PoloDriver

The Polo is still a favourite of UK buyers according to the latest set of Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) figures for May 2010, sitting in 7th place in the top 10 sales chart, down one place from April’s 6th (though 68 units more were sold than the previous month). It’s also ahead of rivals such as the Peugeot 207 and Renault Clio, both of which don’t feature in the May tallies at all. The bigger Golf is two places ahead at number five. Overall, UK new car registrations climbed 13.5% in May to 153,095 units, marking the eleventh successive monthly rise, preceding an expected market decline.

Volumes over the first five months of the year have risen 22.0%, with the growth reflecting the weakness of the 2009 market. However, May 2010 sales tallies are still 14.6% or 26,177 units down on the 2008 level. Full year registrations total expected to dip slightly as scrappage boost comes to an end. Ford’s Fiesta was knocked off the best selling model list for the first time this year in May, by the Ford Focus. Growth in mini and supermini cars cooled, reflective of the rate of gain in previous months.

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

1 Ford Focus: 7163 units (41,419, 2nd)
2 Vauxhall Astra: 6743 units (36,099, 3rd)
3 Ford Fiesta: 6619 units (49,229, 1st)
4 Vauxhall Corsa: 5950 units (35,162, 4th)
5 Volkswagen Golf: 4314 units (27,092, 5th)
6 BMW 3 Series: 3732 units
7 Volkswagen Polo: 3721 units (22,561, 6th)
8: Mini: 3445 units (17,341 units, 9th)
9 Nissan Qashqai: 3359 units
10 Audi A3: 3093 units (16,346, 10th)

(The 2010 year-to-date best-sellers absent from May’s sales figures were the Peugeot 207 selling 20,346 units in 7th place and the Renault Clio, with 17,454 units, putting it in 8th place overall.)

No sooner had the Polo Saloon been unveiled in Moscow, news filtered out that it is heading to India in the autumn of 2010, under the ‘Vento’ name. We’d suspected as much when news stories leaked the possible change of moniker a few weeks ago, and a market launch has always been on the cards for what many car manufacturers see as one of the world’s emerging sales markets. To be built in the company’s Chakan, Pune plant (the same factory where the local market Polo hatchback is manufactured), engine choice is to be the same as the Eastern European cars.

Two 1.6-litre engines will provide the motive power (we suspect both the petrol and diesel units to have 104bhp), while manual and automatic transmissions – the latter for petrol models only – will be offered. Positioned as a premium entry level Sedan in the country, and Volkswagen say that the car has been completely designed to the needs and expectations of the Indian consumer. Standard equipment includes air-conditioning, ABS and a raft of airbags, while like the Polo hatchback, the car boasts higher ground clearance for the Indian market over its European relatives.

The Vento (Italian for ‘wind’) will be the seventh model from the Brand Volkswagen for the Indian market and takes a name from Volkswagen’s past. The third-generation Golf saloon was called Vento in when it arrived in 1992, replacing the Jetta. The fifth-generation Polo is rumoured to be heading to the US (where, coincidentally, the Jetta name is still going strong) – is this the car that could take the Polo name Stateside? Indian motoring magazine Quarter Mile has a special preview feature on the Vento in their June 2010 issue. Download the magazine’s special online version here.

Announced back in February, the latest incarnation of the CrossPolo (Dune in the UK) has gone on sale in South Africa, one of the first markets to get the new car. That might have something to do with the local nature of the model; Volkswagen South Africa is the sole arm of the German company to manufacture and export the car for right and left-hand drive markets, with output coming from VW’s Uitenhage factory.

Like its predecessors, the 2010 CrossPolo gets a fashionable range of colours (Magma Orange making a welcome return and joining Terra Beige Metallic), 15mm of extra ride height, and unique body styling with 17” ‘Budapest’ alloy wheels. Prices start at R198,500 for the 1.6 Comfortline with 104bhp, while the TDI model with the same output and trim costs R224,500. Click here for more detailed specifications. The full, official Volkswagen South Africa press release follows along with more images.

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The latest issue of UK car news weekly Auto Express goes one better than its recent 2010 Polo GTI first drive by pitting VW’s latest performance newcomer against the SEAT Ibiza Bocanegra. Possibly the hot Polo’s most obvious rival, its Spanish rival packs the same 178bhp punch, provided by the same 1.4-litre TSI engine and coupled to the same seven-speed, paddle-operated DSG gearbox. Unsurprisingly, both sprint from 0 to 62mph in 6.9 seconds, but the Ibiza is only £17,245 compared to the Polo’s basic price of £18,275. Which car wins? We’ll leave you to head over here to read the twin test and find out the answer.

[Image: Nathan Morgan/Auto Express]

Volkswagen has recently released 11 clips of the Polo in production in the company’s Pamplona plant in Spain. The whole process has been documented, and includes: body manufacturing; dip priming of the body; painting; tolerance measuring in the cockpit; engine assembly; ‘marriage’ of the body and running gear; ceiling, door and front end assembly; and final inspection and vehicle testing. A truly world car, the Polo isn’t just manufactured in Spain. Right-hand drive models are made in South Africa at the Uitenhage factory, while facilities in Argentina (Pacheco), China (Shanghai) and Pune (India) also produce versions of the Polo.

Click on the video above to see a montage clip of the Polo in production at Pamplona and head here to subscribe to the PoloDriverTV channel on YouTube.