PoloDriver

Australia’s Drive magazine has named the Polo 77TSI as the Best City Car for the third consecutive year in its annual Drive Car of the Year awards. A winner since its introduction in 2010, the Polo was described as being ‘the benchmark setter in this category – if not the one above’ and ‘hard to fault’. The Polo’s refined and confident nature during cornering and highway cruising were also highly praised. Other Drive Volkswagen winners included the Golf Cabriolet (Best Convertible) and the Up (Safety Innovation Award). The 2012 Drive Car of the Year Awards were judged by an experienced group of road testers over a week. The Drive awards are regarded as the ultimate consumer guide in Australia.

Adding to its trophy cabinet, the Polo 66TDI has also received two Australia’s Best Car Awards prizes. Taking the Best Light Car over $20,000 award, it was again the third consecutive year Volkswagen’s small car has taken the prize, it’s blend of remarkable fuel efficiency and class-leading build quality scoring highly. ‘On the road, the Polo continues to be a standout. On winding sections of road, the Polo is nimble and fleet footed. From the moment you step in and hear the reassuring thud when you close the door you know you’re in a special vehicle,’ said the judges. The Australia’s Best Car Awards represent the country’s most comprehensive and independent consumer-focused vehicle testing/awards programme.

The latest generation of the Polo has been awarded gold and the top spot in a report published by the German-founded independent service assurance organisation, TÜV and German motoring magazine Auto Bild. The Polo was the winner of the two-to-three-year old cars class, having the fewest defects (2.2 per cent of cars tested) over a period from July 2011 and June 2012 and over eight million inspections. The small Volkswagen beat off competition from the Japanese Mazda 3 and German Audi Q5 to emerge victorious. The official awards ceremony takes place in February 2013 in Berlin.

‘The award proves that with the new Polo, technical security is not a matter of price. After years of Japanese domination, Wolfsburg shows that high standards can be met at in affordable small cars,’ declared Hartmut Müller-Gerbes, editor of the TÜV/Auto Bild report. Professor Dr Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of Volkswagen AG commented: ‘The excellent result of the Polo in the 2013 TÜV Report emphasises that Volkswagen is a leader in technology and quality in the compact segment. The Polo’s victory makes it clear that we can achieve quality, no matter what the vehicle class.’

In addition to the unveiling of the Polo R WRC rally car in Monaco on Saturday evening, Volkswagen also pulled the covers off its road-going counterpart, the Polo R WRC ‘Street’ (VW also confusingly refers to the full-fat rally car as Polo R WRC, so we’re adding the ‘Street’ suffix). A few hours before the competition car announced the arrival of the company’s 2013 World Rally Championship, the most powerful production Polo ever was launched in the Monte Carlo Sporting Club.

Looking much the same as the Polo R WRC Street Edition concept car seen at the Wörthersee GTI Festival back in May, the production R WRC Street loses the bold blue flashes that adorned its sides (keeping its Volkswagen Motorsport-inspired bonnet and sill graphics), but has otherwise made the transition to from idea to reality unscathed.

Available as a three-door and in white only, the Polo R WRC ‘Street’ has a tuned 2.0-litre TSI engine borrowed from the Mk 6 Golf GTI, developing 217bhp and 258lb ft of torque, enough to get the 1324kg car to 62mph from rest in 6.4 seconds, and onto a top speed of 151mph. That’s 39bhp and 74lb ft more than the high-performance Polo GTI.

Powering the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox with short shifts, the Polo R WRC ‘Street’ transfers its power to the road via 18-inch ‘Cagliari’ multi-spoke alloy wheels with 215/35 R18 tyres. Volkswagen describes the car’s underpinnings as a ‘sports chassis’. Let’s hope so!

2013 Volkswagen Polo R WRC ‘Street’

2013 Volkswagen Polo R WRC ‘Street’

2013 Volkswagen Polo R WRC ‘Street’

2013 Volkswagen Polo R WRC ‘Street’

WRC-style front and rear bumpers and spoilers dominate the Polo R WRC ‘Street’’s appearance, along with blue brake calipers, which up front house 16-inch discs. Bi-xenon headlamps add more visual aggression, while inside, WRC-branded sports seats, multifunction steering wheel, black roof lining, racing pedals, cruise control, light and rain sensors, winter package, climate control, alarm and radio with USB/MP3 connectivity all feature. Just what you need when negotiating the urban jungle. Only 2500 units worldwide will be sold, partly to homologate the competition vehicle.

The price for all this kit and exclusivity? €33,900 or £27,258 to us UK buyers at current exchange rates. However, all Polo R WRC ‘Street’s will be left-hand drive, so it won’t be officially sold in the UK. But, we hear that Volkswagen UK is assessing a potential market for the car. Order books officially open on 11 December 2012 – the first customer cars will be delivered in September 2013.

It’s a story of continuing success for the South African-only Polo Vivo. Once again Volkswagen Group South Africa’s entry-level model sat atop the passenger car sales charts during November 2012, with 2697 units sold. Nestling alongside its lower-priced sibling, the Polo 6R was again a top-seller, too, coming in second with 2376 cars finding homes. Overall, Volkswagen Group South Africa delivered a total of 8300 units to its customers and achieved a passenger car market share of 22.6 per cent, making it the top-selling manufacturer.

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 R108,300 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R154,700 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2012 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.