Last week's Friday, my Beetle developed a weird ticking noise when engaging and releasing the clutch. On Saturday morning I dropped by my VW dealer. A service technician checked the car, immediately stated that the clutch release bearing was damaged and strongly suggested that I don't drive any further. Yesterday I got my car back with a completely new clutch and a new gearbox (they said that a spring fell out of the clutch into the gearbox and did some damage). Needless to say that after only 22k-ish km and 10 months, this swap was entirely covered by VW. I truly hope this wasn't a glimpse of things to come in the future but a one time event.
So anyway, let's get to the reason I'm posting in this thread: the car they gave me on the interim. The lady first offered me a Beetle Cabriolet, but I asked for "something different, maybe a Polo or so". So they gave me a Polo:
(click for bigger)
The image is generic, but it looked exactly like this. It is a
Volkswagen Polo Blue GT. The name gives it away, it is a car with two faces.
Face #1 features a start-stop-automatic, aerodynamical optimizations, cylinder cutoff on the turndown, a long gearbox to lower the revs and brake energy recuperation - that's the Blue part. The other face, the GT part, comes with a lowered and stiffened chassis, sport seats and steering wheel from the Polo GTI and a 140hp 1.4l turbo engine meeting 1,220 kgs of car.
This car is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide. It goes like stink, I easily hit 200 kph on the Autobahn. Surprisingly, at this speed it still is reasonably silent and very surefooted, more so than my larger and heavier Beetle. VW claims it maxes out at 210 kph, I tend to believe that.
Needless to say, when you push it there's not a lot of fuel-saving business going on. Only if you stroke the accelerator you can see the Blue part come to life. The display informs you about switching to 2-cylinder-mode, and the fuel efficiency rises significantly. However, the total average will not leave you in awe. When you're in Blue mode you may manage 5l/100km (47 US mpg), but if you push it you're rather looking at 7.5 to 8l/100km (31-33 US mpg). That's still reasonable, but other compact hatches without all the fuel-saving nonsense can return similar figures when driven in the same way. In the end, it really is the way you drive which gives you the mpg you deserve. For comparison: my 2.0l diesel Beetle with the same hp returns 4l/100km (58 US mpg) when driven lightly and 6l/100km (39 US mpg) when you're in a hurry, and it is a significantly bigger and heavier car.
As for the actual car, I was quite happy when I got my Beetle back. You'd think that the difference between these similarly sized current-gen Volkswagens wouldn't be too big, but it actually is. There is a number of things which bugged me about the Polo:
- despite the impressive power of the small turbo engine, this car has a serious rev-drop when you go from a standstill (I don't know if there is an English word for this, the German word is "Anfahrschw?che"). For a completely normal start from a traffic light in the city, you have to bring the revs at least up to 1,500, and even then they will drop so far that the car may fall into a little "HOLY SHIT IT'S GONNA STALL!!!" hiccup before it gets moving. However, when you push the pedal just that little further you will inadvertently storm away like a maniac.
- the bulky and chunky GTI steering wheel looks very cool, but it is quite annoying during daily use, especially when manoeuvring the car at lower speeds. The wheel is so jagged that you will have difficulties letting it glide through your hands or grabbing over.
- in accordance with my first gripe, I must criticise the characteristic of the loud pedal. Together with the fuel saving techniques (cylinder cut and brake recuperation) and the uneven torque delivery of the small high-power turbo, you will have serious difficulties to drive this car smoothly. Something interfers with your inputs all the time, so you will find yourself having to take countermeasures to achieve a smooth drive. Examples? When you let the car coast, at first it doesn't slow down at all, then it suddenly slows down too much. When you want to accelerate very lightly, first there's nothing happening, then you accelerate too hard. Thus, you constantly have to apply tiny corrections to the pedals to make the car do what you want.
- the above, combined with a quite well damped cabin, decouples you nicely from the outside world. It's good if you want that, but I prefer move involvement when driving a car. The Beetle is much more direct and predictable without being less comfortable or less fun
But not everything is bad, here are some good things I noticed:
- the steering is very direct and precise
- the lowered chassis is quite well set up, it is firm but not harsh
- the engine has plenty of power even in 6th gear (when you get the rev range right)
- the car feels quite agile and light on the go
- due to the boxy (yet arguably attractive) shape, it has quite good visibility
- the color is awesome
EDIT: forgot the seats. A bit too narrow for me, but firmly gripping and also comfortable
Let's talk about money. The Blue GT starts at 19,650 Euros. Swap 6 speed manual for the 7 gear double clutch automatic and you're looking at 21k Euros flat. At this pricepoint, the even more powerful, twincharged GTI (which only comes with the same 7 speed automatic) is just a whiff away. If you want to save fuel, try a diesel Polo for less money.
Overall, I have mixed feelings about this car. It is a well made and modern compact hatch, but the fuel-saving nonsense is more annoying than it is efficient. The car actually manages quite well to be quite efficient and quite sporty, but a compromise is a compromise: you can buy sportier and more frugal Polos for similar or even less money. Only if you deliberately want a car which has these two faces and you can live with the attached shortcomings, this is the car for you.