Just been back to pick mine up and had another look whilst waiting. You're right, it was a Beats model with the 80PS engine. £18k I was thinking more for my OH. I'm also not the target audience for one of those! OH has a 50PS (when new, god knows how many are left) 1.0 2003 Lupo so a 60+% power hike should be noticeable depending on the weight disadvantage of the Polo. And thanks for the comment on the caps, no matter what happens now, I'm not buying any more
The pricing structure of the Polo range is crazy - very little difference between the flagship GTI+ and the low to middle end of the range with a 1.0TSI variant engine. If it hadn't been pulled, the 1.5TSI Evo R-line was within a few hundred quid of the GTI+. Given the far better residuals of the GTI+ (anticipated, based on PCP GFVs) vs the lower models, there's very little between the PCP monthlies. Buying a Beats or SEL over a GTI+ seems poor value unless you're chasing mpg savings. On uncluttered roads, the Polo GTI+ is good on the fuel. In heavy traffic it's on par with my old Golf R, but you won't be working it hard all the time like you will the 1.0 engine.
Comparing that 50ps Lupo to an 80ps beats might not see much advantage in the Polo despite 60% more power.
The Polo is as big as a MK4 Golf and only weighs about 40kg less than the equivalent engined MK7 Golf.
So you have 60% more power, 40% more weight, and ridiculously tall WLTP compliant gearing on the Polo.