PoloDriver

Seen at the Autocar Performance Show in Mumbai last year, Volkswagen Group India has today announced details of the new Polo SR. Fitted with a 1.2-litre 74bhp petrol engine, the Polo SR is priced at Rs 6.27 lakhs (ex-showroom, New Delhi). Externally, the sporty SR is differentiated from regular Polos by front, rear and side skirts, chrome finishers on the tailgate, front grille and exhaust, a rear roof spoiler and unique ‘SR’ badging. Based on the Highline model, the Polo SR offers front airbags, ABS, climate control, multifunction display, RCD 320 radio system with Bluetooth and USB connectivity, rear parking sensors, 15-inch alloy wheels and front fog lights.

Just as Volkswagen Motorsport heads to Rally Sweden with its squad of Polo R WRCs, the UK’s Auto Express has published sister title Auto Bild’s road test of the Polo R WRC road car in its latest issue. The limited edition model, which is left-hand drive only, costs €33.900 and will be available in September, gets a three-star rating. Posting 217bhp from its 2.0-litre TSI engine, the Polo R WRC road car gets from 0-62mph in 6.4 seconds, and only 2500 will be made. Auto Bild meanwhile, has released a video of the test, and although its in German, you can generally get the gist of what’s going on. And besides, you get to see the Polo R WRC competition car in motion!

Volkswagen Group South Africa has started 2013 as it ended 2012, with the Polo Vivo sitting at the top of the new passenger car sales charts. Out of the 10,511 Volkswagen Group South Africa products sold, 4047 of these were Polo Vivos, while once again, the Polo 6R was in second place, shifting 2790 units. The achievements helped give Volkswagen Group South Africa market leadership in both the total and passenger car markets in January 2013 with a market share of 19.1 per cent. Last month, 39 738 new passenger cars were sold in South Africa, an increase of 20.2 per cent when compared to December 2012.

The Polo Vivo was launched in March 2010 as an entry-level model for the South African market, replacing the Series 1 Golf-based CitiGolf, and is available as a three or five-door hatchback and four-door booted saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines. Costing from R110,500 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R157,700 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2013 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. The fifth-generation Polo (6R) is available as both a three and five-door hatchback, in addition to the more traditionally-styled four-door Polo Sedan.

In related news, Volkswagen Group South Africa released a revised price list on 25 January. There are modest rises across the board, with the Polo Vivo and Polo 6R ranges also being affected. The new revised prices for both model ranges are as follows:

2013 VOLKSWAGEN POLO VIVO HATCH
(model: kW rating/CO2, g/km/retail price)
1.4 Base 3dr: 55/147/R110,500
1.4 Base 5dr: 55/147/R123,100
1.4 Zest 5dr: 55/147/R126,800
1.4 BlueLine 5dr: 55/128/R128,900
1.4 Trendline 5dr: 63/147/R135,300
1.4 Trendline auto 5dr: 63/156/R149,400
1.6 Base 5dr: 77/157/R143,400
1.6 Trendline 5dr: 77/157/R151,800
1.6 GT 3dr: 77/157/R157,000
1.6 Maxx 5dr: 77/157/R160,300

2013 VOLKSWAGEN POLO VIVO SEDAN
(model: kW rating/CO2, g/km/retail price)
1.4 Base 4dr: 55/147/R129,000
1.4 BlueLine 4dr: 55/128/R134,800
1.4 Trendline 4dr: 63/147/R141,200
1.4 Trendline auto 4dr: 63/156/R155,300
1.6 Base 4dr: 77/157/R149,300
1.6 Trendline 4dr: 77/157/R157,700

2013 VOLKSWAGEN POLO HATCH (6R)
(model: kW rating/CO2, g/km/retail price)
1.4 Trendline 5dr: 63/144/R160,100
1.6 Trendline 5dr: 77/153/R179,600
1.4 Comfortline 5dr: 63/153/R184,100
1.6 Comfortline 5dr: 77/153/R203,600
1.6 Comfortline auto 5dr: 77/153/R217,600
1.6 TDI Comfortline 5dr: 77/120/R228,400
1.2 TDI BlueMotion 5dr: 55/89/R192,800
1.4 TSI GTI DSG 5dr: 132/139/280,400

2013 VOLKSWAGEN POLO SEDAN (6R)
(model: kW rating/CO2, g/km/retail price)
1.4 Trendline 4dr: 63/139/R167,500
1.4 Comfortline 4dr: 63/139/R182,400
1.6 Trendline 4dr: 77/143/R187,700
1.6 Comfortline 4dr: 77/143/R200,900
1.6 Comfortline auto 5dr: 77/154/R214,900
1.6 TDI Comfortline 5dr: 77/120/R224,600

2013 VOLKSWAGEN CROSSPOLO (6R)
(model: kW rating/CO2, g/km/retail price)
1.6 CrossPolo 5dr: 77/154/R218,200
1.6 TDI CrossPolo 5dr: 77/154/R243,000

Visit www.volkswagen.co.za for the latest information and updates on the award-winning Polo Vivo, Polo and CrossPolo ranges.

The Polo has continued its 2012 success into 2013, with an eighth place in the UK’s top 10 bestsellers, announced this morning by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). With 2885 cars sold last month, the Polo is also in eighth place for the year to date. Once again, Ford’s perennial Fiesta topped the charts, with 7906 examples sold, no doubt helped by the model’s recent refreshing. The Volkswagen Golf slipped a couple of places, as buyers anticipate the arrival of the seventh-generation model. Overall, January new car figures were up 11.5 per cent to 143,643 units, with a 15.9 per cent rise in private registrations. Growth in private and small car demand also helped petrol cars see their market share rise.

‘The new car market has started the year confidently with registrations climbing 11.5 per cent in January,’ said Mike Baunton, Interim Chief Executive, SMMT. ‘Lifted by a solid rise in private demand, the new car market posted its 11th successive month of growth with motorists attracted to forecourts by the latest models and competitive deals on offer. Building on a strong performance in 2012, SMMT has increased its market forecast – we anticipate a modest rise over the year, followed by further growth in 2014.’ The UK’s top 10 best-selling cars during January 2013 and for the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 7906 (7906, 1st)
2 Ford Focus: 5794 (5794, 2nd)
3 Vauxhall Astra: 5462 (5462, 3rd)
4 Vauxhall Corsa: 5178 (5178, 4th)
5 Nissan Qashqai: 4280 (4280, 5th)
6 Volkswagen Golf: 3335 (3335, 6th)
7 Peugeot 208: 2959 (2959, 7th)
8 Volkswagen Polo: 2885 (2885, 8th)
9 Nissan Juke: 2522 (2522, 9th)
10 Mercedes-Benz C-Class: 2356 (2356, 10th)

Volkswagen UK has recently and modestly lifted the prices of its models. The Polo range was included in the increases, and now starts at £10,490 for the 1.2-litre, 59bhp S three-door. The GTI now nudges just over £20,000 for the first time at £20,050 for the five-door variant, while the new eco-performance Polo BlueGT with cylinder deactivation starts at £17,400 for the three-door car with a six-speed manual gearbox. In the market for a new Polo? Revised prices for the Volkswagen UK Polo range are as follows:

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