PoloDriver

Volkswagen Switzerland has announced the Polo GTI Carbon Edition, a very limited edition model, which will only be available on the Swiss market. Essentially a Polo GTI with some added visual punch, only 100 examples will be sold.

The most striking external additions are the distinctive 17-inch, 10-spoke ‘Serron’ polished alloy wheels with black inserts, the ‘GTI Carbon Edition’ honeycomb door decals, and yes, you’ve guessed it, lots of carbon fibre-look trim. The door mirrors are covered in it, as are the B-pillars, which also bear the car’s number in the production run.

The interior features carbon-look trim from the official Volkswagen Accessories catalogue on the radio and air-conditioning surrounds, while standard Polo GTI equipment such as four electric windows and a media-in multimedia socket with USB adapter cable stays.

Four colours – Candy White, Flash Red, Deep Black Pearl Effect and Oryx White Pearl Effect – make up the Polo GTI Carbon Edition’s palette, and while it may be no more than a visually-decorated special, it’s bound to go down well with Swiss Polo fans. The price? €26,430. Deliveries and orders start in October.

Volkswagen South Africa has today announced price realignments for its wide and varied range of cars. Of course, we’re only concerned with the new costs for the Polo and Polo Vivo models, and the modest rises are detailed below. 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. The Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. The fifth-generation Polo (6R) has been available as both a three and five-door hatchback since 2009, in addition to the traditionally styled four-door Polo Sedan. The rugged CrossPolo arrived in 2010.

2013 VOLKSWAGEN POLO VIVO PRICES
Hatchback (model: kW rating/CO2, g/km/retail price)
1.4 three-door: 55/147/107,200
1.4 five-door: 55/147/119,500
1.4 five-door Zest: 55/147/123,500
1.4 five-door BlueLine: 55/128/125,100
1.4 five-door Trendline: 63/147/131,300
1.4 five-door Trendline auto: 63/156/145,200
1.6 five-door: 77/157/140,600
1.6 five-door Trendline: 77/157/148,800
1.6 three-door GT: 77/157/153,900

Sedan (model: kW rating/CO2, g/km/retail price)
1.4 four-door: 55/147/125,400
1.4 four-door Trendline: 63/147/137,200
1.4 four-door Trendline auto: 63/156/151,100
1.6 four-door: 77/157/146,500
1.6 four-door Trendline: 77/157/154,700

2013 VOLKSWAGEN POLO PRICES
Hatchback (model: kW rating/CO2, g/km/retail price)
1.4 five-door Trendline: 63/144/155,400
1.4 five-door Comfortline: 63/144/178,700
1.6 five-door Trendline: 77/153/174,400
1.6 five-door Comfortline: 77/153/197,600
1.6 five-door Comfortline auto: 77/157/211,600
1.6 five-door Comfortline TDI: 77/120/221,700
1.2 five-door BlueMotion TDI: 55/89/185,300
1.4 five-door GTI DSG: 132/139/272,200

Sedan (model: kW rating/CO2, g/km/retail price)
1.4 four-door Trendline: 63/139/164,200
1.4 four-door Comfortline: 63/139/178,800
1.6 four-door Trendline: 77/143/184,000
1.6 four-door Comfortline: 77/153/197,000
1.6 four-door Comfortline auto: 77/154/211,000
1.6 four-door Comfortline TDI: 77/120/220,200

CrossPolo Hatchback (model: kW rating/CO2, g/km/retail price)
1.6 five-door: 77/154/212,200
1.6 five-door TDI: 77/120/236,300

Visit www.volkswagen.co.za for the latest information and updates on the award-winning Polo Vivo, Polo and CrossPolo ranges.

A South African-built 2004 Volkswagen Polo Classic (saloon) has reached the one million kilometer (621,000 miles) mark – after 8 years of fault and accident-free motoring. Sixty-seven year old veteran salesman Gerrie Esterhuizen owns the car and awaited the milestone reading with anticipation. ‘We always wondered what would happen when the speedometer hit the million-kilometre mark,’ he said at a VIP visit with his wife Magriet to the Volkswagen factory in Uitenhage, where his car was made.

