New VW Polo GTI vs Golf 8 GTI – How much extra you need to earn

If you want to buy a new VW Polo GTI using a finance plan, then you need to earn R46,700 per month to “afford” the car.

If the Polo is not fast enough and you would prefer a VW Golf 8 GTI, the salary requirement goes up to R64,950 per month.

This is according to a calculation performed by TopAuto, based on advice from financial experts.

The Polo GTI and Golf GTI are both hot hatches, with the bigger Golf laying out more power and torque.

• Polo GTI – 147kW and 320Nm
• Golf 8 GTI – 180kW and 370Nm

Both cars are driven by 2.0-litre, turbo-charged petrol engine, with power going to the front wheels via automatic gearboxes.

The result is the following performance figures:

• Polo GTI – 0-100km/h in 6.7 seconds / Top speed of 237km/h
• Golf 8 GTI – 0-100km/h in 6.4 seconds / Top speed of 250km/h

Now, we move onto the numbers that arguably matter a lot more: the price.

The VW Golf 8 GTI has a retail price of R682,700 in South Africa. Along with this you get a 3-year/120,000km warranty and a 5-year/90,000km service plan.

The new VW Polo GTI sells for R489,400, and includes a 3-year/120,000km warranty and a 3-year/45,000km service plan.

Salary requirements

To work out how much you need to earn to “afford” one of these South African favourites, we must first calculate how much you will pay when purchasing the cars using a vehicle finance plan.

This can be done using the formula below.

• Car Price – R489,400 / R682,700
• Payment Term – 60 terms (5 years)
• Interest – 9.5%
• Deposit – 10%
• Balloon – No balloon payment
• Extras – No optional extras

The result for the Polo GTI is a monthly finance payment of R9,340. The total amount of interest you will pay over the duration of the finance agreement is R114,800.

For the Golf 8 GTI, the monthly finance payment is R12,990. Total interest paid will amount to R160,120.

Financial experts then recommend that you do not spend more than 20% of your gross monthly salary on vehicle payments.

This means that, using the guidance above, you will require the following salaries to “afford” the fast VW hatchbacks:

• VW Polo GTI – R46,700 per month
• VW Golf 8 GTI – R64,950 per month

It must be noted that these amounts do not take costs like insurance premiums and fuel spend into account.