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| ROADTESTS |
VW Polo Playa 2.0 |
SAC's Mighty 2.0 VW Polo Playa
Conversions, Modifications & Upgrades | | Once upon a time, there lived a humble but fierce little creature that gained renown for its unmatched ability to slay giants. | | Some spoke of it in awed tones as the king of the hot hatches. | | The pocket rocket. | | To others it was simply the Volkswagen Golf GTi. | | Sadly, as the years went by, it became ever so grand and lost its common touch, along with its appetite for giants. | | Steve`s Auto Clinic may not believe in fairy tales, but they have latched on to VW`s Polo Playa as the hot hatch for the new millennium. | |  | |
| On the basis that there is no substitute for cubic inches - all right, cubic centimetres - a two-litre upgrade sounds like a logical alternative to the biggest of the Volkswagen`s standard-issue Polo engines, the 1,8i. |
| Whether it`s logical to achieve the two litres by stretching a base 1,4I all of the 40 percent is another matter. |
| But that is the route that Steve`s has taken for what is said to be the most popular upgrade for the Polo range. |
| Illogicalities aside, the SAC 2,0I is just one of the many products available from a now well-established company. |
| Steve Fischer`s one-man Alfa Romeo tuning shop in Vanderbijlpark in the early 80`s has grown into a national franchise chain, offering a wide range of services that covers performance tuning, service and repair. |
| The two-litre option has even more relevance for the hatchback Playa derivative in the two-model Polo range. |
| Only the booted Classic version gets the standard 1,8 engine; the Playa has to settle for a 1,4 or 1,6. |
| Although Steve`s toyed with the idea of creating "an absolute firecracker" out of this particular base Playa, the tuning boffins opted for a "mild" result. |
| The car certainly looks mild. With the exception of the alloy wheels, everything else is standard, from the rubber to ride height and suspension componentry. The interior is untouched. |
| Apart from the low-rent SAC and 2,0I decals, there is nothing to betray the Playa`s Q-car secret. |
| Until you start it up, that is: at idle even, when it`s hot, it emits an off-beat buppida buppida exhaust note that sounds like it would be more at home in a pit lane. |
| Achieving the increase from 1 423 cm3 to 1 983 cm3 entails boring out the crankshaft and pistons with two-litre equivalents. |
| To maintain power right up to high revs, the 2,0 gets a gas-flowed cylinder head, bigger intake valves and longer-duration camshaft. |
| A two-litre engine management processor and factory oil cooler (as fitted to the Golf GTi) finish the package. |
| Some extra-cost options were included on our test vehicle. |
| Engine additions were extra-large intakes valves, modified intake manifold, and custom exhaust header pipe (the rest of the exhaust system is standard). |
| Fifth-gear ratio was changed from 0,85:1 to 0,8:1 for quieter, more economical cruising. |
| Other options, not fitted, are body work and suspension kits. |
| Promised improvements are a power increase from 62 to 107 kW, better fuel economy, top speed of about 210km/h, and improved driveability, particularly at high altitude. |
| A six-month 20 000-km warranty is offered. |
| It may be no firecracker, but one needs only a few seconds of cut-and-thrust driving to appreciate this "mild" Polo 2,0. |
| There is no hesitation, as so often with highly modified engines; just a husky surge of distance-shrinking torque accompanied by a crackling engine note that evoked memories of Weberised `60`s and 70`s Alfas for one of our team. |
| Although there is not what we would call a dramatic punch at any point, power delivery is fluid. |
| It revs eagerly, hitting the red line quickly enough to suggest that a change might be warranted, to give it longer legs. |
| Of course, this would add to the cost . |
| Our standing-start sprints passed off with less assurance. |
| From the very first attempt we noted a degree of clutch slip that worsened rapidly with every succeeding run, even though we pulled away at moderate revs. |
| Inability to handle the extra oomph? The result of a hard life? |
| Whatever the explanation, it`s a possible weak link. |
| For the record, sprint times and a top speed of 201 are comfortably in the high-performance two-litre ballpark, although given the very favourable quoted power-to-mass ratio we expected slightly better. |
| Consumption is on the heavy side for a two-litre. |
| Steady-speed readings show that travelling at 60 km/h gives virtually no saving over travelling at 80. |
| Our fuel index (based on consumption at 100 km/h) suggests an overall figure of 11,96 litres/100km/h. |
| During a two-week period - including performance testing - we averaged about 12,5 between fill-ups. |
| Consumption is on the heavy side for a two-litre. |
| Steady-speed readings show that travelling at 60 km/h gives virtually no saving over travelling at 80. |
| Our fuel index (based on consumption at 100 km/h) suggests an overall figure of 11,96 litres/100km/h. |
| During a two-week period - including performance testing - we averaged about 12,5 between fill-ups. |
| Tuning for performance usually involves a tradeoff in refinement, but we believe some of the rough edges are unacceptable. |
| Boy racer types will probably revel in the aspects of the powertrain character, but the lumpy idle (with its resultant body rocking) and boominess around 60 km/h in top gear can irritate. |
| In its defence, the rorty soundtrack fades away at freeway speeds - for once, a hot car that can be cruised without causing without headaches. |
| Also, it is admittedly more powerful than what we have been used to in VW models up to now. |
| Without double camshafts and 16 valves, either. |
| And as a package, it is relatively cheap. |
| For the purposes of this test, Steve`s wanted to focus on their engine-tuning expertise, so that is what we concentrated on. |
| But we do have some comments to make on the Playa 2,0I as a package deal because after all, it is available in "as tested" form if required. |
| Of course, driven conservatively as simply a more tractable version of a standard Playa, the 2,0i feels and sounds sporty but behaves like it`s normal siblings. |
| However, you will have to make allowances for arriving at corners a lot earlier than normal, or you can go around on tiptoes. |
| Take advantage of all the performance at your disposal, and 10 to 1 you will overcook it. |
| Even at the most basic level, improvement of the seats is necessary because of the greater support and grip the higher performance limits require. |
| And never mind the spring rates and braking, the regular T-rated tyres (good for 190 km/h) are not up to the task of extended running at the speeds of which the car is capable. |
| Test Summary: |
| So, could we live happily ever after with the SAC Playa 2,0I? |
| Often, boosting one aspect of performance highlights shortcomings elsewhere, or pushes otherwise competent areas of a vehicles dynamics to, or beyond, their limits. |
| And we understand that the intention was to show how the powertrain can be revitalised. |
| So yes, the Playa 2,0I offers bracing hot hatch performance with the understated looks and the kind of sound effects that will have boy racers grinning from ear to ear. |
| But that shouldn`t mask the flaws. |
| As it stands, it asks for too much of a compromise, and we strongly recommend matching the running gear to the performance. |
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