stick shift. It just needs to be reliable.

A superb new launch by VW. I hope this car finds takers. The joy of driving a turbo petrol is unmatched.

It comes with a HPS unit and not an EPS which would have been way too lighter like the ones that you see in Honda City. They have used a nice fancy terminology to give that marketing flair

Steering feel is quite decent. Though I personally would have preferred a slightly more weighty overall feel

If only wishes were horses. Please add the 1.6D in the Polo as well :)

Everyone is hoping the same on the DSG gearbox that the issues that cropped up in Superb wont be repeated in the Polo. Lets keep our fingers crossed as only time will tell us

Downshift purely depends on the rpm range to ensure that car doesnt stall. If your taking a corner at really slow speed then gear will downshift but, if your throwing the car in the corner at a higher speed then downshifts wont happen.


Pricing is everyone's guess as VW is tight-lipped about this even till today. Iam sure the concrete information on pricing should be out in a day or two.

Hold on to your horses:D. The worst mid showed was 7.2kmpl and best was 9.8kmpl. But, then i was clipping it to a large extent

Iam not sure why everyone is rueing over the non-availbility instead of getting excited about the DSG box which is a surprise offering in this segment.

Trust me, Iam a complete manual lover and tiptronic mode in DSG box is a fun mode and you will not really miss the MT too much.


I agree on rear discs missing part, they could have easily accomodated that to make the car fully loaded and ensure greater safety.

There was no mention of specific fuel grades to be used for the engine which is logical considering its not a possibility if VW is planning to sell this car in decent volumes

I too noticed everything looked familiar to the Vento/Polo except for a few subtle changes which you outlined. For a new buyer, everything will look exciting and sporty

Bang on Viddy. Infact, after the drive I had already made my mind that if i want to buy a petrol hatch, this would be one as i was so enamoured by this fun to drive car. Only thing that may pull away prospective buyers like me is price tag and also the reliability of DSG box

I can predict people will be snapping away this car in "pre-worshipped" market a few years down the line

They kept it simple. One Variant. One Gearbox option. Premium Price. It's almost like inviting a select few customers who are serious about their driving.

Not just me. Everyone had the same question but, our question was ambigiously responded which doesnt really give a clear picture

Therefore, its best to wait for actual owners feedback and for time to tell us they really fixed the issues that were with this gearbox in the past.

Comparing a 1.6L with a 1.2L is like comparing oranges to apple. But, with this 1.2L TSI motor fortunately it wont be the case. You can compare this 1.2L with a 1.6L because the overall feel of the engine is equivalent to the bigger engine.

TSI + DSG gearbox is simply a fun quotient combination

Good Suggestion. We try our best to cover as much as possible in the short time the car is available with us.

If this is true, the OTR will be 7.25L Mumbai and this is simply too mouthwatering. I think it will be unlikely they will launch at this price.

Somehow was expecting a 200+ kmph top speed from this. Am curious as to whether it will actually manage to duck below the 10sec mark for the 0-100 times. The inability of the DSG to hold revs in a corner is a definite turn-off for a performance variant. Lets also see what the pricing comes up as.

Very nice review mobike!
I think this is a good move by Volkswagen, but I would love to have seen them replace the 3 pot 1.2 with this and put the 1.4 in the GT as someone mentioned above. Also, would love to see this engine in the Rapid and the Vento, which would also reduce costs thanks to larger numbers.