2010 Volkswagen GTI Supercharged in Europe? U.S. Car Dealers Should Stock It

2010 Volkswagen GTI Supercharged in Europe? WHY THE HELL CAN’T WE HAVE COOL HATCHBACKS IN THE U.S.? Once again VW has let us down in the flair department and Golf GTO. There just isn’t enough here to mark it out as a different beast to the standard Polo.

2010 Volkswagen GTI Car Models and Dealers

2010 Volkswagen GTI Car Models and Dealers

2010 Volkswagen GTI Supercharged in Europe? The rumors were correct — Volkswagen has been wrenching on a GTI version of its Polo subcompact, although its output isn’t quite as extreme as once was suggested. if they sold it in the U.S. than there would be no more european foreign exchange students! Just about every exchange student i have encountered has a list of things they want to do. 1 of which is also always to drive a crica 70’s lincoln. Or a lifted pick-up truck.

The new Polo GTI, which debuts at the 2010 Geneva motor show in March, makes use of Volkswagen’s super- and turbocharged 1.4-liter “Twincharged” I-4. Output is listed at 180 hp, and a stout 184 lb-ft of torque, the latter available at a scant 2000 rpm. With a curb weight slightly over 2600 pounds and a seven-speed, dual-clutch gearbox, VW says the car will sprint from 0-62 mph in just 6.9 seconds, and top out at 142 mph. For the greenies, Volkswagen claims the Polo GTI returns 47 mpg on the European combined cycle, and emits just 0.49 pounds of carbon dioxide per mile.

Polo GTIs also receive a new front fascia, which also includes a new honeycomb grille patterned after that on the larger Golf GTI. Headlamps are also revised, but buyers can opt for some spiffy LED running lights. Fenders are bulged ever so slightly, and help wrap the car’s sides to a revised rear fascia, which now sports a modest diffuser and dual chromed exhaust tips. A set of 17-inch aluminum wheels, cribbed from the Golf GTI, helps complete the hot-hatch look.

Inside, the new Polo GTI receives a flat-bottomed steering wheel, black trim and headliner, aluminum pedals, and new, heavily bolstered sport seats.

The Polo GTI will go on sale in Europe by the end of this summer, and will likely be substantially more expensive than a base Polo hatchback. Don’t hold your breath for this car to make its way stateside. VW executives are mulling the decision of bringing Polo variants to the U.S, nothing is written in stone quite yet — and high-cost, low-volume performance models aren’t likely to be Volkswagen’s first priority.

2010 VW Polo GTI: A Rocket We’d Pocket If U.S. Dealers Could Stock It. The Volkswagen Polo has been supercharged, turbocharged and now super-turbocharged with the 2010 Polo GTI and its 178 HP 1.4-liter twincharged four-cylinder engine.

You don’t have to squint your eyes to see the family resemblance to the larger Golf GTI. Actually, you’ll need to work pretty hard to not see the comparison. With the potent little mill, seven-speed DSG gearbox and XDS quasi-differential the Polo hits 60 MPH in 6.9 seconds and has a top speed of 142 MPH — not far off from the Golf itself.

Smaller, nimbler, cheaper and almost as quick. Why would we want anything else? Oh, they won’t sell us one here in the United States. Nevermind.

The new Volkswagen Polo has been named the 2010 European Car of the Year, narrowly beating the Totoya iQ.
 
The Polo was awarded 347 points by an international panel of 59 motoring journalists from 23 different countries.
In the end it defeated the iQ by just 10 points, with the Opel Astra in third place on 221 points, followed by the Skoda Yeti (158), Mercedes-Benz E-Class (155), Peugeot 3008 (144) and the Citroen C3 Picasso (113).
Autocar magazine’s Steve Cropley confirmed that 25 of the 59 jurors selected the Polo as their car of the year.
“This year’s results show that the body of COTY jurors firmly believes that small, economical cars were the best of this year’s crop.
“The Polo is a very complete, very refined car which delivers all the consistent qualities VW has become so well known for,” he said.

