PoloDriver

Volkswagen Group South Africa performs ahead of the passenger market year-to-date, with the entry-level Polo Vivo once again the top-selling brand in October 2010. Selling 2576 units, the car remains South Africa’s favourite passenger car brand. Meanwhile, the New Polo maintained a good sales figure of 723 units, despite low October opening stock. Overall, 30,752 new passenger cars were sold in South Africa during October 2010, a total up 2.6% on September, and a rise of 25.1% when compared to the same period in 2009. The year-to-date October market in 2010 is 30.1% above the same period last year.

‘The Polo Vivo was again South Africa’s favourite brand, while the New Polo, the only South African manufactured SA 2010 Car of the Year finalist, had a good result, considering low October opening stock as a result of the industry-wide strikes in previous months,’ commented Mike Glendinning, Director of Sales and Marketing, Volkswagen Group South Africa. ‘Volkswagen Group South Africa has increased passenger sales in the domestic market by 32% year-to-date versus 2009 – 1.9% ahead of the 30.1% total passenger market year-to-date growth, which is testament to our brand strength in a very competitive market,’ Glendinning continued.

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. Available as both a three or five-door hatchback and four-door saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines, two trim levels are available: base and Trendline. Costing from R104,065 for the most basic 1.4 hatchback to R156,220 for the 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the Polo Vivo is based on the facelifted version of the Series 4 Polo, built from 2005 to 2009. Changes include front and rear bumpers, as well as a revised front grille and other minor bodywork alterations.

The new Polo has been chosen alongside the Volkswagen Amarok Double Cab pick-up as a finalist for the 2011 Wesbank/SAGMJ Car of the Year competition in South Africa. The new Polo 1.6 TDI Comfortline 77kW will compete with the Amarok 2.0 BiTDI 4×2 Double Cab and eight other finalists for the country’s premier motoring award. Volkswagen is hoping that the new Polo or Amarok will make it two in a row for the brand, following Golf 1.4 TSI’s success in the 2010 competition. The winner of the 2011 WesBank/SAGMJ Car the Year will be revealed in March next year.

‘Volkswagen Group South Africa is honoured to have two of its cars as the finalists in this prestigious competition, especially the Amarok which has just been launched in South Africa and is the first Double Cab finalist in the CoTY competition. In the past three years, Volkswagen brands have made the final list of the competition. The nomination of our cars as finalists, is a strong endorsement of our brand strength,’ said Mike Glendinning, Director Sales and Marketing, Volkswagen Group South Africa.

The next step of the competition is a two-day test session in February 2011 at the Gerotek test facility near Pretoria, where the cars will be assessed independently by the CoTY jury members. In keeping with the broadened competition, the testing at Gerotek will allow the cars to be evaluated in conditions each vehicle would be expected to perform under. Jury members will pay close attention to the cars’ aesthetics, build quality and ergonomics, while considerations based on perceptions of value for money, cost of spares, safety features and environmental friendliness will be taken into account before scoring the top ten.

The latest version of the Polo BlueMotion is set to compete in the first RAC Future Car Challenge on Saturday 6 November. The RAC Future Car Challenge follows a route from Madeira Drive in Brighton to Pall Mall in London, during which the participating vehicles are measured for the energy they use. The winner is the vehicle found to have used the least energy on the 57-mile route. The first cars competing will depart from Brighton at 08:30 before making a brief stop at Central Sussex College in Crawley en route to the finish in Central London. Selected vehicles will then be on display in Regent Street from 12:45 to 16:00.

The 91g/km Polo BlueMotion will be joined by another super fuel-efficient production Volkswagen, the 99g/km Golf BlueMotion. Both use a series of aerodynamic and mechanical changes to maximise the efficiency of their refined common-rail TDI diesel engines. In the case of the Polo BlueMotion this results in combined economy of 80.7 mpg. Based on this figure, the Polo BlueMotion would complete the 57-mile run from Brighton to London using just 3.21 litres of  diesel (0.70 gallons) costing a total of £3.78 based on today’s average fuel prices.

Joining the trio and leading Volkswagen’s charge in in the event, the Golf blue-e-motion prototype will be making its debut in the UK. An electric vehicle developing 114bhp and 199lbs ft of torque through an electric motor which is powered by a series of lithium-ion batteries with a total capacity of 26.5 kilowatt hours, the Golf blue-e-motion can accelerate to 62mph in 11.8 seconds and also serves as an indication of the future direction of Volkswagen’s electric vehicle programme with the first production model planned to go on sale in 2013.

As the new Polo GTI seems to be flavour of the month around these parts (and as it’s Friday), we’ve found a trio of videos featuring the new small car performance wonder. Our favourite has to be the – German language – onTrack circuit film around the 2.7km LUK test track in Baden Baden, Germany. The first time we’ve seen the new baby GTI driven around and through chicanes with anger, the tester describes it as classless and fun, and although it might be slower than a Mini Cooper Works (but faster than a Honda Civic Type R), he asks if lap times matter that much if you’re enjoying the drive? The second video is from Japan, and is largely useful for visual shots, with some on-road action thrown in. The third clip is a lap of the Nordschleife at full pelt, viewed from the passenger seat of the new 178bhp 1.4 TSI-powered GTI. Volkswagen’s Flash Red German-registered press Polo ‘WOB-NP 123’ must be one of the hardest-working cars in the business…

The new Polo GTI has been a while coming, but with the first customer car now in the country, the new owner tells us about his first weeks with the car, and his first impressions of the 178bhp twincharged performance Polo…

I’ve had a few incarnations of hot Polos over the years (1999 Polo 16V, 2001 and 2007 Polo GTIs) but this latest model was the most eagerly anticipated. And so far I haven’t been disappointed. I’ve come to this car from a 2007 last-model Polo GTI, but as soon as you sit in the car and close the door, (which has a satisfying ‘clunk’ to it), you realise you are in a car which feels like its from the class above. As noted in comments posted on this website, it does really feel like a small Golf GTI.

Out on the road the supercharged/turbocharged engine is eager to please, and with 184lbs ft of torque, there is plenty of power on tap. Just as happy as a motorway cruiser or negotiating the twists and turns of a country lane, this pocket rocket really is a pleasure to drive. It’s self-assured, gripping the road in whatever direction you send it in. The seven-speed DSG box is a smooth operator with satisfying gear changes, and whether you play with it in ‘Sport’ or stick it in ‘Drive’ and relax, it copes brilliantly. You could drive for miles in this car and still feel refreshed at the end of the journey, not something that can always be said for smaller cars.

Inside the cabin, road and other noise is kept to a minimum, a vast improvement on previous models. Gadgets and gizmos abound in the new GTI helping to give a hi-tech feel, and there are many nice touches for 21st century motoring. The only downside is that there is no Bluetooth option available on the UK specification models (Volkswagen UK’s official response is here – PD). This in a communications age seems a little bizarre and disappointing to say the least. In my opinion, someone at VW has slipped up by not having it included in the car.

So far then, just over a week of new Polo GTI ownership and although I’m still getting to know the car, I have to say it’s a delight and bags of fun to drive. It really turns some heads, too, even those of drivers in their huge and expensive machines. I haven’t regretted one solitary penny and as everyone knows it takes quite a few of them (£19,200 to be precise in this case) to purchase this latest baby GTI. But, thanks to Volkswagen, the supermini has truly grown up and what a classy act it’s turned out to be.