PoloDriver

Environmental protection is the top priority for Volkswagen: new campaign for efficient driving and environmental awareness

Volkswagen launched its new ‘Think Blue’ campaign on 27 February, using and building on its BlueMotion tag for its greenest and lowest-polluting models. The company says that ‘protecting the environment is simple and everyone can help in their everyday lives,’ and that along with BlueMotion, it is ‘sending out a new signal for sustainable mobility.’ Marketing puff maybe, but the newest incarnation of the Polo BlueMotion is set to play a major part in the Think Blue marketing campaign.

Fielding press and TV advertisements, brochures, web specials and the Think Blue Challenge game for both the iPhone and iPod Touch, all the marketing strands feature a focus on potential savings, sustainability and environmental awareness. The popular interactive Volkswagen Polo Challenge game for example, seems to have been adapted to become the Think Blue Challenge app, where gamers drive more environmentally to use less fuel. In all materials for the campaign, the predominant colour is – ironically for a green campaign – blue, again underpinning the BlueMotion philosophy. The company’s goal is to establish Think Blue as an expression of its corporate mindset and a firm feature of its ecologically sustainable activities.

Linking its future with its past, Volkswagen is pillaging its archives to come up with the launch advertisement, featuring the infamous ‘Think Small’ strapline, which trumpeted the international success of the Beetle in the 1960s. ‘The “Think Small” slogan symbolises Volkswagen’s achievement in democratising mobility the world over. The challenge of the future lies in achieving efficient and sustainable mobility for everyone. This is expressed by the campaign: “Think Small” has become “Think Blue”,’ Luca de Meo, Head of Marketing at Volkswagen Passenger Cars explains.

PoloDriver may not be at the 2010 Geneva motor show physically, but, fresh from Volkswagen’s now-traditional evening press conference, are these two new footage clips showing the forthcoming Polo GTI and CrossPolo in action. Along with world debuts for both the new Sharan and Touareg, the latest variants of Volkswagen’s fifth-generation supermini were unveiled to the press yesterday.

Filmed in what appears to be an Arctic wasteland (but was more than likely somewhere in snow-covered northern Europe), both new pieces of Volkswagen film show the Polo GTI and CrossPolo doing lurid tail-out drifts in the frozen white stuff, while various close-up shots zoom in on the details of the cars that we’ve not yet seen much of. And, in the case of the CrossPolo, there’s an extra reason to celebrate – Magma Orange is back!

Both clips herald the arrival of the PoloDriver YouTube channel. We hope to bring you more footage from Volkswagen, as well as TV commercials and other short films of Polos in action. Click on the videos below to see the clips of the newest additions to the Polo family and head here to subscribe to PoloDriverTV.

Ahead of its Geneva motor show debut next week, the Polo GTI has put in another appearance on Autocar.co.uk this week. Largely a story to show off the magazine’s ‘exclusive’ pictures, the new shots show close-up details of the car, missing from Volkswagen’s official photos which were released last week. The standard twin exhaust pipes and headlamps with optional LED daytime running lights feature in the new shots. The magazine also claims that the 178bhp, DSG-equipped car goes on sale in the UK in August and confirms the availability of a family friendly five-door model.

Head over here for the full story and new pictures.

[Image: Stuart Price for Autocar]

World premiere at the Geneva motor show: five-door all-around vehicle with clever details and rugged all-terrain look

Volkswagen doesn’t do things by halves. Following the new Polo GTI’s unveiling ahead of its world premier at the Geneva motor show in March, the German giant has revealed that the new version of the rugged CrossPolo will keep it company on the show stand. Completing (for now at least) the new Polo range, the CrossPolo extends the family to four and with its unique colours and styling, it undoubtedly brings something extra to the compact class, and, we think, has no notable direct rivals to speak of.

As with the GTI, we didn’t expect this new Polo flavour to arrive so soon, either, but with the Geneva expo such a major fixture on the motor industry’s calendar, we should have known better. Following the tradition set by its predecessors, the 2004 Polo Fun and 2005 CrossPolo (both known as the Polo Dune in the UK), the new version of the go-anywhere Polo blends off-road styling cues with a 15mm raised ride height. Powered by a range of three petrol and three diesel engines, Volkswagen says that the newcomer mixes ‘tough qualities with lifestyle character’.

