The VW Polo GTI is a refined boy racer that doesn’t scream mid-life crisis

LITTLE hot hatches are the classic tearaway cars.

You’d see them burning tyres away from lights. Squealing out of roundabouts on three wheels. Revving engines down the high street.

4

4

That’s what kids have always done in their hot Corsas, souped-up Fiestas and cheeky Peugeot 208s.

Maybe you were one. Now, you still want a fizzy little car but your hooning days are behind you.

Try the Volkswagen Polo GTI.

It’s a subtly different sort of thing. Slightly less engaging, maybe, but a lot more liveable.

I’m not saying it’s way behind those others in the 0-62mph sprint or a lap of a track. It definitely isn’t.

Especially since it’s just had a mid-life update that squeezes another 10hp out of the engine.

Not a huge uplift, but always welcome. The total is now a strapping 207hp.

QUIET AND REFINED

It’s a big 2-litre, too, where rivals have more highly strung smaller engines.

So the Polo has loads of muscle even when the rev-counter is still in the lower digits. You don’t need to wait for it to wake up.

It’s no longer legal to sell a new car with a fruity exhaust. Which is fair enough, as they’re pretty annoying to people who live alongside busy roads.

I’m not saying it’s way behind those others in the 0-62mph sprint or a lap of a track. It definitely isn’t. Especially since it’s just had a mid-life update that squeezes another 10hp out of the engine.

So instead, many cars’ speakers produce a synthesised engine noise you can hear inside the car but not outside. Unfortunately, most of these things sound more like whoopie cushions. The Polo’s is really quite nice.

The steering lets you put the car exactly where you want it, even at speed, with no nervousness.

It’s how the best of GTIs have always been. The suspension has a well-damped oiliness that gives the GTI a relaxed sense of command.

It’ll dodge and turn like a terrier. But on motorways it settles down and runs like a big, calm retriever.

This is where it differs from the rival baby hot hatches. It’ll do the big-car stuff as well as the small firecracker stuff.

It’s quiet and refined and the suspension is pretty pliant.

The seats have a bit of padding and wriggle-room for your backside. They’re not like the hard shells of a racer. They’re covered in check material.

Ever since 1976, them’s the rules for Volkswagen GTIs.

A tidy dash has clear screens and mostly well-sorted switches.

If you really must funky it up, you can configure some angular screen graphics. But they don’t clarify things. Admit your age and leave it as round dials.

The Polo GTI is all about coming to terms with the loss of your youth.

It’s still fun . . . but it doesn’t keep telling you you’ve got a mid-life crisis.

4

4