Volkswagen has lowered the price of its most affordable performance car.
The pint-sized Polo GTI will be priced at $39,990 drive-away throughout the third quarter of 2023, with Volkswagen Australia confirming it has solid supply of the hot hatch.
A panoramic sunroof remains a $1650 option, while the Sound & Tech package (9.2-inch screen, satellite navigation, Beats audio) adds another $1500 to the price.
The new drive-away price represents a saving of around $3000 compared to its recommended retail price of $39,690 before on-road costs.
It’s also a significant departure from the car’s launch in the middle of 2022, when fully optioned examples were listed online at more than $50,000 drive-away.
Volkswagen confirmed it has enough supply to have cars on dealer forecourts for immediate delivery, as is also the case with the bigger Golf GTI.
Power in the Polo GTI comes from a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 147kW and 320Nm, mated with a six-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Rivals for the hot little Polo are thin on the ground. The Renault Clio RS has been discontinued globally, the Ford Fiesta ST died for Australia in 2022 and is now dead globally, and the Hyundai i20 N remains off sale due to supply shortages.
Hot hatches have been hard to come by in Australia lately, regardless of price.
Orders for the Golf R remain closed, and anyone who wants a Hyundai i30 N will need to wait for orders to reopen later this year.
The Renault Megane RS is no longer on sale, the Honda Civic Type R still has wait lists – although those wait lists have recently been cut.
