The Golf GTI has been a huge hit for VW, so it's no surprise to find it's trying to repeat
the feat with the smaller Polo GTI.
Featuring scaled-down Golf looks, a classy interior and big car refinement, the new Polo
GTI promises to be a cut above mainstream rivals.
Prices start at £18,850 for the three-door car you can see here, and rise to £19,480
for the five-door version.
The Polo isn't the only hot hatch with upmarket aspirations, though.
The MINI Cooper S' top-notch build quality and cheeky retro design cues have made it
a huge sales hit.
It's also a riot to drive.
You can buy a three-door version for £18,655, while the five-door car will set you back
£19,440.
It's almost as if VW bosses have been carefully studying MINI's price lists.
As you'd expect from a VW carrying a GTI badge, the Polo isn't short of firepower.
Its turbocharged 1.8-litre engine kicks out 189bhp and a thumping 320Nm of torque.
The MINI has a larger 2.0-litre turbo.
It delivers the same 189bhp output, but has 40Nm less torque.
But which car is fastest?
Well, there's only one way to find out.
A good old fashioned drag race.
Here we are on the starting line.
Both cars have got around 190 horsepower and six-speed gearboxes and we've switched the
traction control off.
The Polo's got slightly more torque than the MINI, but the MINI weighs a little less.
In other words, this is going to be a close contest.
Let's see how we get on.
And we're off!
The MINI has a little bit of a lead off the line but I'm gaining on it!
I think I've got this one!
Into third...and...oooh by about a car length!
The Polo takes the win!
But that was closer than I was expecting.
So the Polo was quicker, but by how much?
According to our timing equipment, the VW needed just 6.8 seconds from 0-60.
The MINI was just three-tenths behind, posting a time of 7.1 seconds.
Of course, there's more to a great hot hatch than straight-line performance.
It has to be great fun in the corners, too.
MINI has always been a byword for driving fun, and this five-door car is no exception.
Of course it's bigger and slightly heavier than old cars, but it still retains that sense
of excitement when you're driving.
There's a directness to the steering, a meatiness to it that makes you feel connected to the
road, and the gearshift has a nice precise action.
As ever with MINI, you get that blaring exhaust note that pops and bangs on the overrun.
It just adds to the fun.
It's quick, too.
It really pulls from nothing, all the way through to the red line.
You can specify optional adaptive dampers which just take the edge off the firm ride
and, when you're not driving like a hooligan, refinement is pretty good, actually.
The brakes have brilliant progression and feel, even in these damp and greasy conditions,
there's a surprising amount of grip and you can carry big speed through the corners in
the MINI.
It's got that typical go-kart feel.
Now, unlike the Polo, the MINI, in its efforts to make driving fun at the core of the experience,
you can turn the ESP off and that means, with a bit of provocation, it's very playful and
yet it never feels snappy like the old MINI which had a much shorter wheelbase, so you
can exploit the car's balance using the throttle and the steering.
It really is quite good fun.
So it's a thumbs up for the MINI.
Let's see if the Polo can match it.
Right, on the move in the Polo.
Well, if you've driven a Golf GTI, there's a lot that will feel familiar.
The steering wheel, the tartan seats, it's a very upmarket hot hatch, but you just can't
help feeling, after a few corners, that Volkswagen have turned the wick down on the Polo in an
effort to separate it from the Golf GTI.
It's just the steering feels a bit lighter and less precise, the gearshift has got this
kind of slightly light and loose feel, unlike the MINI that's got that precise, mechanical
shift.
The VW also suffers from a lack of traction, particularly on the exit of corners.
It's got Volkswagen's XDS diff, which tries to brake individual wheels to mimic a limited
slip differential, but it just doesn't have the mechanical grip of the MINI so, turn it
in and get on the throttle hard and you just feel the power bleeding away on the inside
wheel as it spins up.
Another area where the Polo differs over the MINI is that the traction control has a sport
setting, rather than a fully 'off' function, so you'll get a little bit of slip as you
throw it into a corner, but you just feel the ESP gather it up for you.
It's very unobtrusive and effective, but it just takes away a layer of driver involvement
that the MINI has.
VW has gone to town on the Polo's interior, giving it a real GTI makeover.
In fact, apart from the lack of a pimpled Golf gear lever, you can easily mistake it
for the larger Golf.
There's the same use of upmarket materials and excellent fit and finish.
It lacks a little design flair, but the grown up look gives it a real feelgood factor.
The MINI's interior is every bit as upmarket as the Polo, but its numerous retro design
touches makes it feel a little more special.
Like the VW, you don't get as much standard kit as you'd expect, and it's easy to get
carried away with the options list.
Our car cost nearly £25,000.
You can almost get a Golf GTI for that.
Of course, a big part of the appeal of a hot hatch is that, not only is it fast and fun
to drive, it offers a decent amount of everyday practicality.
Now, in that respect, the two cars here are closely matched.
As you can see, the Polo we've got is a three-door, but in terms of rear seat space, it's exactly
the same as the five-door car.
That means there's a decent amount of legroom and a decent amount of headroom.
And it's the same with the MINI - pretty much evenly matched.
I will say, though, that with the MINI, the rear doors are really quite small, so getting
in and out is a bit of a faff.
When it comes to boot space, you'd expect them to be closely matched, and if you buy
a standard Polo, you'd be right because it gets 280 litres of space.
However, in its efforts to squeeze a 1.8-litre engine under the Polo's bonnet, Volkswagen
has had to move the battery to the boot, and that reduces capacity to 204 litres.
So, that makes the MINI the winner in this contest.
Despite its compact dimensions and narrow boot opening, its capacity of 278 litres is
far greater than the Polo's.
Hot hatches also need to be cost-effective to run.
In our hands, the Polo returned 37.4mpg and the MINI managed 39.3mpg.
Not bad when you consider the performance on offer.
Both cars also emit less than 140g/km of CO2, so taxing them won't cost the earth either.
These two hatches really are very closely matched.
In terms of price, practicality, performance and upmarket appeal, there's nothing to separate
them.
So how do we decide on a winner?
Well, the new Polo GTI - it's a really nice thing.
It's refined, it's grown up, but you just get the feeling that Volkswagen has turned
the wick down a bit so it doesn't tread on the toes of its Golf GTI big brother.
It's just a little bit too predictable, a little bit too safe.
The MINI on the other hand, well, it's a riot from the moment you turn the key in the ignition.
It's loud, it's fast and it's just a thrill to drive.
At the end of the day, that's what separates the great from the good when it comes to hot
hatches.
So, by the narrowest of margins, the MINI takes the victory.
If you want to find out how the Golf R compares to the SEAT Leon Cupra, click the video on
the left.
If you want to find out how the Golf GTI compares against the Renault Megane RS, click the video
on the right.
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