PoloDriver

Hot in the tyre tracks of its latest successful launch in Australia, the New Polo has just hit the streets of Japan. On sale in the Far Eastern country since 1982, the revised version of Volkswagen’s evergreen supermini costs 2,239,000 Yen, around €16,329 or £12,909 with current exchange rates.

That buys Japanese drivers a New Polo Comfortline five-door powered by the revised model’s 89bhp 1.2-litre TSI turbocharged engine, coupled to a seven-speed DSG gearbox. Much the same as Australia, Europe, India, South Africa and the UK then. Interestingly, the mid-range five-door SE with the same engine and gearbox costs £14,960 in the UK.

On the outside, it’s a familiar story, too, with the Japanese New Polo gaining the same subtly refreshed exterior tweaks as its cousins in other countries. The same grown-up safety kit is available, too, including the Adapative Cruise Control and Automatic Post-Collision Braking System.

The new car also gets the interior upgrades applied to other markets. The Japanese version of the New Polo will fight its corner against the Ford Fiesta and Renault’s Clio, known in the Far East as the Lutecia. To find out details of exact specifications and options, visit the Volkswagen Japan website here.

The New Polo can now add Australia to its world-dominance plans as the model was launched in the southern hemisphere continent this week. Volkswagen Australia state that the refreshed model ‘has been advanced both visually and technically’.

The same car which hit streets in the UK, Europe, South Africa and India earlier in the year, the Australian New Polo features the same upgraded technology and appears as the versions in those markets. Only the petrol-engined TSI versions (66 and 81kW, 89 and 108bhp) are being imported.

As in the UK, all versions are fitted with BlueMotion Technology systems, including Stop/Start and brake energy recuperation. These make the 66kW Trendline version 21 per cent more fuel efficient than the model it replaces.

The New Polo for Oz also benefits from the upgraded safety tech. Included as standard is a Multi-Collision Braking System (automatically initiates braking of the vehicle that had an accident in order to prevent a subsequent collision).

A Driver Comfort Package is available as an option on higher-specification Comfortline models which includes Driver Fatigue Detection System, “Front Assist” ambient traffic monitoring system with City Emergency Braking and Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC).

The new electro-mechanical power steering system makes its way onto the Australian New Polo, too, enhancing the car’s road-to-wheel communication, while Volkswagen’s impressive second-generation infotainment system is also fitted.

As with the UK and Europe, a range of new colours is offered, with the subtly refreshed front and rear end design. The Australian New Polo is available in both Trendline and Comfortline trims and with five and six-speed manual geaboxes as well as a seven-speed DSG.

2014 NEW VOLKSWAGEN POLO (AUSTRALIA)
Prices
Polo 66TSI Trendline 5-speed manual: $16,290

Polo 66TSI Trendline 7-speed DSG: $18,790

Polo 81TSI Comfortline 6-speed manual: $18,290

Polo 81TSI Comfortline 7-speed DSG: $20,790

Options
Metallic / Pearl Effect paint: $500

Driver Comfort Package – Comfortline: $1,500

Sport Package – Comfortline: $1,500

Prices quoted are manufacturer list prices excluding dealer delivery charges, which may vary from dealer to dealer and statutory charges, which vary from state to state.

With the first examples of the New Polo set to hit UK shores in the next month, PoloDriver.com has just published a 14-page mini-magazine which features our first drive findings from the International Press Presentation in Germany of the refreshed 6R model.

Variants covered are the 59bhp 1.0 MPI, 89bhp 1.2 TSI, 89bhp 1.4 TDI as well as the CrossPolo 1.2 TSI. There are technical specifications of each model, too, as well as engine availability for models destined for the UK, and a brief overview of some of the exciting new technology the car incorporates.

The mini-magazine is not only free, but now also fully downloadable, for offline reading, and is optimised for iPad and other tablets. Read and download here, or click on the magazine graphic below. The tenth of PoloDriver.com’s special digital mini-magazines, check out the PoloDriver bookshelf on issuu.com for the previous nine titles.

On 29 January, PoloDriver.com was privileged to attend the press presentation of the new Polo, a revised and refreshed version of the fifth-generation 6R model.

Unveiled at the home of Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, the new model may appear the same as the outgoing car, but has many technological features and innovations under the skin.

With many driver assistance systems first pioneered on the larger Golf, the new Polo is the safest and most technologically advanced in the model’s 39-year history. It’s also an important car for Volkswagen.

The second best-selling model in its range, Volkswagen UK sold over 42,000 examples in 2013.

The new Polo arrives in the spring, after a world debut at the Geneva motor show in March, with a UK on-sale date of July 2014.

