PoloDriver

It’s been mooted for a long time, but finally the Polo GTI is available to buy in India. The car retails at Rs 25.99 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), but potential owners will need to be as quick as the 189bhp hot hatch – only 99 units will be available, as the car is a ‘limited edition’ for India. The car was first unveiled in February at the Auto Expo motor show in New Delhi, and differences for the Indian market include raised suspension and better dust-proofing.

16-inch ‘Salvador’ alloy wheels
The Indian-market hot Polo also comes with 16-inch ‘Salvador’ alloy wheels, one inch smaller than the European car. Also only available as a three-door, the high price is because the car comes only as a Completely Built Up (‘CBU’) model, which incurs higher taxes: Completely Knocked Down (‘CKD’) cars are cheaper, as parts of the finished vehicle are shipped to the the country of sale for assembly. Regular Polos for the local market are assembled in Volkswagen India’s Pune factory.

Performance is similar to its European sisters: the 1280kg Indian Polo GTI records a 0-62mph time of 7.2 seconds, while top speed is 146mph. Torque from its 1.8-litre turbocharged TSI engine is the same, too, at 184lb ft/250Nm. A seven-speed dual-clutch DSG gearbox is standard. Equipment includes LED headlights, twin exhaust pipes, ‘XDS’ electronic limited slip differential, ‘Composition Media’ colour touchscreen infotainment system, multifunction steering wheel, and six airbags.

2016 Volkswagen Polo GTI (India)

2016 Volkswagen Polo GTI (India)

Marketed as ‘Volkswagen GTI’
The Polo GTI costs Rs 17 lakh more than its less hot 103bhp Polo GT sibling, which is priced at Rs 9.07 lakh. The Indian Polo GTI is marketed just as ‘Volkswagen GTI’, so Volkswagen India is clearly testing the water before launching any further performance models. The Indian Polo GTI’s closest rival is the 147bhp Rs 9.99 Abarth Punto. As well as Europe, the Polo GTI has also appeared in China: a 131bhp model was introduced in 2012 with a 1.4-litre TSI engine from the locally-made Lavida saloon.

Michael Mayer, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, said: ‘The GTI is one of its kind in the performance hatch segment and is designed for the petrol heads who are well versed with the GTI philosophy. It seamlessly blends power with comfort that guarantees performance and an adrenaline-packed driving experience. The one who drives a GTI need not to explain anything. He simply drives a statement. Volkswagen GTI remains the icon for all sporty cars and we are extremely proud to bring this phenomenon to India’.

The UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has released its latest new car registration figures today and once again the Volkswagen Polo is in the top 10 most popular vehicle list. During October 2016, a total of 3519 Polos were registered, putting the car eighth in the top 10 table. For the year-to-date, the small VW sits one place higher, with 47,161 cars recorded.

Again, the Ford Fiesta tops both charts: 7806 cars were registered during September, while 103,945 small Ford registrations have been recorded during 2016 to this point. Overall, 180,168 new cars were registered in October 2016, which the SMMT states as ‘modest growth’ of 1.4 per cent. The UK’s top 10 most popular passenger cars during October 2016 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 7806 (103,945, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Astra: 4985 (49,756, 6th)
3 Nissan Qashqai: 4945 (55,238, 5th)
4 Volkswagen Golf: 4520 (59,474, 4th)
5 Audi A3: 4281 (37,521, 10th)
6 Ford Focus: 4096 (61,233, 3rd)
7 Vauxhall Corsa: 3906 (68,861, 2nd)
8 Volkswagen Polo: 3519 (47,161, 7th)
9 Nissan Juke: 3503
10 Kia Sportage: 3471

(The 2016 top 10 best-selling cars absent from last month’s sales figures are the eighth-placed Mini and the ninth-placed Mercedes-Benz C-Class with 39,913 and 37,918 cars registered respectively.)

As with other markets across Europe and the UK, Volkswagen has launched the special edition Polo Beats in South Africa. Costing from R260,700 (VAT and emissions tax included), the most obvious feature of the latest distinctive fifth-generation Polo is a 300 watt ‘premium sound system’, complete with an 8-channel amplifier and digital sound processor.

As the name suggests, the Polo Beats’ is the product of a collaboration between US audio specialist Beats Electronics – founded in 2008 by Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine – and Volkswagen. The special small VW is the first Volkswagen in South Africa to feature a Beats makeover, with the new Up to follow, replicating the European and UK model roll-outs.

Seven speakers
The Polo Beats seven speakers include a pair of A-pillar tweeters, two woofers in the front doors, twin rear broadband speakers as well as a subwoofer integrated into the spare wheel well in the luggage compartment. Volkswagen South Africa claims that ‘this combination delivers powerful, punching bass tones which makes the occupants feel the music’. A ‘Composition Media’ infotainment system is standard, too, with Bluetooth, iPod, iPhone, AUX-in and App Connect interfaces.

