FOREVER in the shadow of its bigger sister the Golf, Volkswagen's Polo has gamely plodded along, gradually building up sales and a strong following.

Now with the bigger all-round fourth generation Polo, the German marque is hoping to inject an edge of excitement to bring it into the spotlight with the latest range topping GT.

Visually the new Polo appears more grown up than before sharing a lot of the family looks with the Golf.

When it comes to the GT Volkswagen has been very restrained, the additions are subtle with just colour co-ordinated bumpers, 16 inch Montreal II alloy wheels and front fog lights to tell the difference.

If the exterior gives away none of the GT secrets the cabin is much more 'sporting' starting with the leather on the four point steering wheel, gear knob and gaiter plus the accommodating sculptured seating.

On the GT the kit list extends to; semi-automatic climate control, remote control locking with immobiliser , electric front windows, electrically adjustable door mirrors, multifunction computer read out and a CD player.

To find a 'hot hatchback' being powered by a diesel engine isn't a surprise anymore - the Volkswagen group has now almost made this the norm rather than the exception - so in this case the Polo GT is powered by a new 130bhp 1.9 litre turbo-diesel.

Admittedly this is not the quickest hatch out of the blocks, power being fed in gradually rather than with startling lumps and you do need to get the revolutions quite high, and keep them there, to make the best of the unit.

But remarkably it doesn't get especially noisy as some oil burners can thanks to the installation of an easy action six speed manual transmission (only available on the GT) which comes into its own on motorway journeys.

Playing with the gear lever not only helps to keep the sound levels down it also allows it to cruise all day and with its diesel fuel source, I managed an average of 45.7mpg without even trying while Volkswagen claims over 55mpg is more than possible.

Polo is now no longer the lightweight it was and has developed into a more grown-up, subtle warm hatch that is effective without getting over excited.

FACTPACK: Volkswagen Polo GT

Price: £14,425 (3-door)/ £14,925 (5-door)

Engine: 1896cc/13bhp

Top Speed: 128mph

0-62mph: 9.3seconds

Fuel Consumption: Urban - 42.2mpg, Combined - 55.4mpg

C02 Emissions: 138g/km

Insurance: Group 8