PoloDriver

South African Engen Volkswagen Cup drivers Kosie Weyers and Devin Robertson were victorious at the latest rounds of the series at the fast Killarney circuit in Cape Town on 1 October. Weyers won ahead of both Lee Thompson and Robertson in the first race, while in the second, championship leader Robertson was the front runner. Weyers had to settle for the second spot on the podium ahead of Kyle Barnes.

The 2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup series is similar to the other racing VW Polo Cup single-series championships run in both Europe and India. Just as in those series, the one-make format particularly highlights a wealth of new young driving talent. In the Engen championship, as many as thirty drivers regularly take to the track in technically-identical, 2.0-litre, 234bhp Volkswagen Polo Vivo racing cars. The next two rounds of the 2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup are scheduled for 5 November at the Zwartkops circuit, Pretoria.

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The best-selling car in South Africa received a boost today, as Volkswagen South Africa announced the new Polo Vivo GT. Based on the three-door version (which we’ve not seen until now) of the popular small car, the GT is based on the 1.6-litre, 104bhp Trendline, and as such has ABS, electric windows, radio/CD player with four speakers, alarm, remote central locking and ‘bee-sting’ aerial as standard. The R155,320 GT model adds lowered suspension, sports seats with ‘Rocket’ trim, red-stitched gear shift and handbrake boots, red-stitched three-spoke steering wheel with aluminium inserts, and 15-inch alloy wheels (similar in design to the 17” ‘Boavista’ rims fitted as an option to the Polo 6R). There’s also a tailgate spoiler, twin chrome tailpipes, ‘GT’ badges on the grille and tailgate, red seat belts, and gunmetal silver dashboard panels.

Basically a de-tuned cosmetic version of the European-market Polo GTI 1.8T produced from 2006 to 2009, the Polo Vivo GT adds a dash of style to the top of Volkswagen South Africa’s budget car range and is available in the traditional Volkswagen GTI colours of Deep Black, Candy White, Flash Red and Reflex Silver. The 1.6-litre engine gives 103bhp/77kW and 114lb ft/155Nm of torque, available from 5250rpm. A five-speed transmission will be standard, and the Vivo GT gets to 62mph from rest in just under 11 seconds, and has a top speed of 116mph/187km/h. The Polo Vivo GT comes standard with a 3 year/120,000km warranty and a 6-year anti-corrosion warranty. A service plan is optional.The service interval is 15,000km. Over 40,000 Polo Vivos (hatchback and sedan) have been sold since its market introduction in March 2010.

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As has become customary, the Volkswagen Polo Vivo was the top-selling passenger car in South Africa last month. In three and five-door hatchback and four-door sedan (saloon) configurations, the Vivo claimed the sales top spot with a total of 3679 sales, according to figures released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA). In a repeat of recent months, September 2011 saw the the fifth-generation Polo do well, too, coming in second again, with 2528 units. These two models accounted for 16.4% of the South African September 2011 car market alone. ‘Volkswagen Group South Africa again topped the total passenger market with sales of 8495 vehicles, and a market share of 22.4%,’ said Mike Glendinning, Director of Sales and Marketing, Volkswagen Group South Africa.

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, and is available as a three or five-door hatchback and four-door booted saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines. Costing from R104,065 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R156,220 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2011 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. The new fifth-generation Polo is also available as both a three and five-door hatchback in addition to the recently-launched four-door notchback Polo Sedan.

It’s good news once again for Volkswagen South Africa. The biggest-selling car for August 2011 was once again the Polo Vivo, closely followed by the Polo 6R. The entry-level Polo Vivo/Polo Vivo Sedan range sold 3322 units last month, while 2343 fifth-generation Polo hatchbacks and recently-launched Polo Sedans found South African homes. Both sets of sales figures are a rise on those released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) for July 2011. Additionally, a total of 8920 fifth-generation Polos were exported to markets around the world, again up on last month’s tallies.

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, and is available as a three or five-door hatchback and four-door booted saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines. Costing from R104,065 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R156,220 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2011 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. The fifth-generation Polo is also available as both a three and five-door hatchback as well as a four-door saloon (Polo Sedan) and was voted European and World Car of the Year in 2010.

There’s still life in the Series 4 Polo yet. Volkswagen do Brasil has just launched the ‘Novo Polo’ and ‘Novo Polo Sedan’, latest versions of the facelifted Series 4 Polo, sold from 2005-2009. Essentially the same as the South African-market Polo Vivo, the 2012 Novo Polo and Novo Polo Sedan get a more corporate-looking Volkswagen front grille and bumper, giving the car a much more current VW ‘face’, while the interior features a silver painted dashboard, as found on Series 4 facelifted Polo GTIs from 2006. There’s also a version of the VW multifunction steering wheel, bringing things up to date.

Engines are carried over from the outgoing model, and it’s here where the cars are differentiated from their once European counterparts. Brazilian-market Series 4 Polos have long been fitted with the 100bhp 1.6-litre petrol engine, and also the 115bhp 2.0-litre engine, presumably tracing its roots back to the Series 3 Golf, built between 1992 and 1998. No diesel options are offered. The hatchback range consists of six five-door models: Novo Polo 1.6, I-Motion 1.6, Bluemotion 1.6, Sportline 1.6, Sportline I-Motion 1.6 and the top-of-the-rung Sportline 2.0. The four-door Novo Polo Sedan comes as Novo Polo Sedan 1.6, I-Motion 1.6, Comfortline 1.6/2.0 and the Comfortline I-Motion 1.6.

Basic models are equipped with airbags and air-conditioning, I-Motion cars upwards feature power steering, while Bluemotion variants (I-Motion and Comfortline in the Novo Polo Sedan range) add a CD/MP3/SD card/Bluetooth/USB radio system and 6J x 15 ‘Castille’ alloy wheels with 195/55 R15 tyres lifted from the latest fifth-generation 6R Polo range. The Novo Polo hatchback range kicks off at R$44.390,00 for the 1.6-litre model, while the booted Novo Polo Sedan is available from R$47.770,00. Visit www.volkswagen.com/br for further details. With the latest modern Polo range being sold in other South American countries such as Argentina (along with a facelifted Fox), you have to ask the question why is Volkswagen do Brasil sticking with the older, more outdated car?

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