Individually styled
A five-door only, the new CrossPolo features individually-styled anthracite front and rear bumpers with large air inlets and fake silver underbody skid plate, front fog lights, anthracite wheel arch and sill extensions, anodised silver roof rails and door mirrors and 17-inch ‘Budapest’ five-spoke alloy wheels with 215/40 17 tyres. Six colours are available, with the traditional Magma Orange joined by the Terra Beige Metallic, as seen in the official photos here. The upper areas of the bumpers and all handles are painted in body colour, while the B and C pillars of the new CrossPolo are treated in a high-gloss black.

The interior of the new CrossPolo is just as stylish as the exterior. Depending on body colour, four different trims are available. On all cars, the outer edges of the seats is anthracite, while ‘Hot Orange’, ‘Orange’, ‘Latte Macchiato’ (a ‘lifestyle’ colour if ever there was one) and ‘Grey’ can adorn the inner panels and door trims. Upholstery is called ‘Dimension’ and has a durable webbed feel, while ‘CrossPolo’ is etched into the backs of the front sport seats. Other flourishes inside include a perforated leather steering wheel with brushed chrome spokes, stitching to match the exterior colour, centre armrest, and aluminium pedals. Standard kit includes electric mirrors, electric windows all round, multifunction display with tyre pressure monitor and central locking.

Six engines, DSG
We wouldn’t recommend going serious off-roading with the new CrossPolo – there’s no engine developing more than 104bhp – but then this faux-by-four is designed to be more of a style statement in town. And the engines are certainly up to that. Taking proven units from the rest of the new Polo range, the starter unit is a 1.2-litre, developing 69bhp, with an 84bhp 1.4 following it. Petrol options are topped by the new 1.2-litre turbocharged TSI with 104bhp, which powers the new CrossPolo from rest to 62mph in 9.9 seconds. A six-speed manual gearbox is standard on all petrol models, with the option of the same seven-speed DSG gearbox as the new Polo GTI on the 84bhp 1.4. There are 74, 89 and 104bhp 1.6 TDIs, while the 89bhp diesel variant can be paired with the DSG gearbox.

Orders will be taken in showrooms on the continent in March, with the first customer cars arriving in May. After that, there will be both European and Japanese roll-outs. We’re big fans of the CrossPolo here at PoloDriver and while details for the UK market have yet to be announced, we’ll bring you all the details on this stylish and unique addition to the new Polo range as soon as they are released.

80.7mpg and 91g/km: Volkswagen launches most efficient Polo yet

The most efficient Polo yet is available to order from Volkswagen retailers today, the company has announced. Starting at £14,445 on the road for the three-door, the five-door model carries a £600 premium. Powered by an all-new 1.2-litre three-cyliner TDI common rail diesel engine, the new eco Polo develops 74bhp and 133lb ft of torque available from 2000rpm. Longer ratios for the five-speed manual gearbox are coupled with a regenerative braking system and automatic Stop/Start to help the miserly newcomer sip fuel more efficiently.

Cosmetic changes
How efficiently? Volkswagen’s official figures state 80.7mpg on the combined cycle, equating to over 800 miles on one tank of diesel. But it’s not only the most fuel-efficient new Polo yet; the 2010 BlueMotion is the cleanest fifth-generation version, too, emitting just 91g/km of CO2. Cosmetic changes help grab those headline figures; bespoke deep bumpers, side skirts, an extended rear roof spoiler (similiar to the Mk 2 Polo Formel E’s of 1983), faired-in radiator grille and 15-inch ‘Greenland’ alloy wheels with low rolling resistance tyres all contribute to making the new Polo BlueMotion one of the most efficient vehicles currently available in the UK.

High comfort levels
Predictably, performance isn’t in the GTI league. The new Polo BlueMotion reaches 62mph from rest in 13.9 seconds and cruises onto a top speed of 107mph. So, while it’s no road burner, it’s not hair-shirt basic, either. Comfort levels are high with standard equipment including manual air-conditioning, cruise control, leather steering wheel, unique ‘Power On’ upholstery. As with other new Polo models, safety equipment is high with four airbags, ABS and ESP all fitted. If ordered from a Volkswagen retailer now, the first customers can expect to take delivery of their new Polo BlueMotions in May.