But Cropley denied that it was a one horse race, with 20 journalists choosing the iQ as their favourite.
“Given its unusual layout, controversial looks and premium price, the iQ did amazingly well, and it was nice to see good support for the Astra, whose maker, GM Europe, was victorious this year with the Insignia executive car.”
Volkswagen chairman of the board of management, Prof Martin Winterkorn, said the company’s second ECOTY win – following the third generation Golf in 1992 – was a deserved result.
“The fifth generation Polo was designed to address customer expectations with even greater uncompromising standards.
“That is why we are naturally very pleased to see our efforts validated in the form of this award,” he said.

The Polo officially debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and VW confirmed that more than 130,000 Polos have already been ordered worldwide.
The new model comes with a choice of six engines ranging from 44 to 77kW and CO2 emissions from 139 g/km to as low as 96 g/km in the 1.6 TDI BlueMotion.
Another version of the BlueMotion due mid-2010 will use just 3.3 litres/100km and emit a class-leading and hybrid-beating 87 g/km CO2.
VW’s seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox (DSG) is available on the baby car for the first time, while the entry-level three-door 1.2 Trendline comes standard with ESC.

VW Australia’s Karl Gehling confirmed that the new Polo will arrive in Australia in the second quarter of next year but would not give specific details on the line-up.

“We haven’t got those details finalised yet, but we expect it will be a similar mix to the current range with petrol and diesel variants.

However he said that VW does not currently have any plans to add the BlueMotion to its local line-up.

Seriously… VW, F— your 7-speed DSG gearbox. This is a small car with a small engine, and there’s NO REASON to suffer the complexity of a turbo- and super-charger combination unless it’s to add so much power that the car becomes frothy, entertaining, and light again. Don’t give me this DSG crap in a car this size. Six-speed manual, kill the frills, and make it cheap and fast. I want a Renault Clio V6 that has a back seat and falls apart more slowly, not a Golf that shrank in the wash but still drinks like an Irishman.

Count me in the “I’d buy a VW if they could sell me this” camp, as well.

The Golf/Jetta has gotten horribly bloated, particularly with the MKV. It’s like they forgot that they got a foothold in the US by selling awesome small cars, and that’s precisely what most people associate with VW to this day (even if it really hasn’t been true in a long time).

I’m sorry, wasn’t VW’s stated goal to increase its sales figures in the US dramatically within the next three to five years? If that is their plan, why limit yourself to a couple of car platforms, a slow selling SUV, a whored out mini-van (to Chrysler, for God sake!) and a couple of niche cars that aren’t selling very well (Eos & New Beetle). How’s bout giving Honda’s Fit a run for its money, huh? It’s kicking ass and is fun to drive and not a complete turd to look at. Ford’s gonna have the Fiesta soon, Chevy the Cruze and Chry/Fiat the 500. Please VW, pull your head out your ass and find that your American market is being under-served. Eventually this economy will improve and people will start buying cars again. How about filling your dealers with cars people can actually afford & want to own. Think about it.

One of the difficult truths of demographics is that, no matter what a special, unique snowflake your mom thinks you are, there are millions like you. If you have an opinion or prediliction you consider truly original, chances are that there’s a whole demographic segment that shares it. If there are only 10,000 people who think exactly the way you do on a topic, that’s about as close to unique as it gets in this teeming world.

But as frustrating as it can be to realize you may never have an original thought, and as dehumanizing as it is to consider how interchangeable you are, the principle should also work to our advantage in the marketplace. If you like something, even something oddball, someone should be able to find enough weirdos just like you to make a buck from supplying you with the crazy junk you want to buy.

All that preface, unfortunately, is just another build-up to the all-too-familiar question: WHY THE HELL CAN’T WE HAVE COOL HATCHBACKS IN THE U.S.?!

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