Category: Hot Hatchbacks 
Price Range: £12,460 to £12,960
Looks great, well built, lots of kit, punchy performance.
Uninspiring handling.
More frills than thrills.
Volkswagen has promised a hot Polo for years, but it took the range-wide facelift last February to make it a reality.
The revised range's stiffer structure, improved ride and handling and Lupo-style, tech-look cabin make a good base for a rapid Polo, and power - 125 bhp of it - comes from an iron-block, 1.6-litre version of the 1.4 16V engine used in some other Polos.
Some discreet bodykit, BBS 15 in wheels with 195/45 tyres, a honeycomb front grille and xenon gas-discharge headlights set a sporty tone. Unlike the larger, more subtle Golf GTI, this is an old-school, upfront hot hatchback.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Volkswagen Polo
wrote on 03 03 2008
wrote on 29 05 2006