Situation: get to Singapore in time for a hot-date by 6pm through weekend traffic and a congested causeway, no problem right? Wrong, the problem is, it’s already 2pm and I’m still stuck at the Summit traffic lights at USJ, Subang. Now this almost seems to seal my fate, except that I’m in a car that can cover the 400km between me and that hot brunette in a short time. No I’m not in a continent crunching Aston or 599GTB, it wouldn’t be a problem at all if I were in any of the two cars in fact, I would deliberately put myself into such a situation, just for fun. I’m actually in a Volkswagen Polo GTI. Well, I must admit to having my doubts when I first faced reality but I lay my trust in the GTI badge and did not cancel the date. So the lights turned green and we made way till they turned red again, and I was stuck, again. It took three green lights to finally get past and onto the PLUS highway heading south.
So here I was, running through the gears, turbo whizzing, the Continental SportContact2 (205/45 front/rear) tyres doing a great job at keeping the car planted without the harsh intruding hum of sports tyres and me comfortably saddled in the supportive semi-bucket ‘burberry design’ seats. Traffic was expectedly busy so I had to make some quick passes, luckily the indicator toggle just needs a light tap to for the turn signals to flash three times, good enough for other drivers to know you’re serious about making a move.
Lane switching and passing slower traffic is where the Polo GTI truly comes alive, it’s tiny turbo announces its arrival past 2500rpm, if you’re above that and below 4500rpm, there’s no need to downshift, the turbo boost and torque hunkers down the Polo and just goes, no complaints, no hesitation. It is only when you’re pushing past 4,800rpm that you notice the engine running out of breath even though the rev meter shows a decent 6,500rpm redline. Disappointing but good enough for our Malaysian roads.
The sound from the engine is pretty encouraging as well, or maybe it’s just the throaty exhaust but it definitely put a grin on my face everytime I downshifted. The Polo GTI finds its natural cruising speed at around 140 to 160km/h. Any more and the wind noise becomes overwhelming during long cruises especially like the one I was on. The clutch feels just right, not too heavy, not too light so it’s really not too bad to be stuck in a jam with a Polo GTi. But the brakes lets it down. At first, the stopping power is acceptable but after a while of spirited driving, it starts to feel soggy and fades but still manages to do a decent job at saving the metal, trust me, I know.
It was 330pm and I had just stopped at one of the Malacca R&R stops, to fill up the tank and for coffee, red-bull, coke light and McNuggets. I drank and ate as fast as it takes you to read this and was once again on my way. I turned Guns ‘n Roses off to tune into Polo GTI.fm to soak in the ambiance and feel of the car at highway speeds. It’s not bad really, maybe a tad bit steep at RM140,000 but otherwise a well-built, fun little car.
The simpler than Golf dashboard means there are fewer plastic bits to put you off, giving the feel that it’s built better than the its older brother. It’s also an interior you won’t find in a Jetta, Passat, or even a Tiguan, keeping it unique to the Polo. It’s simplicity in design provides for a cozy and functional environment but the footwells don’t cater well for near six-footers and when they do, four-footers have trouble sitting at the back, there’s no doubt it’s a small car, but tackling smaller roads and traffic is really what it’s for.
A lack of driver comfort is somewhat disappointing for a car that caters to a person able to splash a good amount of money on a small car. Cruise control and climate control does not make an appearance sadly and that just means that you have to be at the top of your game all the time, in my case, the entire journey from KL to Singapore. It is definitely tiresome no doubt but if you’re able to find the crucial fun factor in the Polo GTI, you won’t notice the aching arm as a result from the lack of an arm-rest and a aching right leg from constantly flooring it. The car actually eggs you to floor it.
It was already 5pm and I had just reached the Tuas causeway with very little but slow moving traffic ahead of me. I kept calm, the car belonged to VW Malaysia, so I had to register for a new AutoPass which took up more time and of course, they had to check my bags to make sure I wasn’t smuggling any Zerotohundred paraphernalia or any other things that Singaporeans don’t welcome, like cheap petrol perhaps?
I got through without too much of a hassle. Now on highly governed Singaporean roads and fresh off Malaysian highways at slightly more than cruising speeds, it was hard to adjust to the super-slow traffic of the island nation. But nevertheless, the Polo GTI, the all-rounder that it is, fit right in. It was easy to just cruise along with the Singaporeans and the cozy, comfortable and silent interior gave me a well deserved break from the charging both man and machine were subjected to earlier. I would recommend the Polo GTI to anyone who needs a small four-door car with grunt for those ‘charged moments’ and a decent budget. With such trying times, a 1.8-liter turbocharged engine is really ideal thanks to cheaper roadtax and lower fuel consumption (500+km per full tank) I want one too now, plus there’s no going wrong with German technology. Japanese competition? What’s that?
I had the car for a full three days, covered 1200km’s in it, drove through torrential monsoons, crazy traffic, and actually felt an empty spot in my heart when I had to return it. As to my date, I arrived at the Suntec City Mall at about 620pm, fashionably late but enough to show that I care. What did she think? She loved the colour, the non-intrusive interior, the torque and now, she liked me even more. That’s another reason why I want one but that’s a different story.
