How to Test Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI in Penang

Immediately after I’d test drive the Peugeot 208 with my friend, we proceed to explore our next test drive car, Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI.

I used to tell friends not to test drive Volkswagen car until we have tried out other similar segment cars. I’ve said so because I’ve being heard people talking about Volkswagen car with TSI engine is so much powerful and impressive gear changing, that easily smoke the rest of the cars on the road.

Upon we arrived at the Volkswagen Showroom in Sungai Pinang, Jelutong, Penang, we are greeted by the friendly Volkswagen staffs.  Then we told them we wanted to test out Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI.

The salesman crap a lot and also very boastful about their Volkswagen cars, he is very proud of their own products. He asked us what car we have driven before and we told him we have tested few Korean and Japanese cars. Then he told us confidently that we won’t bother about other cars once we have tested Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI.

After we completed test drive procedures and documentation, then we proceed to get into Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI.

The moment I open the car door, I can sense the car door is loaded and solid, unlike those low-end cars. Inside the car, Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI is still using conventional way, that is car key to start the engine, and the interior, as well as exterior, doesn’t really equip with high technology gadgets, unlike those Korea cars.

From the conversation with the salesman, he told us Volkswagen cars upgrade their car models every 8 years, unlike our local, Korea and Japanese cars which upgrade their car models every 3-5 years. That why the Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI still don’t have those fancy features like those fitted in new Korea cars.

Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI interior looks solid but plain at the same time as well. The interior and the fabric seats furnished in only single black color, but the dashboard of the car are made of expandable materials which mean the dashboard won’t crack up due to heat from the sun during daytime.

Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI has a conventional CD player with 6-speakers and analog air conditioners controller. At that moment, me and my friend agreed with the price of RM113,888.00 for a B-segment car with such simple features was over pricey. Well, we can’t fully judge the car until we try out the performance and the handling of this little red monster.

Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI has slanting rear seats which are comfortable to be seated for 2 adults. The slanting seats make the seating comfortable even though the legroom is small, unlike Peugeot 208 which have bigger legroom spaces. If the car carries more than 2 adults at the rear seats would cause the seating uncomfortable.

So, this car maybe not your choice if you have a family size that are more 4 family members.

Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI have a good sound proof from the inside of the car. Inside the car, the cabin is quiet and engine noise is minimized.

When the salesman is shifting the Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI for us test drive from the parking lot, I heard the electric power steering motor working integrating with the 2 front big wheels, 215/40/17 beside the car. This showed us that the 1.2 TSI engine is so quite until I can actually hear the Rack & Pinion, Electro-Hydraulic Assist steering motor working.

Now we are ready to hit down on the road!

The salesman is flexible with our request, he allowed us to drive the car from the Volkswagen Showroom, Sungai Pinang until Queensbay Mall and make a big turn back to the showroom. That where we can actually squeeze out this little monster from every aspect.

On the panel meter, there is an a stepping on brake indicator to remind the driver to step the on the break pedal before shifting a gear even from “Neutral” to “Drive” mode.

The steering weight is in the perfect ratio, and I found the steering weight is light when the car in stationary mode even though Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI has big wheels and the steering gradually stiffed up when the car is moving faster and faster.

Cruising with Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI on the Jelutong Express Highway is so effortlessly, with the car packed with 1.2l 105PS TSI turbocharged direct petrol injection 4-cylinder engine combined with 7-speed direct shift gearbox DSG.

Output, 77 (105)kW (PS) at 5,000rpm and Max. Torque 175, 1,550 Nm at 4,100rpm which build up the momentum and inertial of the Volkswagen Polo without any hassle at all. Under the “Drive” mode, the gear changing is so smooth that we can barely feel the gear changing at all.

The car is so awesome, and now I am really believing those rumors about the impressive of the  7-speed direct shift gearbox DSG is not just a joke.

The gear keeps on changing from 4th gear to 7th gear during cruising on the highway and I don’t feel the gear shifting at all. We know this because we keep our eyes on the panel meter for the gear position while driving.

We like the gear knob so much, it gives us the solid and fully control of this red beauty without much electronic controlled  such as Naza Kia Forte.

Then we tried out the manual direct shift by shifting the gear position from “Drive” mode to the left side, and we entered in “direct shift” mode of the transmission. Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI works perfectly in this mode, we revved the car to 7,000 RPM under this mode and the car gave us a very powerful acceleration on the road.

Seriously, the car is carrying 3 adults and we still feel the momentum holding us back to the seat upon I stepped on the accelerator pedal to the floor. We can easily ramp up the car into 130km/h from 60km/h within few seconds, and overtaking with Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI on the road is just piece of cake.

We managed to try out the “Sport” mode in Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI as well. The “Sport” mode give the car higher torque by delaying the gear shifting, and from here we can felt the gear shifting from one gear to another gear in this mode yet it doesn’t give much jerk and lag during shifting.

Anyhow, “Sport” mode don’t have direct shift mode which means we can’t shift the gear in a manual way.

Talk about the handling of the car, Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI give us the impressive and solid handling.

The car provided us the excellent gripping on the road and we tried out to switched between the lane at speed of 110km/h at fast pace yet the car that equipped with MacPherson Strut on the front suspension and Torsion Beam at the rear suspension with ‘Boavista’ alloy wheels, 7J x 17″, tyres 215/40 R17 give a very little body roll in the car.

The suspension system is firm yet comfortable, and the kerb weight of the vehicle is 1126kg which is almost equivalent to  Toyota Vios which is 1020kg. This is one of the reasons the Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI is so stable and provides great gripping on the road during the high speed.

Tailgating  the car in front of us with high speed wasn’t a problem for Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI. The car equipped with Vent Disc for the front brakes and solid disc for the rear brakes that gave us the confident on the stopping power at any time.

In fact, we are had fun tailgating another car on the fast lane during the test drive and we scared them off  on the road too 🙂

Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI come with features:

Overall, Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI is a performance car and packed with great handling for B-segment cars. I concluded that Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI is the most powerful car I ever tried in B-segment cars, and I am not going to challenge this car during cruising on the highway with my Toyota Vios.

Lastly, I would like to thanks to the salesman for his precious time for the introduction of the Volkswagen car to us and allowed us to have fun with the car.

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