Volkswagen Group South Africa Managing Director, David Powels, presented the Esterhuizens with a new instrument cluster (above) and their vehicle was given a special overnight paint, dent removal, and general brush-up package under the eye of Volkswagen South Africa’s Production Director Tom du Plessis.

‘After 999999.9 kilometres, the speedometer just shows six dashes, although the trip meter carries on working,’ Magriet commented. She has been Gerrie’s constant companion as he travels as a salesman from their home is Soutpan, near Bloemfontein, over the roads of the Free State and parts of the Northern Cape, North West and Lesotho.

‘We travel up to 800km (497 miles) a day from our home and back, often spending more than 10 hours on the road and seeing clients, mainly in small towns in our sales territory,’ Gerrie said. ‘These days we average between 8000 and 10,000km (4970 and 6213 miles) a month. In previous years we drove more than 12,000km (7456 miles) a month.’

Gerrie and Magriet have kept meticulous records of their million-kilometre driving odyssey, too: ‘We reckon the Polo used 66,666 litres (14,664 gallons) of fuel to get to the million mark. That’s an excellent figure of about 700km (434 miles) per 50-litre tank, or 15km a litre (6.6km/l, 43mpg). Working out the cost over the eight years at an average of R8/l, that’s about R533,000 in fuel costs,’ Gerrie states.

‘But the cost of maintaining the car has been so low we can’t calculate that. We have had two new fuel pumps fitted – one at 200,000km (124,274 miles) and the other at 800,000 (497,097 miles), but the engine has never been opened since we bought the car at Alan Hudson Motors in Nelspruit. Its clutch, starter, alternator, exhaust system, radiator and oil pump are all original. We always ensure that genuine VW parts are used when the vehicle goes for service. I have never experienced such outstanding reliability in any other car I have driven.’

[Source: Volkswagen South Africa]

Volkswagen recently showcased the Polo R WRC to the FC Schalke 04 football team, during preparation for the forthcoming season. Thirty-five squad members took part in a road safety training course at the invitation of Volkswagen, a partner sponsor of the team. Goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall and others were allowed an outing in the Polo R WRC car, taking the role of co-driver for test driver Dieter Depping. Volkswagen Motorsport enters the FIA World Rally Championship next year, with up to three fully-tested examples of the aggressive four-wheel drive, 300bhp rally car.

Round six of the 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup on the 4-5 August saw Shaun La Réservée dominate the weekend, taking both wins at the Phaksia Freeway. His breakthrough event, La Réservée won the first race from the front row of the grid. He was followed across the line by Devin Robertson and Kelvin van der Linde, while his second finish line team mates were Dewald Brummer in second, and Robertson again, one place behind. Brummer had much to celebrate, too, with a fifth place in race one to add to his race two runner-up position, as well as a third place overall.

Van der Linde meanwhile fought with Jordan Pepper during race one, and the pair fought until the finish line, van der Linde just staying in front to hold Pepper back – the gap between the pair was just 0.001 of a second. With 34 identical Polo Vivos on the grid, the action came thick and fast, with the leading pack of drivers jostling very closely for the sought-after points-scoring positions. Defending champion Roberson concentrated on solid finishes – a second and a third place earned him valuable points to close in on 2012 leader van der Linde.

The 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup series is similar to the other racing Volkswagen Polo Cup single-series championships run in China, Europe and India. Just as in those official Volkswagen series, the South African one-make format highlights new driving talent. In the Engen series, as many as 35 drivers regularly race in technically identical, 2.0-litre 234bhp Volkswagen Polo Vivo racers.

RACE RESULTS
Race 1
1 Shaun la Réservée (14: Alpine Motors/Compendium Insurance)
2 Devin Roberson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)
3 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)

Race 2
1 Shaun la Réservée (14: Alpine Motors/Compendium Insurance)
2 Dewald Brummer (8: Horne Hydraulics)
2 Devin Roberson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)

Overall standings
1 Shaun la Réservée (14: Alpine Motors/Compendium Insurance)
2 Devin Robertson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)
3 Dewald Brummer (8: Horne Hydraulics)