Order books open in April, and with prices expected to be the same as the outgoing car, expect a base-model Polo S to start at around £11,000, but be better equipped for the money.

UK trim levels are expected to be S, SE (forecast to be the most popular version), and SEL as upon introduction of the soon-to-be-discontinued car, with BlueMotion, R-Line and GTI models to follow before the end of the year.

The biggest change for the UK is the switch of the BlueMotion to petrol power with the arrival of a new 1.0-litre 89bhp TSI engine, capable of 68.9mpg.

A raft of EU6-compliant new petrol and diesel engines replace the ageing units which currently serve the 6R, with efficiency and emissions improvements for almost all.

Optional driver aids include Adaptive Cruise Control, a driver alert system, City Emergency Braking, Sport Select adaptable damper suspension, and Front Assist ambient traffic monitoring system.

All new Polos will be fitted with the Automatic Post-Collision Braking System as standard, while new touchscreen infotainment displays feature in the revised interior. There’s also a new steering wheel, instruments and fabrics.

Full LED headlights are also an option on certain models.

Make no mistake, it’s a thorough going-over. While the exterior hints at the mildest Polo ‘facelift’ in history, the engineering innovations suggest otherwise. In fact, so thorough are the changes, we’ve created a new section of pages for the new car.

Individual pages pinpoint the major aspects of the refresh: exterior, interior, engines, and technology, as well as giving the key facts about the new model. Finally there’s an image gallery, displaying all the new pictures of the incoming car.

Head here for a section overview – focusing primarily on UK models (with the full UK press release) – and click on the menu drop-down links on the ‘Polo 6R (F)’ tab above to visit an individual section page in our all-you-need-to-know guide.

The rumours have become more intense over the past few months, but now, finally, the new Polo is here. As expected, and in true Volkswagen tradition, the looks haven’t been altered much. The front bumper now sports new character lines and chrome trim added to the front, while reprofiled bumpers feature at the rear.

There are new light graphics, and LED headlights can now be specified, a class first. A fresh palette of new colours add the finishing touch, along with a new collection of alloy wheel designs.

The Polo has long taken cues from big brother Golf and the refreshed Mk 5 is no different. The interior features a new touchscreen modular infotainment system in the centre console with proximity sensor, just like the Golf.

The centre console has added colour, too, with some models enjoying a silver finish as seen on the limited-run Polo R WRC road car. There’s a new Golf-like three-spoke steering wheel, too, along with refreshed heating and ventilation controls.

If the interior has touches of Golf, the array of technical developments also have echoes of VW’s mid-size hatchback. An Automatic Post-Collision Braking System, Driver Alert System, City Emergency Braking technology and radar-operated Automatic Cruise Control are all part of the new Polo’s make-up.

A new Sport Select switchable suspension will make its debut on a Polo, too, and together with a new electro-mechanical steering system promise improved dynamics. Volkswagen says that its ‘democratising technology’ and if that sounds familiar, the German company heralded it was ‘democratising luxury’ back in 2000.

The big news is what powers the new Polo. A brace of EU6-compliant engines nestle beneath the new VW supermini’s bonnet. Volkswagen promises improved fuel efficiencies of up to 21 per cent with the new powertrains which start with a pair of three-cylinder 1.0-litre units. Developing 59 or 74bhp, they replace the ageing 1.2s, while new TSI units of the same capacity produce either 89 or 109bhp.

Further up the Polo ladder, the BlueGT has a 10bhp power boost to 148bhp. A new 189bhp Polo GTI will arrive later, which, we’re informed, will have the option of a manual gearbox, a feature the 6R GTI has so far been denied.

Diesel lovers a catered for by a pair of new 1.4 TDIs. With outputs of 74 and 89bhp, the three-cylinder units replace the previous 1.2 and 1.6-litre engines with the same outputs. The most startling news of all is that the UK Polo BlueMotion will now be a petrol model only.

Fitted with a new 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine, the eco model will return 68.9mpg on the combined cycle, and will emit just 94g/km of CO2. The continent sees a new and improved 82g/km diesel BlueMotion introduced.

There’s no news yet on the recent prototyped ‘R’ model with a rumoured 248bhp, and Volkswagen has stayed away from the term ‘facelift’. That’s precisely what this new Polo is, though, but a thorough one at that. The new model will be available this summer in the UK, with order books opening in April. First deliveries are expected in late July.

Full prices will be announced nearer the on-sale date, although VW states it aims to sell the new Polo to a very similar, if not the same, price as the old one. We’re in Wolfsburg at the new Polo press launch so will bring you full details of the new car very soon. Check our Twitter feed for the latest coverage.