VW Polo GTi news - VW shrinks Golf GTI - 2010

If you have always lusted after a Golf GTI but couldn't quite reach the pedals, VW has announced that it will introduce this, the Polo GTI, at the Geneva show in March.

It looks every inch the little brother to Top Gear's Hot Hatch of the Year, and will pack a 1.4-litre engine developing 177bhp.

With a supercharger providing boost up to 3,000rpm, and a turbocharger kicking in higher up the rev range, it'll hit 62mph in 6.9 seconds and top out at 142mph.

Like the closely-related Seat Ibiza Cupra, it'll come with a seven-speed DSG gearbox as standard. The GTI will sit lower, on stiffer springs than the Polo, and gets VW's ‘XDS' electronic differential to stop you understeering into a tree.

In a slightly less raucous way than the awesome Clio 200, we reckon the Polo GTI could be rather tidy. With Ford looking unlikely to release a Fiesta ST any time this millennium, could this be the Slightly Sensible Small Hot Hatch Of Choice If The Clio 200 Is A Bit Mental For Your Daily Commute?

We'll find out when the Polo GTI arrives in the UK this summer.