New VW Polo GTI: a bit more power and a bit more ‘Golf’ for the Ford Fiesta ST rival

The new Volkswagen Polo GTI arrives to challenge the Ford Fiesta ST, with a bit more power and looks influenced by the bigger Golf GTI.

We saw the arrival of the new VW Polo back in April, and we had a tease for the new Polo GTI in May. But now the refreshed Polo GT is here, newly titivated to take on the Ford Fiesta ST.

Just like the regular Polo, the Polo GTI’s design is heavily influenced by the bigger Golf and gets a full-width front light bar, IQ Light LED matrix headlights, new bumpers, 17″ (Golf-like) alloys, updated infotainment and dynamic indicators, and the de rigueur red highlights and tartan seats inside.

Power is up on the last Polo GTI – well, by a bit – with the new Polo GTI getting 204bhp from its 2.0-litre turbo four-pot which, say VW, is enough to hit 62mph in 6.5 seconds.

There’s no sign of a manual gearbox option for the GTI, so it looks like it’s a seven-speed DSG only, but there is an electronic diff lock to tame torque-steer and suspension lowered by 15mm.

There are no prices yet for the new Polo GTI, but whatever the starting point VW will be hoping buyers tick at least one or two of the option boxes including wireless phone charging, panoramic roof and Beats Sound.