Polo Volkswagen Polo GTS and Virtus GTS

[J.E]

The sporty version of the Polo and its sedan version the Virtus.

Engine: 1.4 TSI Flex* 150 HP and 250 Nm of torque.
Transmission: 6-speed automatic.
Curbweight: Polo 1214 Kilograms; Virtus 1260 Kilograms.

*Flex means the engine runs on petrol, ethanol or a mix of both.

 

[Centurion]

GTS? Really? Was it really necessary to call it that.

 

[CrunchSlaughtered]

For which market is this?

 

[J.E]

GTS? Really? Was it really necessary to call it that.[/QU...

For which market is this?

It's for South America. It's built in Brazil, but will be exported to other Mercosur countries such as Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. They chose the GTS name because it's a throwback to the time VW used to sell the Gol GTS and GTI. An attempt to revive memories from local boomer customers.

Volkswagen will not import the Polo GTI, because it would be too expensive and the hot hatch market is very small in Brazil. That's why they played it safe and chose to make a half baked sports version with the 1.4 TSI but mated to an Aisin supplied 6-speed automatic gearbox.

 

[Giannis]

Looking the local VW website to see if we get the Polo sedan I saw that instead we get the Polo GTI and Polo TGI. I guess the ITG and IGT versions are yet to follow.

 

[dalab]

It's for South America. It's built in Brazil, but will be exported to other Mercosur countries such as Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay

I also see it in Ecuador where the two are sold next to the POLO, at the same price (the equipment and quality differs), I read that it is partly oriented to China too (I'm not sure about this), but basically it is a longer POLO, with more space behind (as the Chinese like it) and as they also appreciate it in South America, I perceived it as "more car" than the polo from outside, but the interior denotes the general idea of its existence ..., it is plastic bus interior (worse than the interior of the VW GOL of the 80').

They chose the GTS name because it's a throwback to the time VW used to sell the Gol GTS and GTI. An attempt to revive memories from local boomer customers.

It is ingrained and positively remembered because the GTS / GTI GOL, were very respectable, desirable and ultralight machines and handling like a race car, with 2,000cc and over 125hp they flew, it was the car to have to participate in Rally and track in a serious way

 

[J.E]

I also see it in Ecuador where the two are sold next to the...

Sorry, I didn't know Ecuador was also getting the BR Polo. Do you guys get it with TDI engines? We only have petrol engines. The 1.0 12v, which is best avoided at all costs, the 1.6 16v, 1.0 TSI and 1.4 TSI only available with the Aisin automatic gearbox. We don't have DSG either.

You're absolutely right about the interior quality. I had the chance to drive a Virtus 1.6 and I was shocked with the amount of plastic everywhere inside, but not quite as shocked as I was when I discovered the steering had no adjustment. I'm only 1.83 m (6'0) and I struggled to find a good driving position. The rest of the car was pretty meh. Maybe the 1.0 TSI Highline is better, but I didn't have the chance to try that one.

The Gol GTI was the first car in Brazil to have electronic fuel injection in 1988. The GTS had the 1.8 carburated. They are future classic cars now and their price are rising. If you want a 88-94 Gol GTI, get one now, because in 2024 it will be officially a classic car and it will commandeer a hefty premium. In 1995 VW made the most powerful Gol GTI ever, the 2.0 16v.

The GTI 16V is even rarer than the original "box" shape GTI. I only saw two GTI 16Vs in my lifetime and they were at classic car shows. Another future classic Gol whose value will skyrocket.

 

[dalab]

Sorry, I didn't know Ecuador was also getting the BR Polo. Do you guys get it with TDI engines? We only have petrol engines. The 1.0 12v, which is best avoided at all costs, the 1.6 16v, 1.0 TSI and 1.4 TSI

The POLO here only comes with MSI (Multi point system inyección) 1.6 L, 110CV petrol 155NM 16V the Virtus has exctly the same engine (only)

The Gol GTI was the first car in Brazil to have electronic fuel injection in 1988. The GTS had the 1.8 carburated. They are future classic cars now and their price are rising. If you want a 88-94 Gol GTI, get one now, because in 2024 it will be officially a classic car and it will commandeer a hefty premium. In 1995 VW made the most powerful Gol GTI ever, the 2.0 16v.

very rare and totally clasic

 

[Rolf]

In South Africa the Golf I and Golf II GTS was a very popular alternative to the GTi. It had a 1.8 carb version of the 8valve injected engine from the GTI developing less power 70kw vs 82kw and slightly less torque of 150nm vs 155nm. Nevertheless it was still nippy and had a nice throaty exhaust note. It had the same red framed double light grill and cloth sports seats and 3 spoke sports wheel but had smaller wheels of 13inch instead of 14inch in the GTI.

 

[J.E]

@dalab The Gol was the best selling car in Brazil from 1987 o 2014 and then it lost the top spot for the Chevrolet Onix, which is now in its second generation.

