PoloDriver

This 53-second is undoubtedly a spoof. We don’t know who’s behind it, but it did make us chuckle. How do we know it not to be real? Some of the fonts used towards the end of the spot aren’t Volkswagen corporate style, and would the company really suggest doing acts usually performed in the boudoir in the new Polo’s interior, however plush it might be? The tale of a nerd who never gets the girl, he seizes his chance and uses his Polo to impress his object of desire. Yes, the subtle humour references are Volkswagen style, but there’s still something about the clip which just isn’t right. And the marketing message? ‘The Polo with sports body work. Impertinently good.’ Thanks to Mark for the link.

Here is our first drive report of two of the new Polo range’s most interesting new models. Both turbocharged, but with very different jobs to do, these two 1.2-litre cars even share similar £14,000-£15,000 price points. But, whereas the SEL provides a suitable stopping point for the mainstream Polo range, the BlueMotion shows that driving economically can be fun. With the new Polo saloon and CrossPolo not currently coming to the UK, and with the exception of the GTI, this pair complete the Polo range for now. See how we got on driving around the leafy lanes of Leicestershire by clicking on the magazine graphic below, or if you can’t see the preview, visit this link. The third of our special digital ‘mini-magazines’, check out the PoloDriver bookshelf for our previous two titles. The first issue features mini-tests of the new Polo range in general, while the second four-pager is an account of our findings after a week spent with the Polo’s baby brother city car, the 1.2 Volkswagen Fox Urban.

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The Polo has prided itself on being a byword for quality in the supermini/small car sector. Over the past 35 years it has been critically acknowledged to be the benchmark for its competitors to aim for in terms of build quality and refinement, strengths that were present in the Series 1 model which debuted back in 1975. This latest Volkswagen TV commercial plays on these identifiable Polo traits to good – if slightly unbelievable – effect and also celebrates the car’s European Car of the Year 2010 win.

The latest UK car sales figures have been released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and the good news is that the Polo remains rooted in the top 10 new cars chosen by UK buyers. UK new car registrations rose again in June, up 10.8%, recording an overall increase of 19.9% during the first half of 2010. Encouragingly, the market as a whole was up despite the end of the UK scrappage scheme, but volumes are expected to slip in the second half of the year.

‘The new car market continued to perform above expectations in June, with fleet sector registrations up 25% compared to this time last year. The results indicate improved business confidence and a strengthening economic recovery’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive. The actual figures were up by 180,000 units to over 1.1 million units, with the last quarter seeing an 11.8% increase. June 2010 saw the 12th successive rise – 16% above the SMMT’s forecast in April – but volumes were still 8.5% off the 1999-2009 average.

The Polo still retained a foothold in the new cars top 10, selling 3923 units, putting it in 10th place, a fall of three places from May 2010. However, year-to-date figures place it in 6th position, ahead of the Mini and the Peugeot 207. The Vauxhall Astra was the best selling model in June, its first number one slot since February 2008. Ford’s Fiesta had the highest registrations over the first half of 2010.

The UK’s top 10 best-selling cars for June 2010 and the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Vauxhall Astra: 10525 units (46,264, 3rd)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 9642 units (44,804, 4th)
3 Ford Fiesta: 8279 units (57,508, 1st)
4 Ford Focus: 6895 units (48,314, 2nd)
5 Nissan Qashqai: 5636 units
6 Mini: 4925 units (22,266, 8th)
7 Volkswagen Golf: 4486 units (31,578, 5th)
8 BMW 3 Series: 4363 units (20,432 units, 9th)
9 Vauxhall Insignia: 4090 units
10 Volkswagen Polo: 3932 units (26,484, 6th)

(The 2010 year-to-date best-sellers absent from June’s sales figures were the Peugeot 207 selling 24,252 units in 7th place, and the Renault Clio with 20,114 units, putting it in 10th place overall.)

Here’s the last of the four TV commercials in Volkswagen India’s ‘Made in India’ campaign for the Polo (watch them all on PoloDriverTV). Similarly to the other ads in the series, this 30-second clip uses comic humour to highlight a technical aspect of the car – in this case, the safety features – and to convey the message that the Indian-built Polo is tailor-made for Indian drivers, but has the might of German engineering behind it. The ‘Made in India’ campaign also features a wide range of innovative print, outdoor and digital media. The new Polo costs from RS 4.5 lakh, and will face heated competition from the Maruti Swift, Ford Figo, Honda Jazz, Fiat Punto and Hyundai i20.

Volkswagen Polo ‘Made in India’ TV campaign credits
Creative agency: DDB Mudra
Chief creative officer: Bobby Pawar
National creative director: Rajeev Raja
Copy: Rajeev Raja/Hemant Sharma
Art: Ajmal Mohammad
Planning: Michael Follet
Client servicing: Ashish Marwah, Jay Mehta, Punit Bhatt, Vaibhav Bhargava
Agency film department: Tapan Sharma, Anil Sonawane
Production house: Stink
Director: Christopher Von Reiss
Post-production: Redrum
Media agency: Mediacom