2026 VW ID.Polo GTI
Anyone who shows up at a GTI meet in this car certainly won’t be turned away on the grounds because it doesn't belong there due to a lack of sportiness. No. True GTI fans just drive by with a smile
and head home contentedly in their fuel-powered cars.
For them, the new model is no competition for their old one, which has a top speed of 240 km/h and goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds. The 30 Nm of additional torque and the greater initial power of an electrically
powered car are just enough to compensate for the extra 200 kg of weight.
| Does launch control really make sense here? |
The comparison with a Polo without all the GTI badging is even more revealing. At the same torque, the GTI has only 11 kW (15 hp) more performance. It is even questionable whether the unchanged engine might not shut
down even sooner when delivering the higher power output.
And because the ID.Polo GTI offers more power with the same-sized battery, it also loses about 7 percent of its range. Is the extra cost of €4,000 to €5,000 compared to the standard model worth it
for different front/rear/dashboard/seats, tires/rims, DCC, and a limited-slip differential?
| Not even the glass roof comes standard. |
You can see what the limited-slip differential looks like below. It is an electronically controlled hydraulic system that engages a multi-plate clutch between the drive shafts of the left and right front wheel, a type of
torque vectoring in which the wheel that rather tends to spin is specifically connected to the other side and not being slowed down.
| Of course, it benefits from the ID.Polo's good looks . . . |
| 
