PoloDriver

Volkswagen Russia has introduced a sports-orientated variant of its Polo Sedan. Based on the face-lifted model introduced in 2015, the Polo GT Sedan takes styling cues from both the current Polo GTI as well as the UK-market Scirocco GTS. The striking four-door is powered by a 123bhp version of Volkswagen’s 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine, mated to either a six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG transmission.

Polo GTI styling cues
Externally, the Polo GT Sedan borrows the Polo GTI’s front bumper, fog lights, and honeycomb grille, as well as the UK Polo SE Design’s 16-inch alloy wheels. Other exterior differences over the standard car include a gloss black-painted roof and mirrors, a rear boot spoiler, and a pair of chrome-tipped exhaust pipes. The black and red stripes seen in the released press images are limited to the first 300 cars which are finished in white or silver.

2016 Volkswagen Polo GT Sedan (Russia)

2016 Volkswagen Polo GT Sedan (Russia)

2016 Volkswagen Polo GT Sedan (Russia)

2016 Volkswagen Polo GT Sedan (Russia)

2016 Volkswagen Polo GT Sedan (Russia)

Inside, more sporty touches lift the standard Polo Sedan’s interior. ‘GT’ badges feature on the sill strips, a three-spoke leather steering wheel also wears logo denoting the car’s stature in the Polo Sedan range, while tartan seat upholstery and aluminium sports pedals also bring correlation to the Polo GTI hatchback. Climate control, electric windows all round, and headed front seats are all standard equipment.

Russian-market model
The Polo GT Sedan appear to be a Russian-market only model, and, as far as we understand, there are no plans to introduce similarly-badged models in South Africa or India, where the car wears the Vento name. The GT adds to the already five-strong Polo Sedan range in Russia, which includes Allstar, Conceptline, Trendline, Comfortline, and Highline versions. At the time of writiing, there’s no word on pricing and availability.

[Source: Indian Autos Blog]

After an appearance at the Geneva motor show earlier this year, the special edition and distinctive Polo Beats is now available to order in the UK. Prices start at £13,910 for the 59bhp 1.0 BlueMotion Technology (BMT) model with enhanced styling features and a 300-watt sound system which gives the car its name.

Eight-channel audio system
At the heart of the Polo Beats is the eight-channel, digital sound processor (DSP)-equipped super-sounding audio system provided by Californian music company Beats Electronics, more well-known for its range of hipster-friendly headphones. For comparison purposes, the standard Polo Match comes with an 80-watt sound system – the new Polo special ‘beats’ (sorry) that by almost four times.

Seven speakers – two A-pillar tweeters, two front door woofers, two broadband speakers in the rear and a spare wheel well subwoofer – come as standard and along with the DSP ‘delivers high-performance audio processing that gives clarity and definition’, according to Volkswagen. The car also speaks (shouts?) about its audio pedigree with ‘Beats’ side skirt decals, and B-pillar badges.

Further differentiators include 16-inch ‘Knight’ alloy wheels, darkened rear light units, a high-gloss black front grille, ‘Flash Red’, ‘Pure White’ or ‘Black’ door mirrors, and rear privacy glass. Inside, as well as the upgraded audio, is a pair of sport seats with alcantara side bolsters and ‘Beats’ cloth, red-striped seatbelts, LED footwell lighting, and ‘Cortina Silver’ centre console and air vent trim, as well as leatherette door panels, red-edged floor mats and ‘Beats’-branded door sill protectors.

Three or five doors, four engines
The Polo Beats comes with three or five doors, and a choice of four engines. A trio of 1.0 and 1.2-litre petrol engines offer power from 59 to 89bhp, while a 1.4-litre TDI version emits just 93g/km of CO2 and has a claimed economy figure of 83.1mpg. The petrol models offer emissions from 106 to 108g/km, and claimed economy from 58.9 to 60.1mpg. All have Volkswagen’s BlueMotion Technology, with the 1.2 TSI also having the option of a seven-speed DSG gearbox.

Slotting in-between the Match and SEL models, the Polo Beats features a 6.5-inch ‘Composition Media’ infotainment system, manual air conditioning, cruise control, and parking sensors. It also adds Volkswagen’s Car-Net ‘App-Connect’, which combines Apple ‘CarPlay’, Google ‘Android Auto’ and ‘MirrorLink’ and allows the ‘mirroring’ of the smartphone display on the infotainment touchscreen via a USB connection.

The Polo Beats is available to order from Volkswagen Retailers now, with first deliveries expected to arrive this month. For more details, visit www.volkswagen.co.uk.

