‘Pocket rocket’? The only ‘pocket rocket’ I know is the rocket in my pocket but driving the powerful Polo GTI from Volkswagen changed my sexist opinion on what the term 'pocket rocket' signifies. Testing the car on day 1 won’t impress you that much. It is only after day 2 onwards when the fun really begins and you learn to appreciate the car more. If someone dislikes the car just because of its looks, and starts comparing it to their so-called ‘pocket rocket’, you know you’re the bigger man for not rubbing it into their faces just because they were not lucky enough to be driving the 2008 Polo GTI. So much so that we’ve decided to use the Polo GTI as a benchmarking standard on how pocket rockets should be. Read the review below.

"That's a car I’ve been looking for my girl," said a friend.

"What is this? A mini version of the Golf GTI? Looks weird," said our mechanic

"RM 140,000! For THIS small car?" a colleague said.

These were some of the feedback for the 2008 Polo GTI when we asked around for their first impression of the car. It's very likely to hear something along these lines when you first get the car. A simple answer to these kinds of questions can only be provided by answering it with another question; "Have you ever been in a Polo GTI?" Just like any opinion on a car, it isn't completely justified until you've actually driven it.

Simply put; it's a ‘girl car’ if a girl owns it. Yes, it's smaller and also similar to the Golf up the extent that among the Polo community it is also known as the POGO. About the price, well almost everything is expensive here in "Bolehland".

Exterior

Volkswagen Malaysia is bringing in the 5-door hatchback body style for the Polo GTI which basically stands for more practicality and space in regards to Malaysian usage. Our test model was in Flash Red but Candy White is also an option you may want to consider. Exterior-wise, the Polo GTI does not differ much from the standard Polo but one of its most distinguishable feature would be how it sits 15mm lower than the standard Polo. With a length of 3,916mm and height of 1,467mm, A quick glance under the 16" wheels 16 x 6½” with 205/45 R16 tires will also show you the red disk calipers which probably enhances the sporty feeling. The GTI badge is proudly displayed on the radiator grille and the tailgate. Side skirts adorn the car and as you reach the rear, say hello to the unique roof spoiler and the rear bumper with dual chrome exhaust tail pipes. Other than that, there’s pretty much nothing else to say about the car’s exterior unless you really like honeycomb grilles.

Interior

The interior is what you would normally expect from a GTI; simple with no nonsensical buttons and features except a pop-up bottle holder on the dashboard which we personally thought inappropriate for the GTI. The Polo GTI features special body-hugging sports seats with the Anthracite checked “Interlagos” pattern upholstery - very comfortable during urban roundabout and spirited driving, swallowing our overweight bodies (Ed-Actually, it’s just the writer’s body) right down its throat like a dragon swallowing a knight alive. It sounds unpleasant but trust me if it’s this kind of dragon we WANT to be swallowed too. The engraved metal H shift pattern gear knob and the aluminum pedal won my heart as easily as candy does to a girl’s heart. However, the 3-spoke perforated steering wheel seemed a tad too big for my liking.

Like any other sport cars with the racing genes, symbols or letterings will be everywhere inside the car. For the Polo GTI, you can find them on the side sill trim, the front seats and on the steering wheel.

On the blue adjustable illumination cluster meter, the multi-info display screen has nothing to display during driving except when you’re starting up the car – and another one that appears when the tank were running out of fuel- the ever useful refuel warning light. Other than that, we didn’t come across anything else on the display during our few days with the Polo GTI. Two well-placed reading lights at the front seats makes the car more lovable. A metal-like surface of the center dashboard was wrapped around the air vents, control knobs, radio head unit and buttons.

The Polo GTI dashboard is very user friendly. Commuting in the Pogo everyday somehow increases appreciation of the storage areas in the car. Apart from the glove box, drawers can also be found under the front seats, in the integrated lower dashboard shelf, the front door pockets, the top dash storage, and near the gear console. All storage compartments come with removable plastic trays for easy cleaning.

For in-car entertainment, the car comes with an AM/FM radio head unit that also plays MP3 compatible CD, channeling the sound through 8 speakers. The only beef we had with the interior was closing the door – the solid thump that we love was missing. No biggie.

