PoloDriver

The time has come. I’m finally selling my 1994 Volkswagen Polo GT coupé that has been a constant and loyal travelling companion for the last 13 years. Bought in January 1999 when it was five years old and had 48,000 miles on the clock, I’ve enjoyed 120,000 miles since then in it, although with a 2001 Polo GTI arriving last September, unfortunately (and very reluctantly), the 75bhp Polo GT has to go. It’s covered less than 6000 miles a year over the last nine years or so, as I worked in London, and so took the train to work.

The car comes with a full service history, and where the service book hasn’t been stamped by a dealer when the car has been DIY-serviced in its later life, I’ve filled in the service stamps manually, and have the complete book pack, complete with previous tax discs and ‘Possession of your new Volkswagen’ booklet. The car has a current MoT until January 2013 (I have all if them from my ownership), and had over £800 spent on it last year when a new alternator was needed and the suspension was completely replaced.

Built in November 1993 and exported to the UK in January 1994, the car is fitted with sought-after factory front fog lights, heated washer jets, tinted glass, and Satin Silver metallic paint, all expensive new official options, specified when the car was ordered by its previous (one of three) owners. A Passat 22mm master cylinder has also been retro-fitted to improve the braking a little. The car comes with its standard steel wheels and wheel trims, as well as some spare parts which include a set of tinted rear light lenses (one is cracked, but they were originally on the car), white front indicators, darkened side repeaters, and a quarterlight window.

The bodywork is in good condition for an 18 year-old car, but there is some tidying up to be done. There is some rust just under the fuel filler flap, the bottom underside of the driver’s door needs some attention, and there is some rust starting to bubble along a small area of the tailgate edge and the front of the nearside wing near the front indicator (though this has been constant through the last 10 years or so, and hasn’t gotten much worse). The roof also has areas where lacquer has peeled, while the bonnet has a few chips.

Overall, though, the car is still one of the best and most original, unmolested examples of this great little VW. A previous concours winner, it is a regular Volkswagen event attendee, and is well-known on the show circuit, having promoted both the VW Polo Register and PoloDriver.com in its time with me. Ideally, I’d like it to go to an enthusiast and be looked after, as it enters the twilight of its life. Email rich@polodriver.com for further information and contact details. No timewasters, please. £1100 or any sensible offers.

Details

• 1994 Volkswagen Polo GT coupé
• 168,000 miles
• Manual five-speed gearbox
• 75bhp, 1272cc engine with multipoint fuel injection
• MoT until January 2013
• Tax until end June 2013

UPDATE, 12 APRIL 2012: the car has now been sold.

Rally Mexico, the third round of the 2012 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), saw Volkswagen Motorsport come home eighth overall, gaining valuable experience for its Polo R WRC programme. Last weekend, the all-French pairing of Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia finished ahead of three more powerful WRC cars, scoring their first four championship points. The Dutch/Belgian duo of Kevin Abbring and Frédéric Miclotte weren’t quite so fortunate, retiring in the 16th special stage due to technical problems.

‘The extremely stony gravel tracks at an altitude of over 2000m make the Mexico Rally one of the most demanding rallies for “man and material”,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. ‘We’ve gathered conclusive measurements for the development of the Polo R WRC, and Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia did a very good job. It’s a shame that Kevin Abbring and Frédéric Miclotte suffered misfortune as they’d been running at a nice, fast past up to that point. The enthusiasm of the Mexican rally fans is fantastic. And it’s a fantastic feeling to note that the Volkswagen brand has many loyal fans in Mexico.’

Rally Mexico delivered spectacular rallying on 22 special stages and 380 timed kilometres around the city of Leon. Starting in the front-runners, Ogier struggled with the difficult conditions. ‘When you’re always among the first drivers to go out, there’s still a particularly large amount of gravel on the track,’ he said. ‘In addition, the power difference compared with turbo engines is even greater here at extremely high altitudes. On the whole, though, I’m pleased because I can give the Volkswagen Motorsport team its first championship points. And in 2013 we’ll be even further at the front with the new Polo R WRC.’

