PoloDriver

The Polo has continued its 2012 success into 2013, with an eighth place in the UK’s top 10 bestsellers, announced this morning by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). With 2885 cars sold last month, the Polo is also in eighth place for the year to date. Once again, Ford’s perennial Fiesta topped the charts, with 7906 examples sold, no doubt helped by the model’s recent refreshing. The Volkswagen Golf slipped a couple of places, as buyers anticipate the arrival of the seventh-generation model. Overall, January new car figures were up 11.5 per cent to 143,643 units, with a 15.9 per cent rise in private registrations. Growth in private and small car demand also helped petrol cars see their market share rise.

‘The new car market has started the year confidently with registrations climbing 11.5 per cent in January,’ said Mike Baunton, Interim Chief Executive, SMMT. ‘Lifted by a solid rise in private demand, the new car market posted its 11th successive month of growth with motorists attracted to forecourts by the latest models and competitive deals on offer. Building on a strong performance in 2012, SMMT has increased its market forecast – we anticipate a modest rise over the year, followed by further growth in 2014.’ The UK’s top 10 best-selling cars during January 2013 and for the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 7906 (7906, 1st)
2 Ford Focus: 5794 (5794, 2nd)
3 Vauxhall Astra: 5462 (5462, 3rd)
4 Vauxhall Corsa: 5178 (5178, 4th)
5 Nissan Qashqai: 4280 (4280, 5th)
6 Volkswagen Golf: 3335 (3335, 6th)
7 Peugeot 208: 2959 (2959, 7th)
8 Volkswagen Polo: 2885 (2885, 8th)
9 Nissan Juke: 2522 (2522, 9th)
10 Mercedes-Benz C-Class: 2356 (2356, 10th)

This week sees the Polo R WRC in action once more, as the Volkswagen Motorsport team head to Sweden for the 2013 Rally Sweden – the 60th running of the event from 7-10 February. Following the second place finish for Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia at Rallye Monte Carlo in January, Finns Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila will be hoping for event completion this time around, after crashing out on the last day in the snowy mountains of France. The only event this year to be held completely on ice and snow, the 315bhp Polo R WRCs will face gruelling and difficult conditions around Karlstad and Hagfors. The event also crosses the border into Norway for a short time.

In a contrast to Monaco, only winter studded Michelin tyres are available to drivers and crews this time around, making driver bravery the only differentiating factor. Over 338km await the Volkswagen Motorsport team, and with temperatures set to plummet to -10 degrees celsius, the service parks will be a hive of activity – to keep warm if nothing else! Rally Sweden is unique in its two spectator stages – ‘Färjestadstravet’ will be run twice – and starts in Karlstad on Thursday, before moving to the Hagfors region on Friday and Saturday. Sunday sees the teams end the event back in Karlstad. The Rally Sweden route takes the competitors through forests and past frozen lakes at very high speeds.

‘After a good start to the season, the entire team now heads to the next challenge, the Rally Sweden, fully motivated and full of confidence. However, everyone in the team is well aware that the good result achieved in Monte Carlo is not yet a true indication of where we lie compared to the opposition,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Jost Capito. ‘The Rally Sweden is totally unique. The speed on the ice and snow is very high. This is only possible with extreme studded tyres, which are only used once a year. However, every rally is a test for the team. The processes in Monte Carlo recently were top-class. We want to follow on from this in Sweden and continue developing from rally to rally.’

The pressure will be on: Latvala and Anttila won the 2012 event before the pairing signed for Volkswagen Motorsport late last year, and the Rally Sweden is seen as a ‘home’ event for Scandinavian drivers. ‘I really like the Rally Sweden. The event requires a very quick and flowing driving style on Swedish forest roads. I have now driven 500 kilometres on snow in the Polo R WRC. However, we will slot in another test day on snow and the car works very well in these conditions. I am already very happy with the way it feels to drive. I have fond memories of the Rally Sweden, such as my very first WRC victory in 2008 and, of course, my win there last year. My goal for this season is to finish in the top five,’ Latvala said.

Sébastien Ogier echoed his team mate’s sentiments: ‘The season could hardly have started better. Heading to Sweden with 18 points is a nice position to be in. This allows us to relax a little. However, we are now faced with a new rally, and it is hard to predict what awaits us. We will have to wait until after the first special stages. I really like the Rally Sweden. If the snow conditions are good, it is really good fun. The average speed is high, and the grip on studded tyres is fantastic. I love pulling off big drifts with a rally car on ice,’ he said.

As the rallying season kicks into full swing, Volkswagen Motorsport has another reason to be cheerful, following last month’s second place at the Rallye Monte Carlo. It was announced last week that Volkswagen and Sasol have joined forces to contest the South African National Rally Championship. The two companies call it ‘one of the most formidable collaborations in the national rally championship’. Volkswagen South Africa’s previous rallying sponsor was BP. The 2013 South African National Rally Championship kicks off on 8-9 March at KwaZulu-Natal.

Volkswagen Sasolracing will field three Polo S2000 entries, as well as an S2000 Challenge car in the eight-round year-long championship. All cars will feature a new livery to reflect the new partnership. Stalwart Volkswagen Polo S2000 driver pairings Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson, and Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries will be joined by Henk Lategan and Barry White. Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin will continue with the Polo Vivo, and will put the new S2000 Challenge car through its paces – a series which they won last year. As far as we’re aware, the technical make up of the 260bhp, four-wheel drive 6R Polo S2000s remain the same.

‘Our partnership with Sasol heralds the dawn of the new era of Volkswagen’s involvement in motorsport in South Africa. In Sasol, we have a partner that is very passionate about motorsport just as we are at Volkswagen,’ said David Powels, Managing Director of Volkswagen Group South Africa. ‘Volkswagen Group is now fully involved in the world of rallying, and Volkswagen South Africa has benefitted from the involvement. We have forged strong relationships with our German colleagues over the past 12 months, and are confident that this relationship will serve our team well in the 2013 rally championship in South Africa’.

‘Sasol Oil’s and Volkswagen’s partnership will make for an exciting season,’ said Alan Cameron, Managing Director of Sasol Oil. ‘The partnership is a strong strategic fit, leveraging the two leading companies’ respective product innovation and technical superiority capabilities. This association will be beneficial for both companies and for the fans who will witness exhilarating performance. It will also create an experiential platform for our wide range of customers to engage and connect with the Sasol brand through our products.’

As the competitors and teams gear up for the second round of the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship, Rally Sweden, fans of Polos and motorsport might want to take a look at the latest PoloDriver.com mini-magazine – ‘Polo – A Rally Success’. Celebrating rallying Polos from the 2000 Group N to the 2013 Polo R WRC, the 16-page digital magazine profiles five of the highest-profile Polos to tear through the forests and sear across icy roads. It’s not only free, but also now fully downloadable, too, for offline reading, and is optimised for iPad and other tablet users. If you’re a Volkswagen enthusiast and not realised the Polo has tackled some of the most treacherous and difficult rallying terrain in the world, it makes for essential reading. Read and download here, or click on the magazine graphic below. The ninth of PoloDriver.com’s special digital mini-magazines, check out the PoloDriver bookshelf on issuu.com for the previous eight titles.

Volkswagen UK has recently and modestly lifted the prices of its models. The Polo range was included in the increases, and now starts at £10,490 for the 1.2-litre, 59bhp S three-door. The GTI now nudges just over £20,000 for the first time at £20,050 for the five-door variant, while the new eco-performance Polo BlueGT with cylinder deactivation starts at £17,400 for the three-door car with a six-speed manual gearbox. In the market for a new Polo? Revised prices for the Volkswagen UK Polo range are as follows:

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