Brilliant turbo litre triple knocks Vivo GT out the park
Volkswagen is famous for making proper and affordable People’s Cars. That’s what the word actually means, no? So, from the Kombi to the Caravelle, the Beetle to the Citi, the Kariega, EP based arm of the German giant has kept millions of South Africans mobile for seventy years now. Affordable motoring is its bread and butter. But VW also never forgets to add the necessary dash of spice while it does just that.
To that end, Volkswagen recently re-fettled its old favourite Vivo. The previous model Polo that has now become traditional to continue as a bargain basement model as it continues the craze it invented with the Citi, has benefited several more new enhancements to once again improved this solid statesman.
What interests most though, is the new Vivo flagship. While nobody was watching, the Wizards of Kariga slipped an 81 kW 200 Nm litre turbo triple under the GT flagship’s bonnet. In a word, it completely transforms Vivo. Pretty much the car the Volkswagen Motorsport Rookies race with seats and trim inside, this top end of the bottom of Volkswagen’s model lineup sliced two seconds off the old 1600’s zero to hundred time.
Vivo much faster yet far more economical
Never mind, it was close to five seconds quicker to 160 and is now 8 km/h faster at 196 km/h, too. Best of all, the new turbo triple Vivo GT has also basically also slashed fuel consumption in half. Now a miniscule 4.8 litres per 100 kilometres, it translates to almost 1000 km range on under fifty litres. Will even keep Greenpeace and that Gretha protester happy with a pretty tight emissions number too.
Mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, that also means this little engine escapes the launch failure and throttle lag issues that so blight automatic versions of this engine in other models on the Reef. That means it will be just as quick in Johannesburg as what we achieved in our test down in the Cape. In essence, four to five seconds faster to 100 km/h, considering that’s what a Polo 1.6 would do when we still ran tests up there.
All of which also thrusts this top Polo Vivo right into the entry hot hatch mainstream. Never mind, a rorty and an aggro engine note makes Vivo GT huge fun and surprisingly entertaining to drive thanks to that offbeat triple thrum. It handles and clings to the road remarkably well too. Take a second to watch those Volkswagen Rookies race to sometime get a grip on that one.
Not the freshest cabin. But it works
Vivo has also benefits changes across the board as part of this refresh. You’ll notice new LED DRL headlights, 2D VW badges and a fresh front bumper design complete with chrome bits, integrated fog and cornering lights. The GT adds cool anthracite 17“ Mirabeau alloys and a black roof, mirror caps and side moulding countered by a body colour spoiler and sporty single chrome tip exhaust.
There are fresh body colours and new cabin materials. Speaking of which, new 9-inch App-Connect infotainment brings six speaker Mirgor audio. Look, Vivo has never had the freshest cabin. Yet it fails to disappoint. It’s kept up with the times well enough, which is actually an advantage. There’s decent balance between knobs and touch, but enough manual interface to keep us happy. Yet it’s still tech savvy enough to impress.
Our GT had sports front seats, a leather gear knob, sport pedals and floor mats front and rear. Front and side airbags, rain sensor wipers and cruise control. Ours also included the optional storage package with centre armrest and a drawer under driver’s seat, rear camera with rear PDC. A pretty proper package for just over three hundred and fifty grand.
Volkswagen’s locally-built smash hit Polo Vivo
For the rest, this was a great reunion with Volkswagen’s locally-built smash hit Polo Vivo. GT brings enough cool tech to not only rival some far more expensive cars in safety and kit. Yet it retains more than enough old school to really keep it cool.
So, if you’re after a little punch, some reasonable tech and a dash of cool, then this good old school Polo Vivo GT is quite the peach. Now with a bang on the button turbo litre triple perfectly matched to its slick six speed manual, however, VW has batted the Vivo GT right out of the park. Bravo, the Wizards of Kariga. – Michele Lupini
Images & testing: Giordano Lupini
ROAD TESTED: VW Polo Vivo 1.0 TSI GT
Engine: 81 kW 200 Nm 1-litre turbo petrol I3
Drive: 6-speed manual FWD
TESTED:
0-60 km/h 3.94 sec
0-100 km/h: 8.84 sec
0-120 km/h: 12.15 sec
0-160 km/h: 23.43 sec
400m: 16.2 sec @ 136 km/h
80-120km/h: 6.19 sec
120-160 km/h 11.27sec
CLAIMED:
Vmax: 196 km/h
Fuel: 4.8 l/100km
CO2: 114 g/km
Range: 925 km
Warranty/Service: 3y 30K km/optional
PRICE: R363K
How does it compare?
Check with Auto's Test Data right here