The first round of the South African 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup almost didn’t get started at all at Zwartkops last weekend (3-4 March). The opening lap of the first race saw the safety car out on the track after a massive accident, with six cars being unable to run once the race had been restarted. Once underway, it was defending champion Devin Robertson who led the rest of the field and took the chequered flag, moving up three places from his fourth-place starting position.

Bryan Morgan in the Franke car came in behind Robertson, while 15 year-old Kelvin van der Linde finished in third. However, a three-place penalty was handed to Robertson after contact with Jordan Pepper’s Polo, so his podium spot was short-lived, with Morgan and van der Linde each moving up a place. There was more joy to come for van der Linde, though, as he clinched victory in race two, and second position overall for the day’s races. Van der Linde was one of two drivers who stayed on the podium at the end of each race. Morgan’s second place in race one was followed by a third in race two – and overall victory for the opening round of the 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup season.

Brother and sister Jeffrey and Robyn Kruger had reason to celebrate, too, with Robyn taking fourth place in race one, and seventh in race two, putting her in third position overall for the day. Jeffrey meanwhile, took second place in race two, helping to give the pair their best race weekend ever, and a great start for their new sponsor, IndyOil. Normally a magazine journalist for Car, Sudhir Matai started his season well, claiming fourth place in the Masters category, despite spinning his Polo Vivo in the second race. Mark Silverwood and Mandla Madakane both popped their Engen Volkswagen Cup cherries at Zwartkops, bringing their Polo Vivos home ninth and twelfth respectively.

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

RACE RESULTS
Race 1
1 Devin Robertson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)
2 Bryan Morgan (5: Franke)
3 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo)

Race 2
1 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo)
2 Jeffrey Kruger (6: IndyOil)
3 Bryan Morgan (5: Franke)

Overall standings
1 Bryan Morgan (5: Franke)
2 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo)
3 Robyn Kruger (9: IndyOil)

Masters Championship overall standings
1 Justin Taylor (M3: VW Techniques)
2 Dino Manelis (M13: Big Boss Auto/ GTI)
3 Francois van Tonder (M12)

Following on from last month, the Polo has once again recorded a top 10 chart position in the UK’s best-selling cars, according to figures just released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). February 2012 saw Volkswagen UK sell 1518 units through its retailer network, making the Polo the eighth most popular car on these shores. Its stablemate the Golf was third with 2857 examples finding homes, while in a surprise entry, the larger Passat polled three places lower in sixth, shifting 1565 cars. The Ford Fiesta was again top of the supermini heap, with the Vauxhall Corsa coming in as runner-up.

New car registrations fell 2.5% in February to 61,868 units, says the SMMT, with supermini totals falling in February but up for the year-to-date by 2.9%, representing 35.0% of the total market. ‘The February new car market was broadly in line with industry expectations with a welcome increase in private retail activity,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. ‘The March market will provide a much better indicator of industry health than the relatively low volumes traditionally seen in February.’ The top 10 UK best-selling cars in February 2012 and for the year overall (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Focus: 3713 (9356, 2nd)
2 Ford Fiesta: 2899 (10,723, 1st)
3 Volkswagen Golf: 2857 (6849, 3rd)
4 Vauxhall Corsa: 2855 (6479, 4th)
5 Vauxhall Astra: 1589 (4929, 5th)
6 Volkswagen Passat: 1565 (3592, 9th)
7 Vauxhall Insignia: 1547 (4266, 7th)
8 Volkswagen Polo: 1518 (4416, 6th)
9 BMW 3 Series: 1474 (3476, 10th)
10 Nissan Qashqai: 1377 (4004, 8th)

Once again, Volkswagen Group South Africa leads the way in the South African new passenger car sales charts. The Polo Vivo in both hatchback and sedan guises was again the top-seller with 2651 units, but the fifth-generation, locally-made Polo 6R wasn’t far behind, with 2470 examples sold. 6033 Polo 6Rs were also exported from Volkswagen Group South Africa’s Uitenhage factory, which also manufactures the CrossPolo.

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 R106,100 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R153,200 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2012 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. The fifth-generation Polo (6R) is available as both a three and five-door hatchback, in addition to the traditionally-styled four-door Polo Sedan.