PoloDriver

The Polo has been a small car market staple for 37 years, and through that time it’s combined the space-efficient virtues of smaller cars with the refinement of much larger ones. And the latest GTI has certainly added some zip to the fifth-generation range. But the Polo has never been seen as an emergency vehicle (and therefore using some of that added zip) – until now, that is. Volkswagen South Africa’s latest 40-second TV commercial sees the Polo take on the role of fire truck, when a young fireman is left to oversee the arrival of a new tender, with unsurprisingly humourous results.

News is coming in that the Polo R WRC rally car is to get a firebreathing extra-hot Global Rallycross Championship (GRC) sister. With 600bhp (twice that of the WRC car), erc24.com reports that Volkswagen Motorsport is interested in committing to both the 2013 series and the proposed European X Games events, which take place in Barcelona and Munich in May and June respectively. With door-to-door racing as opposed to timed stages, the Polo ‘R GRC’ could propel the model to further international motorsport recognition, arriving a few months after the start of the 2013 World Rally Championship calendar in which the ‘lower-powered’ WRC car will compete.

[Source: erc24.com]

Both Ameya Walavalkar and Donovan Vaz took victories during the second Volkswagen Polo R Cup India race weekend at the Kari Motor Speedtrack, Coimbatore on 27-29 July. Pole-sitter Walavalkar won the first race convincingly ahead of Rahil Noorani and Mihir Dharkar. In the second race, winner Vaz led the pack. The remaining podium positions went to Sandeep Kumar and Walavalkar. Volkswagen India Motorsport runs the Polo R Cup India 2012 series in conjunction with JK Tyres. The field of 20 young racers drives identical and centrally prepared 1.4-litre TSI-engined, 178bhp Polo R Cup cars, new to the 2012 series.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) best-selling cars for July 2012 figures have been released, and the Polo holds on to its top 10 UK placing. Selling 2863 units last month, it rises one place from June 2012, now charting at number eight. The Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa still lead the supermini field, though, with Uncle Henry’s small car also taking the number one spot. Volkswagen’s larger and evergreen hatchback the Golf is in fourth place, with 4367 units sold during the seventh month of this year. The SMMT states that registrations in July, at 143,884 units, were up 9.3% on a year ago.

New car registrations rose 9.3 per cent in July, continuing the upward trend seen during recent months. SMMT’s full year forecast is for 1.97 million cars to be registered during 2012 suggesting a slight slowing of demand in the second half of the year,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. ‘International economic stability remains a concern for vehicle manufacturers and the UK market, but intense competition and new fuel efficient products are creating great opportunities for motorists.’ The top 10 UK best-selling passenger cars in July 2012 and for the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 7533 (67,103, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 8800 (52,956, 2nd)
3 Vauxhall Astra: 5211 (35,694, 5th)
4 Ford Focus: 4742 (48,595, 3rd)
5 Volkswagen Golf: 4367 (38,939, 4th)
6 Nissan Qashqai: 3721 (27,156, 6th)
7 Mercedes-Benz C-Class: 3163 (20,780, 9th)
8 Volkswagen Polo: 2863 (25,212, 8th)
9 Audi A3: 2711
10 Vauxhall Insignia: 2591 (20,481, 10th)

(The 2012 year-to-date top 10 best-selling car absent from July’s sales figures is the BMW 3 Series selling 25,515 units in seventh place.)

The Polo has earned another accolade, being named as the best small hatchback in the the Parkers Cost of Motoring New Car Awards 2012. In Match 1.2-litre TDI form, the Polo was judged the best small hatchback to make motorists’ cash go the furthest. The Parkers New Car Awards are in their second year and were designed by the experts at the car-buying website, with the winners determined through the data produced by Parkers’ ‘cost of motoring’ tool. This uses objective data to identify all the different elements involved in keeping a car on the road for three years and covering 30,000 miles, including depreciation, taxes, service, maintenance and repair, fuel consumption and breakdown cover.

The Volkswagen Touran S 1.6-litre TDI BlueMotion Technology also claimed an award, winning the fiercely fought people carrier category. Kieren Puffett, editor of Parkers says: ‘With the cost of motoring continuing to rise, customers are keener than ever to secure the best deal when buying a new car; yet motorists are often unaware of the unseen and long-term costs involved. To win one Parkers Cost of Motoring New Car Award is a real achievement, but to win two is outstanding. These awards are a clear demonstration that both the Volkswagen Polo and Touran provide new car buyers with exceptionally competitive running costs, strong residual values and the latest fuel efficient engines.’