2016 Volkswagen Polo Beats (South Africa)

2016 Volkswagen Polo Beats (South Africa)

As with other global editions of the Polo Beats, the exterior of the South African car is the obvious differentiator: 16-inch anthracite-finished ‘Portago’ alloy wheels are standard, along with red door mirror caps, dark red rear lights, and ‘Beats’ branding along the side of the car and on the B-pillar. Inside there are ‘quilted’ front sports seats, uniquely-trimmed door panels, coloured seat belts and a leather steering wheel.

For more information on the Polo Beats for South Africa visit bit.ly/2dZbL6V. Volkswagen South Africa has even commissioned a unique audio track for the car, which can be downloaded here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb6JPgct4Rw

The Polo R-Line is the latest in a string of models to tempt the sports-focused driver, but with no direct link to the Polo R WRC rally car and a small displacement engine, does it deserve its performance-orientated badge?

The Volkswagen Polo R WRC is the most successful rally car in the history of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) when it comes to win ratios (40 wins from 49 events), but there has never been a mainstream production model to capitalise on its success. Yes, the Polo R WRC Street of 2013 celebrated its motorsport relative’s first year of success, but a very limited continental market-only production run of just 2500 left-hand drive examples meant it was never going to be widely seen.

And while Audi produces a four-wheel drive version of its Polo-based small car, the S1 slots nearly into the Ingolstadt company’s Quattro range of cars. Four-wheel drive Polo prototypes have been built – and driven – but they remain just that: prototypes. A high-specification, high-power Polo R is seen as expensive to produce and therefore expensive to sell, and like the the R WRC Street before it, would be produced in such small numbers to make it unfeasible.

Enthusiasts’ machine
With road-going versions of current World Rally cars no longer needed to be produced to satisfy homologation requirements, a Polo R will most likely never materialise. That’s a shame, as with no correlation between its rally (and rallycross) counterparts, the Polo road car will never be seen as enthusiasts’ machine.

The 189bhp GTI currently sits at the top of the Polo tree and even with that there’s the debate about whether it is reined in to not clash with arguably one of Volkswagen’s crown jewels, the Golf GTI, which itself celebrates four decades of success in 2016.

So where does that leave the Polo driver who admires the motorsport style of the WRC car but also, like many traditional buyers, has one eye on economy and comfort? Enter the Polo R-Line. With a sporty external appearance, a high specification and a choice of economical petrol and diesel engines, the R-Line might not be the mythical full fat R, but is arguably the nearest buyers of the current car will get.

Prices start at £16,455 for the 89bhp 1.2-litre TSI three-door, and rise to £19,190 for the five-door 108bhp 1.0 TSI DSG. Our test car, a five-door six-speed manual fitted with the smaller capacity turbocharged petrol engine weighed in at £17,815, although a handful of extras (more of which later) nudged that price to a near-GTI £19,440.

2016 Volkswagen Polo R-Line 1.0 TSI

2016 Volkswagen Polo R-Line 1.0 TSI

2016 Volkswagen Polo R-Line 1.0 TSI

2016 Volkswagen Polo R-Line 1.0 TSI

2016 Volkswagen Polo R-Line 1.0 TSI

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The Polo is a continued UK success, even as the current fifth-generation car edges ever closer to the end of its lifecyle. The latest batch of registration figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that the the Polo remains the sixth most popular car in the UK, following a rise to the spot just outside the top five in August. A total of 9765 versions of the small Volkswagen were registered in September. In the year-to-date chart, the Polo remains in seventh place.

In a repeat of what has happened throughout 2016, the Ford Fiesta tops both charts: 19,769 examples of the small Ford were registered during September, while 96,139 Fiesta registrations have been recorded during 2016 so far. As a whole, 469,696 new cars were registered in plate-change September, which the SMMT quotes as a steady rise of 1.6 per cent and the highest September on record. 

The total number of cars registered in the UK so far during 2016 so far has grown to 2,150,495 units – up 2.6 per cent compared with the same period last year. It is only the second time that the two million mark has been passed in September since 2004. The UK’s top 10 most popular passenger cars during September 2016 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 19,769 (96,139, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 14,570 (64,295, 2nd)
3 Volkswagen Golf: 11,003 (54,954, 4th)
4 Ford Focus: 10,992 (57,137, 3rd)
5 Nissan Qashqai: 10,619 (50,293, 5th)
6 Volkswagen Polo: 9765 (43,642, 7th)
7 Vauxhall Astra: 9495 (44,771, 6th)
8 Audi A3: 9252 (33,240, 10th)
9 Mini: 9025 (36,738, 8th)
10 Mercedes-Benz C-Class: 8603 (34,994, 9th)