@Rolf Sadly we never had the first and second gen Golfs. We did have the 3rd and 4th gen. The fourth gen was built from 1999 to 2014. Volkswagen never launched the 5th and 6th generation Golf in Brazil. Instead we got a rehashed 4th gen in 2007.

In October 2013 Volkswagen imported the 7th gen Golf from Germany. In November 2014 they started importing it from Mexico and in September 2016 they started building it in Brazil, but they cheapened out the car. The Brazilian built Mk7 Golf didn't have the electronic parking with auto hold feature, it had a conventional handbrake, the 1.4 TSI was paired to a conventional Aisin supplied 6-speed automatic gearbox instead of the 7-speed DSG and the independent rear suspension was replaced by a torsion beam setup.

At least they didn't mess up the Mk7 GTI, which continued to be imported from Germany only in 5 door body with the DSG transmission. In 2019 VW ceased the production of the Golf in Brazil and they imported just 100 units of the German made hybrid Golf GTE. And now sales of the Golf are finished over here. No signs of the 8th gen Golf arriving here any time soon.

 

[J.E]

0 to 100 Km/h

Polo GTS: 8.4 seconds;
Virtus GTS: 8.7 seconds.

Top speed

Polo GTS: 207 Km/h;
Virtus GTS: 209 Km/h.

 

[dalab]

@dalab The Gol was the best selling car in Brazil from 1987 o 2014 and then it lo...

I never saw those onyx, they seem to be nice cars and to dethrone the GOL something must have

 

[J.E]

I never saw those onyx, they seem to be nice cars and to dethrone the GOL something must have[/QUO...

Chevrolet dealers would bend over backwards to sell you an Onix even if meant giving you free air-conditioning. As you know, the climate is unbearably hot in Brazil, especially in the North, Northeast and Mid-West, so air-con is a must. 97% of all cars sold in Brazil now have air-con as standard.

Unfortunately, though, the Onix failed the first time Latin NCAP tested it scoring a very humiliating ZERO stars. After this fiasco, Chevrolet made some changes and all Onix and Prisma built from January 2018 onward scored three stars.

Despite of all these disappointing results, the Onix remained as the country's best selling car. People liked the 1.4 engine which provided a fair decent level of performance with good fuel economy. Much cheaper to insure than a Gol, which is the country's most stolen car.

In 2019 Chevrolet launched the new Onix and Onix Plus (the sedan version). Both of them scored five stars by the Latin NCAP.

But soon after the car was launched and awarded the five stars, Chevrolet had to recall the Onix due to fire hazard. One of the cars caught fire at the Chevrolet factory parking lot! The other one belonged to a customer who had the car for only one week.

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Chevrolet gave that customer a Cruze as a replacement for his burnt Onix.

According to Chevrolet, the problem was in the "calibration of the engine control module, which can generate an increase in pressure and temperature in the combustion chamber, causing damage to the piston". This condition could also lead to the block breaking.

No more fires have been reported since the recall and the Onix remains the best selling car in Brazil. In fact, Chevrolet is the brand that sells most cars over here and just this week, GM announced that Brazil overtook China and has become the second largest market for the Chevrolet brand.

USA: "Baseball, apple pies, hot dogs and Chevrolet".

Brazil: "Football*, coxinha, brigadeiro and Chevrolet"

*Football in Brazil being what the Americans call "soccer".

 

[J.E]

Ya ne govoryu po Russki...

Having said that, the Polo and Virtus did manage to score five stars in the Latin NCAP crash test.

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[Joelpeyeye]

Ya ne govoryu po Russki...

Having said that, the Polo and Virtus did manage to score five stars in the Latin NCAP crash test.

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has Instagram translator

 

[Joelpeyeye]

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Not the same product in China and now not the same product in Rusia

 

[J.E]

Sorry for bumping the thread, but I had no idea Joe visited Brazil to drive the Polo GTS.

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[dalab]

Sorry for bumping the thread, but I had no idea Joe visited Brazil to drive the Polo GTS.

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Fantastic!, the car must be very nice with those 150hp and 1,200 kg, but special mention that they have invited it to Brazil, this should be a more common practice either on the part of the brands or the South American governments, it is fun to see the " famous" here showing the beauty of these parts, touristically speaking they will be made known to a public with high purchasing power and not to mention that Europeans and Americans would not mind getting out of their bubble of farts and coming to enjoy the good

 

[J.E]

Fantastic!, the car must be very nice with those 150hp and 1,200 kg, but special mention that they have invited it to Brazil, this should be a more common practice either on the part of the brands or the South American governments, it is fun to see the " famous" here showing the beauty of these parts, touristically speaking they will be made known to a public with high purchasing power and not to mention that Europeans and Americans would not mind getting out of their bubble of farts and coming to enjoy the good

Absolutely! The car has a great power-to-weight ratio and it's very agile. I completely agree that it's a fantastic idea to bring such events to Brazil. It not only showcases the beauty of the country but also opens up opportunities for tourism and exposure to a wider audience. I hope to see more YouTubers being invited to these types of events in Brazil to conduct road tests and share their experiences. I hope they like our food!