PoloDriver

Conscious of its recent value-based advertising campaigns, Volkswagen UK has realigned the Polo range, giving potential Polo owners better value for money with extra standard equipment on most models, as well as the introduction of a new model, the Polo R-Line Style. The revised range starts with the £10,490 59bhp Polo S three-door and tops out with the £20,055 178bhp Polo GTI five-door.

First up, the Polo BlueMotion and Polo Match are now fitted with rear parking sensors, cruise control and an alarm, while the Match has been renamed the Polo Match Edition, pointing to its enhanced specification. Together, the additional equipment has a value of £510, but the price for these models is increased by just £135, starting at £11,910 (OTR RRP) for the 1.2-litre 59bhp three-door. The higher-specification SEL, R-Line, BlueGT and GTI models meanwhile all now come with cruise control and rear parking sensors (as well as an alarm, which, as before, remains standard equipment), without any price increase.

The Polo R-Line Style combines the sporty looks of the Polo R-Line already on sale, but with equipment and engines that make it even more accessible. Prices start from £11,740. Based on the base-model Polo S, the Polo R-Line Style adds the R-Line body kit – sports-styled front and rear bumpers, side skirts, and a bespoke radiator grille – body-coloured door handles and door mirrors, 16-inch ‘Rivazza’ alloy wheels and a Bluetooth telephone kit. As on the model on which it is based, air conditioning is an option on the Polo R-Line Style. This latest addition is available four eye-catching colours: Candy White, Flash Red, Nimbus Grey and Deep Black Pearl.

Not to confuse customers too much, while the established Polo R-Line comes with a 1.2-litre TSI engine with 104bhp, the Polo R-Line Style is available with a pair of 1.2-litre engines, developing 59bhp or 69bhp. Low insurance categories of 5E and 8E respectively, make the Polo R-Line Style a much more accessible proposition for younger drivers.

From now until 30 June 2013, all Polo models acquired on the Solutions PCP package come with a £1000 deposit contribution and monthly payments from as little as £135 (6.4 per cent APR, based on 3 years/30,000 miles, see www.volkswagen.co.uk for full terms and conditions). They are also available with free insurance (age restrictions apply), while all Polos purchased on Solutions are also available with up to three years servicing for just £249. Prices of the enhanced Polo range can be found below. For more information on the revised Polo range, visit the Volkswagen UK website.

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Volkswagen fans can now pretend they’re Sébastien Ogier, or rather Julien Ingrassia, with the new Rally The World – The Game for iOS and Android devices. Volkswagen calls the application ‘an innovative interpretation of classic racing games’, where the player takes on the role of Ingrassia, to guide the rally Polo through dangerous curves and over demanding routes. Tactics are the order of the day, to achieve the perfect blend of planning, timing and speed. The more often players of the game complete the course, the more rally experience points they receive, which gives them access to further virtual competition countries as well as command cards.

Available free from the Apple App Store for iOS and via Google Play, Android Pit and the Samsung Store for Android, Rally The World – The Game is also available to play online at www.rallytheworld.com. As part of the online version, all players can also compete for genuine prizes in addition to taking part in virtual races. Rally The World – The Game is part of Volkswagen’s international motorsports campaign ‘Rally The World’. The key element in the campaign is the online platform www.rallytheworld.com which features interviews, photos and videos, in addition to real-time reporting and information on the new Polo R WRC. Go, download, and rally the world!

The Total Rally on 8-9 March saw the Volkswagen Sasolracing team have mixed results, on what was the first round of the 2013 South African National Rally Championship. Decisively won by South African rally champions Mark Cronje and Robin Houghton in their Ford Fiesta S2000, the highest-placed Volkswagen Sasolracing car in Kwazulu Natal was the Polo Vivo S2000 of Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin, which finished fifth. Further down the field, Megan and Oliver Verlaque completed the event 15th, and sixth in the S1600 class. It was a disappointing event for the flagship squad of Volkswagen Polo S2000s, though, with one car retiring, and two others involved in a serious incident.

