RAZZLE-DAZZLE!! Kick-ass Polo 1.9TDI
an article of Jason Woosey cars in action magazine

I COLLECT TEST CARS FROM our office test-car-pool with varying levels of preconception - 'party-time' mode; drive in the park mode; or a mix of the two. When I tested the UPsolute Chip Tuning VW Polo 1.9 TDI I was in the latter...

I was wrong. It was party-time from the moment I pulled out onto the road for my pre-test strart - flooring the accelerator with normal everyday clutch-slip. And ... hello... war that wheel-spin as I accelerated?

You bet your boftom dollar it was. In fact I checked the rear view mirrors to see if I'd crosses some loose sand. Disbelieving what I'd just experienced I attempted the same again, this time flooring the accelerator only while travelling at around 4km/h. Again, wheelspin, and noticed some front-end lifting too. My next attempt was a spirited pull-off with the correct amount of cluch-slip. Result? Two solid black lines and for a respectable ditance. For a small diesel, that's truly differernt.

Now I just couldn't wait to get to the test-strip, where party-time turned into rock-and-roll. At 8.0 seconds to 100 for the sprintjit proved fractionally slower than the hot-shot Renault Clip Sport at 7.8 and that's petrol-driven. However, when I checked the other figures blinking on my readout what truly stood out was the acceleration from 80 to 120km/h - 6.5 seconds. Now that's quick when you compare it with the Subaru WRX Impreza and Opel Astra OPC at around 6.7 seconds.

Look at it another way. It compares well with the ultra-quick BMW 330d too. And even though the top speed of around 200km/h is impressive for a small diesel, it's only in this area that is displays some normality. However, on the other side of the scale, you achieve around 6.2 litres oer hundred kilometers in overall fuel consumption terms. With its lightning performance that's a true bonus.

Ant it's a pleasure piloting the Upsolute 1.9 TDI Polo around town. Throttle response is superlative, you con floorit form almost anywhere in the rev-range with resounding response. The almost absent turbolag is another factor that adds to this turbo-diesel's star status.
Remember, too, that the 1.9 -litre mill driving ratio as the Car of the Yeyr winning 1.4-litre 3-cylinder TDI. Already in that format it created a new performance plateau for small modern-day diesel engines.

However, there is a slight downsidel. In inexperienced hands, eith such high outputs, the Upsolute Polo 1.9 TDI could be a handful in the wet. But one thing is for sure and we've mentiones it before - diesels are here to stay, especially when such performance con be achieved with the simple application of a 'chip'. To achieve such outputs with a petrol-driven engine will set you back long bucks, with the Upsolute chip you'll just fork out R3 200, all-inclusive. And th price remains the same for most other makes too.

Jason Woosey