Driving Experience

If tire-spinning action is your kind of thing while blasting from traffic light to traffic light, switch off the ESP. Tested and proven: the tires will be singing until the 2nd gear. Leaving it at ‘on’ will make the car slower to catapult as it stalls the engine when you over-rev it on the 1st gear. Clearly, with the right amount of right foot-induced stomping and clever left foot play, fun is guaranteed for both driver and car alike.

The 150bhp turbocharged five-valve four-cylinder engine revs happily until 7000rpm for each gear (err… well, almost… we ran out of road before we could even test the 5th gear). The rpm needle lovingly was just glued at the 7000rpm without the rev cut hesitation.

On paper, the Polo GTI can reach a top speed of exactly 216km/h.Yes, but you’re going to need a very long empty stretch of joyous open space to do it. A little bit of patience is required sometimes but some things are worth waiting for – you will appreciate the sound coming from the engine and the chrome twin exhaust tail pipes, and if you happen to be lucky (or very quiet), you may even chance upon the 'swosssshh' sound from the turbine located just behind the firewall. The car can sprint 0 to 100km/h in 8.2 seconds with a maximum torque of 220Nm (at 1,950rpm), consuming an average of 7.8L/100km but due to its edgy nature, may appear to be a bit difficult to hit.

I always bear in mind to have a decent ride with the car and just enjoy the driving experience while showing it some mercy because the car gives the impression of fragility when whacking corners. If you were ever to test the car in 15-corner Sepang Circuit, some adjustments must be made to the car. We suggest an uprated suspension, upgrading the front brakes, bring the car lower, and get a good set of wheels with semi-slick tires (or just get your hands on the imported Polo GTI Cup Edition). If your driving skills are up to par, participating in autocrosses or slalom competitions with just the factory setting will still bring you to a podium finish.

City driving with this car is a breeze even though the car is a stick shift. With its small size, the Polo GTI can zigzag through traffic with ease and confidence. And it doesn’t matter what you do – be it overtaking the car in front even with limited space, or moving onto that tight parking space, or negotiating the messy U-turn, or even maneuvering the parallel parking and everything you can think of the car: it fits like a universal baseball cap - a one size fits all.

Driving-wise, several things bothered me while driving this car. One would be the reverse gear. It needs to be pushed down and moved to the left of the 1st gear position. Well, I love this but freeing the gear back from R is quite a hassle because it gets stuck sometimes. Secondly, I felt the clutch was too light and vague for my left foot. Thirdly, the stopping power is too spongy for my fat legs. The tires sing loudly during hard corners. It felt like gambling at times, especially upon reaching the 'limit' and you want to decelerate, where the car takes the role of a mind guessing game – “Must I brake the car now?” “Will it stop before the line?” It doesn’t provide enough level of confidence initially but given enough time to familiarize yourself with the car, it’ll be like second nature to walking. It takes time to grow on us but as I said earlier, once you get used to the car, you’ll really appreciate it.

Personally, we find that this car lacks the “WOW-ZOMG-LOOKITTHAT” visual appeal the rest of the VWs we’ve tested before had. It doesn’t have a strong presence on the road and no one really notices this car until we leave them in a trail of smoke. A Blow-Off Valve might help maybe?

Conclusion

The 1.8 liter turbocharged engine from Volkswagen offers lots of room of untapped potential. I’ve come up with 4 simple modifications on the engine: get the ecu rechipped, bolt-on an aftermarket exhaust, fix the aftermarket front mount intercooler, get an open air intake installed and play with the boost pressure to upgrade this pocket rocket into a ballistic missile that will blow your pants off.

Only for enthusiasts or people who are looking for that upgrade from a 'pocket rocket' to the REAL DEAL pocket rocket that definitely powers up the rocket in your pocket. Cheesy, I know but the car does leave a bitterly-missed aftertaste after we returned it, much like your first trip on a roller coaster that leaves you raring to go at it again.

It is a fun car to drive in and to look at but for more fun I recommend a Golf GTI. Or if you want to get serious (as in seriously have fun), the R32 is always there for you. 

related :-

1.2007 Volkswagen Golf R32 Review

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