Former champions Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson crashed out on Friday’s stage three, while battling for second place with the Fiesta S2000 of Jan Habig and Robert Paisley. The Polo was severely damaged after rolling end over end several times and the pair were taken to hospital for observation. It was slightly better news for Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries. After competing in the Super Rally, they went off the road on Friday’s first stage and were unable to continue. After setting second-fastest times in Saturday’s first two stages, they lost time with a puncture on stage 12. The pair finished 18th overall and 11th in S2000, and it was a frustrating reminder of the Polo 6R S2000’s potential.In the third Sasolracing Polo S2000, 18 year-old Henk Lategan and his co-driver Barry White impressed in their debut, finishing third on Friday and recovering from contact with a concrete tunnel wall and a brief grass fire to finish 13th in S2000. Their incident saw the cancellation of stage eight, the first of Saturday’s six gravel stages, as officials and bystanders extinguished the blaze caused by the car’s hot exhaust setting fire to the dry undergrowth. Lategan marked himself as a champion of the future with a spirited fight-back which saw him take the honours from his more illustrious rivals on stage 12 on his way to 23rd overall.

Other top 20 Polo Total Rally finishers included the S1600 machine of Chad van Beurden and Henry Dearlove, and the S2000 Challenge car of Morne Janse van Rensburg and Rikus Fourie. The newly-developed Polo 6R 1600 Group N Manitou Group-sponsored of Paul Franken and Henry Kohne unfortunately failed to finish. The next round of the South African Rally Championship, the Sasol Rally, is at Mpumalanga on 19-20 April 2013.

Volkswagen enthusiasts knew that 2013 would bring Polo R WRC action, but it would appear to be a bumper year for Polos in motorsport. In addition to the 315bhp four-wheel drive machines tearing up the world’s rally stages, there are also the established Engen Volkswagen Cup and Volkswagen Polo R-Cup India circuit championships, and the squad of Polo S2000 cars which are competing in the South African National Rally Championship. In addition, Group N Polo 1600s are also rallying through India and South Africa, adding to the car’s motorsport pedigree. And this weekend – at the birthplace of rallycross, Lydden Hill, Kent – sees the UK debut of the most fearsome motorsport machine of the lot – Anton Marklund’s 550+bhp rallycross Polo T16.

Built to compete in the 2013 FIA European Rallycross Championship, the 20 year-old’s four-wheel drive Polo will compete in the Supercar category, the Swede moving up from the Touringcar class, which he won last season – his first full European championship. The number 92 car has been tested throughout the winter in Marklund’s native Sweden, and took runs at various end-of-season special events last year. ‘Testing on ice has let me learn a lot about driving a four-wheel drive car and made it possible for me to learn fast,’ Marklund commented.

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Volkswagen Motorsport has announced that the Polo R WRCs of Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen will line up at the Fafe Rally Sprint on 6 April, ahead of Rally Portugal. An appetiser of the full Portugese WRC event which starts five days later, the 2013 sprint marks Volkswagen Motorsport’s debut at the run, which sees spectator numbers of 100,000 or more. The Fafe Rally Sprint marks Mikkelsen’s (along with co-driver Mikko Markkula’s) competitive debut in the Polo R WRC – the third car will be added to the squad from Rally Portugal for the rest of the season.

The 6.34km section of the ‘Lameirinha’ stage no longer officially forms part of the Rally Portugal, but will herald the start of the rally week. ‘We are really looking forward to lining up in Fafe for the first time,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito. ‘Sébastien and Julien will be in close contact with thousands of Portuguese fans at the “Rally Sprint”, and will be out to put on a good show for them. The event also offers Andreas and Mikko the opportunity to test the Polo R WRC under competitive conditions for the first time, and to familiarise themselves with the atmosphere before the pair make their WRC debut in the Polo R WRC the following week.’


The crowds in Fafe are in for a spectacular show. The WRC teams must battle their way through two qualifying rounds on the way to the final. The fastest time in the final wins the Fafe Rally Sprint. Another extremely popular feature with the fans is the competition to see who can remain airborne for the longest over one of the most challenging jumps in rallying. The record, which was set by Armin Schwarz in a Škoda Octavia WRC in 2000, currently stands at 73.5 metres.