The Sunday Mail
THEY call it a mystical car and they say, “Don’t trouble trouble until trouble troubles you”, but the truth of the matter is that we are in deep trouble.
This is now our worst nightmare. The worst nightmare for every motorist and the sweetest of dreams for our respected Zimbabwe Republic Police.
This week, all I can say is we are in trouble. I can confirm that our ZRP now has a VW Golf GTI and those that are in the know of what the GTI means to the Golf family know what trouble is.
A VW Golf GTI as a police car in Zimbabwe? Yes, it is the seventh generation 2014 GTI and I am told more are coming. ZRP has acquired the fastest VW GTI ever made.
Yes, it is the fastest VW Golf GTI ever.
This means Christmas is coming with more traffic fines, more tickets issued and there will be nowhere to run because of this addition to the ZRP fleet.
Whoever is advising the ZRP on cars deserves a bonus.
I have said this before and I will say it once again: No police force in the world is worth its salt when citizens have vehicles that outpace the police fleet.
Surely, it was high time that the police retired their face-lifted E90 BMW 335i models which use the N55 engine. The N55 BMW engine is a single-turbo 3-litre i6 that can do the 0-100km/h in just five seconds.
On the continent, when it comes to high performance cars in police fleets, South Africa leads the pack.
However, be that as it may, Zimbabwe — despite her economic challenges — is next to South Africa, although we tend to over-keep our good police cars. South Arica’s cop GTIs are, however, older versions. It is a car rated a non-traditional police car (“50 unlikely Police Cars”).
The GTI is one of the most-loved cars by the South African Police Services, and Dubai Police in the UAE also have some in their fleet.
The allure of the GTI is not because it is a hot hatch, but because of its capabilities.
After the BMW 335i, the VW Golf GTI will have very big shoes to fill in our police force.
The motoring paparazzi in recent reviews have touted the new VW Golf GTI as “the best GTI ever”.
It is arguably the most powerful version yet.
One thing that you cannot take away from the GTI is its handling, particularly on curves.
It is said that the man that signed off the chassis of the £82 000 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, which is claimed to have the best handling 911 ever built, was given a job by VW to work on this particular generation.
The VW Golf GTI DNA had been threatened in previous generations by a somewhat lack of power compared to rivals such as the Ford Focus ST.
You will never understand the GTI unless you appreciate what it is and what it means.
The GTI is all about performance. This GTI punches 217hp from a 2-litre turbo-charged engine. The overhauled four-cylinder turbo engine is helped by the new-generation Golf’s lighter body to propel this GTI from 0-100km/h in 6,4 seconds.
This is where ZRP’s BMW 335i beats its successor.
But our cops can beat 0-100km/h in 6,4 seconds if they know how to shift the gears of the GTI properly.
GTI’s top speed is 280km/h, but this is electronically governed to 250km/h. It is unlikely any officer will ever need to hit such speeds, though.
The seventh generation GTI comes with reinforced crankshaft bearings, modified direct fuel-injection, reduced friction, improved efficiency and an exhaust manifold integrated in the cylinder head.
It comes with standard Dynamic Chassis Contro (DCC).
The GTI allows you — at the touch of a screen — to instantly tune dampers, steering, engine, transmission, adaptive cruise control, dynamic cornering lights and air conditioning.
The GTI engine can be changed from normal to sport, and the steering as well can be changed from normal to sport.
The DCC function lets you choose from five different driving modes – Comfort, Normal, Sport, Eco and Individual.
So much for a “little” car.
A cheeky hatch with a bad attitude, “takuvara gore rino!” (We are busted!). I just hope our traffic officers won’t have a “bad attitude” like their new GTI.
In short, the VW Golf GTI is more than just a sport car.
Thumbs-up to Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri and his team: that’s quite a car you have there!
Hopefully, as your resources improve, you might consider ordering the 545hp Nissan GT-R for your fleet.
Please send feedback to Augustine Moyo at [email protected]
