PoloDriver

India could possibly be the latest market to receive the rugged-looking but two-wheel drive CrossPolo reports Autocar India. Expanding on the already popular Polo hatchback range and its saloon sister, the Vento, the CrossPolo would build on their success. With the non-built-up nature of the roads in the country, the CrossPolo with its 15mm raised suspension and 17-inch alloy wheels would appear to suit India well.

In line with South American versions of the smaller CrossFox, the Indian CrossPolo could even differ from European and South African versions by having a spare wheel mounted in the tailgate, adding to the go-anywhere looks. It’s not all visual tricks, though – Autocar India states that a CNG tank could be installed in the resulting empty spare wheel well. As well as a possible economic gas option, the CrossPolo is also likely to receive Volkswagen’s new 1.5-litre TDI engine, developed solely for India.

[Source: Autocar India]

With fuel costs seemingly continuing to soar, economy cars are the darlings of any car manufacturer’s model range. The Polo BlueMotion has been around since 2008, with the latest model hitting the roads two years later. With a combined cycle mpg figure of 80.7, it’s also one of the most economical small cars you can buy, so we reacquainted ourselves with Volkswagen’s smallest BlueMotion model by taking one to the Scottish Highlands to see just how green-spirited we could be. Would we get to Scotland on one tank of fuel? Read how we got on here, or click on the magazine graphic below. The eighth of our special digital mini-magazines, we’ve redesigned the layout so that it can be read on a tablet device. Check out the PoloDriver bookshelf on issuu.com for our previous seven titles.

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While the Volkswagen Golf was once again Europe’s best-selling car in October according to the latest figures released by Jato Dynamics, the Polo still posted an entry in the top five of the sales chart. Last month, 22,817 Polos were sold, putting in fifth place, and making it the fourth best-selling small car behind the Ford Fiesta, the new Peugeot 208 and Renault Clio. However, when year-to-date sales are taken into account, the Polo trumps them all bar the Fiesta, and sits in third place – the Golf is 2012’s best-selling car in Europe with one month to go. The German company also had two more reasons to celebrate – its Tiguan SUV and Up city car saw improved sales when compared to the same period last year. New car sales in Europe fell again last month, but at a slower rate. Europe’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during October 2012 and for the year-to-date (unit sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Volkswagen Golf: 33,156 (373,036, 1st)
2 Ford Fiesta: 26,145 (264,122, 2nd)
3 Peugeot 208: 23,352
4 Renault Clio: 23,301 (203,388, 6th)
5 Volkswagen Polo: 22,817 (247,519, 3rd)
6 Opel/Vauxhall Corsa: 18,649 (229,563, 4th)
7 Opel/Vauxhall Astra: 18,079 (200,865, 7th)
8 Ford Focus: 17,779 (207,715, 5th)
9 Fiat Panda: 17,377
10 Nissan Qashqai: 16,720 (177,795, 8th)

(The 2012 year-to-date Europe top 10 best-selling cars absent from October’s sales figures are the Renault Megane in ninth place with 169,356 units sold and the Volkswagen Passat, selling 166,297 units in tenth place.)

A Nimbus Grey Polo features in the latest promotional video for Volkswagen Official Accessories. Promoting the company’s winter add-ons and extras, the accessorised five-door 6R is seen spearing up snow-covered mountain passes and hurtling back down them again, with the emphasis on the amount of driving fun to be had when fitting Volkswagen Official Accessories. Although the film is aimed at the German market, Volkswagen UK offers its own range of accessories, which can be found in the official brochure. Available to book now, it’s also offering a winter check for £25 at a Volkswagen Retailer until 13 March 2013, which includes brake, lights and tyres check, visual look at levels for oil and washer fluids, and an alternator and battery performance report.

The popular CrossPolo is now available with an ‘Urban Ice’ package, similar to the CrossPolo ‘Urban White’ available in Europe. The special Urban Ice package features Oryx White pearlescent paint, black roof rails, privavcy-tinted rear windows, gloss black side mirrors and 17-inch Oryx White ‘Budapest’ five-spoke alloy wheels. A silver-painted centre console, black headlining, grey carpet and handbrake gaiter stitching, and heated Alcantara/Meteor sports seats characterise the interior. The price for the Urban White package is R9800 on top of the standard cost of the CrossPolo. Standard retail prices (VAT and Emissions Tax included) for the CrossPolo are as follows:

CrossPolo 1.6 77kW: R214,200
CrossPolo 1.6 TDI 77kW: R238,500