2017 Volkswagen GTI Review
Car Tested: 2017 Volkswagen GTI; Road Test No. 817
Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 30.10 lakhs
The Volkswagen GTI is one super hot hatch & provides loads of fun but at a cost
Volkswagen made enthusiasts in the country happy when they launched the Polo GT TDI and GT TSI siblings which have been catering to the audience who are looking for not-so-expensive hot hatches that offer driving fun and obviously the German feel. To make enthusiasts even happier, Volkswagen went on to launch the GTI (Polo moniker removed) which is brought in as a CBU from Germany, gets lesser doors but a bigger engine with much more power and we were eagerly waiting to check it out.
Motor Quest: While we have the Polo GT TDI and GT TSI in India for a few years now, there was always this void where real hot hatches were needed and Volkswagen has some really cool cars in its global portfolio which would probably rock the Indian market if launched here.
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No major revisions but enough to differentiate from the regular Polo
Exteriors – To a layman, the GTI will pass of as a regular Polo because the overall body line and stance has been retained. However, there are many differences on the GTI. First of all, you get just 2 doors and the doors themselves are a bit longer now. The front fascia gets an aggressive look with the sharply styled bumper and the extremely well-detailed full LED headlamps which look terrific. The grille also gets a red strip which passes on to the headlamps. There is a lovely GTI badge and the honeycomb design on the grille looks killer. The side profile is neat and clean but you do get sportier 16-inch Salvador wheels. The rear gets dual exhaust pipes along with a black applique on the bumper. The shape of the tail lamps is unchanged but you get a lot more detailing with LED bulbs on the GTI.
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The GTI gets a full black interior with red stitching
Interiors – Open the long door and you are greeted by a familiar dashboard layout in an all-black colour theme. There is red stitching on the seats, gear lever, handbrake and steering wheel. The wheel itself is a new unit which looks sportier. You also get a new instrument cluster which looks classy and comes with all the dials neatly stacked. The centre console is similar to the regular Polo and comes with a touchscreen infotainment system. Above that, you get buttons for traction control and Park Distance Control. The audio system is easy and smooth to use and the sound quality from the 4 speakers + 2 tweeters is good too.
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The GTI comes with a lot of features since it is a CBU
The sport seats on the GTI are supportive but come with manual adjustment
The sport seats offer very good comfort and support but they are manually adjustable. The driving position is bang on though. As expected from a VW, the quality of the materials is top notch. The front seats can be folded for passengers to go at the rear and there is average space for 2 passengers. The GTI misses out on features like a reverse camera and push button start though you do get a graphical parking assist. On the safety front you get features like 6 airbags, ABS, ESC, ASR, EDL, EDTC, electronic differential lock and wheel locks with anti-theft protection.
