It’s been a long time coming but I believe now would be a good time to write about an important car to me. Yes, it’s time for me to delve into personal matters again. Last time out I wrote about a particularly ratty Nissan Sentra. A car that I will always attach sentimental memories to.

2019, my professional career started taking off and after a few months of hard work establishing my purpose as an adult, it was time I started standing on my own. This milestone meant that I had started the exciting search of looking for a new car to purchase. Well when I say ‘new’, I mean to me because based on the prices of obtaining new cars in this country, there was no way I’d be able to sleep comfortably paying an exorbitant amount for mediocrity.

So where did my search begin? Well it started at hot hatchbacks. They appealed to me as I was a young lad looking for something gutsy but wouldn’t be a pain to own and maintain. Something exciting but forgiving. Finally also something I can feel like a hero behind, but will double as a commercial van when I need it to. At this point I know what you are thinking. An acronym with three letters: G-T-I. Yes while that is the first thought, I however set my sights on something with more character.

I was searching for a Ford Fiesta ST. The one with the 1.6 four-cylinder turbo engine. My search proved fruitless as they were highly in demand and it was out of my budget to attain one. To this day I’m fascinated by how difficult it was to find the right example. I was also blown away by how quickly they would disappear from the classifieds. I’ve driven the Fiesta ST and I can confirm that it is as fun as everyone says it is. The gear throw is very short and precise. The clutch pedal is soft but reassuring. The steering is very quick, however it lacks feel. It’s still a very direct setup. The weak point I discovered was the suspension. Not when you’re gunning it, but under normal driving conditions. It’s too firm for my liking. Couple that with the Recaro seats, and you can understand why I wasn’t so big on the ride. In the end I loved it. Eventually I gave up and lost all hope of finding my hot hatch.

I looked at other options. There was a Renault Clio RS that I had set my sights on. But it didn’t feel right, it felt as if I was settling. This one was within my requirements. It was a low milage example and it was within my budget. The problem was it didn’t set my world on fire. The looks didn’t work for me, the exhaust doesn’t sound good and that EDC gearbox I wasn’t so sure on. So I was back on my quest.

A few failed attempts at obtaining a Fiesta and my hopes of finding one started waning. Want to know how bad it got? I started to consider buying a TSI Golf. I wasn’t fully in it and I tried to keep my options open. I actually gave up on finding the perfect hot hatchback, until that all changed. Through a connection from a colleague, the perfect car popped up. It was a white Volkswagen Polo GTI. This one is the 6R model with the twincharged four-cylinder. More on that in a bit. The salesperson that brought the car within my sights sent me images and details of the car. At the time it was sitting lower than standard thanks to a different suspension setup and smaller tyres to satisfy the previous owner’s stance requirements. It also had a front lip spoiler. Naturally I requested that the car be reverted to its stock form. I’m sure you think those modified bits are great, but I appreciate the simpler things.

So surprisingly, they had all the mods removed. And I was on track to having it purchased. Now my challenge was to get the thing insured. It might be a breeze to be young and insure a Polo in other parts of the world, but here in South Africa we have unique problems. First off VW Polos have a reputation here for being very easy to steal. Shoplifting is probably more of a challenge. Then I also had to haggle insurers for a decent premium as I was a young man in a sporty hatch which means trust was very marginal. Not to mention many young men like me have crashed and lost their lives in the same kind of car.

I was able to find the right insurance policy and everything was ready for me to collect the car. The most memorable moments after purchasing a car is the first night when it’s in your possession. I remember doing short bursts between traffic lights and still marveling at how I managed to aquire such a magnificent vehicle. It was through me owning the Polo GTI, that I really started to appreciate what it is. I had watched reviews on it and I couldn’t believe how much I disagreed with journalists when they described it. The steering is electric, but it feels so good to operate. It isn’t teeming with life, but it does weight up in a satisfying way when you change direction. It’s not overbearing and it didn’t leave me wanting for more. The car is equipped with a differential to curb torque steer but it was as effective as using tissue paper for a parachute. Torque steer was present especially when you’re really giving it the beans. The throttle response at times was frighteningly quick where the front wheels will spin when conditions aren’t favourable. The gearbox I also loved because it was, at times, flawed and it would be confused at what it does, but would also be lighting quick. The personality of the gearbox changes the higher up the revs you go. The engine? That was my favourite part of it all. While it was notorious for breaking and gulping oil, it really was punchy, direct and it made the most unique sound as opposed to any GTI out there. Low down you could hear the supercharger wail then the turbo kicks in and whooshes when you lift off. It was addictive. The exhaust would make cracking sounds on the upshift as opposed to the familiar DSG fart we’ve come to know. It’s quiet a lively engine as the revs climb past 7000 rpm. I particularly enjoyed using manual mode as opposed to sports mode. In sports mode it held on the revs for too long. I was besotted with it. Any opportunity to take it for a drive was an event.

I like to reflect on all the memories I created with the car. I washed it plenty of times but I particularly remember washing it while talking to a woman I even fell madly in love with. I remember how she would always open the sunshade to expose the panoramic glass roof. I remember being stressed at work and always going for a short drive in order to calm my nerves. At some point I even remember giving my mother a fright as I demonstrated what the car is capable of. Another memory that I like to look fondly at is when I took it to a charity drive and I was in the company of Porsche GT3s and Perfomante Lamborghinis.

With the highs of owning an exciting car, the lows are also present. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, life for me started to become tough. So before it could get worse, I took a trip to see my parents. It was great to see that they were doing well. On my way back to Johannesburg that’s when it started going wrong. One of the clutches failed but thanks to it having 2 sets of clutches, I was able to safely limp back home on odd gears. The other problem I’ve faced with it was it did seem to blow through oil very quickly so I always had to ensure that it was topped up more than any other car out there.

Other than those problems, the car was everything I wanted in a hot hatch. It looks good, it sounds good and in some instances it likes to slide. I sold it when it was becoming too problematic for me, but I definitely believe that I will have another one in the future.

If you would like to see more images of it you can find it on our Instagram. If you want to find out more about the problems I had, you can find a video on YouTube.