2016 VOLKSWAGEN POLO BEATS PRICES (UK)
1.0 BMT 59bhp, 106g/km, five-speed manual, 3dr: £13,910
1.0 BMT 59bhp, 106g/km, five-speed manual, 5dr: £14,540
1.0 BMT 74bhp, 108g/km, five-speed manual, 3dr: £14,435
1.0 BMT 74bhp, 108g/km, five-speed manual, 5dr: £15,065

1.2 TSI BMT 89bhp, 107g/km, five-speed manual, 3dr: £15,055
1.2 TSI BMT 89bhp, 107g/km, five-speed manual, 5dr: £15,685
1.2 TSI BMT 89bhp, 109g/km, seven-speed DSG, 3dr: £16,430
1.2 TSI BMT 89bhp, 109g/km, seven-speed DSG, 5dr: £17,060
1.2 TSI BMT 89bhp, 109g/km, seven-speed DSG, 3dr: £16,430

1.4 TDI BMT 89bhp, 93g/km, five-speed manual, 3dr: £16,120
1.4 TDI BMT 89bhp, 93g/km, five-speed manual, 5dr: £16,750

As last month, the Volkswagen Polo is once again the sixth best-selling car in the UK according to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufactures and Traders (SMMT). A total of 4065 new Polos were registered in April 2016, while 19,225 examples of the small Volkswagen have been sold so far this year.

The Polo’s larger Golf sibling was second in the overall tally for April, behind the Ford Fiesta, seemingly un-knockable from its top spot. The Vauxhall Corsa meanwhile sits one place behind the Polo in seventh. Last month’s new car registration figures saw a 2.0 per cent rise to 189,505 cars – the largest April total since 2003, when 194,312 new vehicles found homes.

The latest figures show that Volkswagen was the second biggest brand in the UK during April, with registrations totalling 16,877, and a market share of 8.91 per cent. Both the private and fleet markets reported strong sales. ‘The good results over recent months reflect the high level of confidence within our UK retailer network,’ said Alex Smith, Director of Volkswagen UK.

The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during April 2016 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 7913 (44,240, 1st)
2 Volkswagen Golf: 5645 (25,073, 4th)
3 Ford Focus: 5562 (26,218, 3rd)
4 Nissan Qashqai: 4460 (23,140, 5th)
5 Vauxhall Astra: 4132 (18,896, 7th)
6 Volkswagen Polo: 4063 (19,225, 6th)

7 Vauxhall Corsa: 4060 (28,639, 2nd)
8 Mercedes-Benz C Class: 3604 (14,391, 10th)
9 Kia Sportage: 3167
10 Audi A3: 3150 (16,196, 8th)

(The 2016 top 10 best-selling car absent from last month’s sales figures is the ninth-placed Vauxhall Mokka with 15,146 cars sold.)

The Volkswagen Polo once again appeared in the UK’s top 10 best-selling cars list last month, according to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufactures and Traders (SMMT). March 2016 saw 10,279 Polos find new homes, while 15,162 small Volkswagens have been sold in 2016, also netting the car sixth place in the year-so-far charts.

The Ford Fiesta once again blitzed the competition. Topping the SMMT table, 23,467 Fiestas were sold last month, with the Vauxhall Corsa around 6,000 units behind. More than a third of all buyers preferred driving compact cars: the supermini was once again the best-selling car type.

The SMMT reported that the new car market grew 5.3 per cent in March, as more than half a million buyers took advantage of popular numberplate change. Overall, the wider picture showed that registrations increased 5.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2016, to 771,780 units.

The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during March 2016 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 23,467 (36,327, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 17,368 (24,579, 2nd)
3 Ford Focus: 14,002 (20,656, 3rd)
4 Volkswagen Golf: 13,401 (19,428, 4th)
5 Nissan Qashqai: 11,355 (18,680, 5th)
6 Volkswagen Polo: 10,279 (15,162, 6th)

7 Vauxhall Astra: 9,953 (14,764, 7th)
8 Mini: 8,915
9 Fiat 500: 8,304 (11,400, 10th)
10 Audi A3: 8,200 (13,046, 8th)

(The 2016 top 10 best-selling car absent from last month’s sales figures is the ninth-placed Vauxhall Mokka with 12,505 cars sold.)

In a similar story to January, the Polo stayed in the UK’s top ten best-sellers list for February 2016. The small Volkswagen recorded 1,585 sales last month, according to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufactures and Traders (SMMT). So far, 4,883 Polos have been sold in the UK since the start of the year.

Once again, the Ford Fiesta was unstoppable. As it celebrates its fortieth birthday in 2016, the Ford supermini was again atop the SMMT table, with 4,507 sales in January. The evergreen Fiesta has sold an enormous 12,860 units so far in 2016. The SMMT stated that the new car market grew by 8.4 per cent in February, with a total of 83,395 cars registered.

The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during February 2016 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 4,507 (12,860, 1st)
2 Volkswagen Golf: 2,574 (6,387, 5th)
3 Nissan Qashqai: 2,486 (7,325, 2nd)
4 Vauxhall Corsa: 2,408 (7,211, 3rd)
5 Ford Focus: 2,369 (6,654, 4th)
6 Vauxhall Astra: 1,626 (4,811, 8th)
7 Audi A3: 1,619 (4,846, 7th)
8 Volkswagen Polo: 1,585 (4,883, 6th)
9 Kia Sportage: 1,521
10 Vauxhall Mokka: 1,506 (4,410, 10th)

(The 2016 top 10 best-selling car absent from last month’s sales figures is the ninth-placed Nissan Juke with 4,485 cars sold.)