PoloDriver

Five months in, how is Rich Gooding adjusting to life with his 10 year-old Polo GTI? The first mileage milestone has passed, and the car has recently been pressed into daily service…

In my last report, I hinted that there could be some seasonal goodies on the way for Y464 GHJ, and as I was clearly a good boy, the festive period heralded new front and rear badges (the old badges’ red ‘I’s had been painted with nail polish due to fading), new locking wheel bolts, new plastic wheel bolt covers, and a full complement of 1980s-tastic black, red-trimmed carpet mats. Very GTI. The locking wheel bolts have been fitted (annoyingly taking some paint off the wheels on the outside edge of the bolt holes due to the old ones being rung), as has the front badge and the carpet mats. I’ll very carefully apply the rear badge when it’s a little warmer. New numberplates in Volkswagen factory holders tidy up the outside, too.

First ten thousand-milestone passed, and I’m still enjoying spending time with Y464. Since the last report in December, I’ve taken a job at a local design agency, which means that the car now gets driven almost daily, covering just under 40 miles on a return trip. It’s the perfect commuting distance – just enough to make it manageable, and not take too much of a toll on the car. Along minor A-roads with some corners which could quite easily catch you unawares, Y464 is proving an able, comfortable, and relaxing travelling companion, and a 70,000-mile reading has just rolled over (or whatever the digital equivalent is) on the odometer.

Some would say that comfortable and relaxing is not what a hot hatch should be about. And they’d be right of course. But, the car can also do the sporting thing, too. It picks up pace quickly – the engine note growling as the revs are increased – and is a tidy handler through the tight corners which make up my cross-country route from Essex to the border of east Hertfordshire. Though not as engaging as modern machinery (or some old machinery for that matter), a 2001 Polo GTI is engaging enough. For this driver anyway. Saying that, I can see why contemporary reviews stated that the GTI was more of a faster Polo and not a GTI.

Daily use is also now revealing some impressions of what it’s like to live with, too. The recent cold spell of weather has seen the air-conditoning come into its own, and after years of living with a car with just a three-speed fan (I dug out my 1994 168,000-mile Polo GT coupé recently to take some potential sales photos, above), it’s a revelation. Shame that the usual faultless Volkswagen interior ergonomic spark failed to ignite when the designers came to lay out the air-conditioning controls in the cabin. Inherited from the Lupo, placed low on the centre console, drivers have to take their eyes off the road for a split second when adjusting the fan speed, temperature (the GTI has digital climate control) or windscreen air flow – far from ideal…

Another foible is that the gearbox can be a little notchy when cold, getting smoother and easy to slot into its five ratios once the oil’s warmed through. The heated windscreen washers have also failed to work recently, though with temperatures dipping well below zero most days, that’s not necessarily a fault of the car. Finally, the boot light is very laissez-faire about when it wants to come on, suggesting a faulty microswitch. But, it’s working at the moment, so, fingers crossed it stays illuminating. You don’t realise how much you miss it until you don’t have it. Overall, though, five months in, Y464 is proving to be a fuss-free ownership proposition.

The second round of the 2012 World Rally Championship (WRC) in Sweden will once again see Volkswagen Motorsport run a team of two Škoda Fabia S2000s in the SWRC class. The Rally Sweden which runs from today until 12 February will hold a new challenge for the factory VW team, as it gets to grip (quite literally) with the snow-covered woods of the Scandinavian country. Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia will be joined by Škoda driver and 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Andreas Mikkelsen, who with co-driver Ola Fløene will be running the junior car. Volkswagen Motorsport’s WRC commitments serve as preparation for the 2013 season in which Volkswagen will compete with the Polo R WRC.

‘Sweden is a special rally. It’s the only WRC event on ice and snow and provides the best opportunity to gather valuable experiences in crisp cold. It’s an important run for us in preparation for our WRC entry with the Polo R WRC,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. The drivers will battle it out in 24 special stages over 349 kilometres, using studded tyres. ‘I really like the Rally Sweden. Because of its unique character, it’s important to finish in order to give the team the opportunity to thoroughly get to know this rally,’ commented Ogier. In 2011, the French pairing finished the Rally Sweden in fourth place.

The Polo continues to endear itself to new car buyers in 2012, according to the latest batch of sales figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). In January, it sold 2898 examples, a figure up on December’s tally, meaning it retains its sixth place in the UK bestsellers chart. Its larger stablemate, the Golf, was three places higher selling 3992 vehicles, while the reigning champion, the Ford Fiesta once again took the top slot, with 7824 units finding homes. Continuing the trend from 2011, the supermini segment once again took four of the top 10 positions, and showed the largest rise of volumes last month.

Overall, the SMMT states, UK new car registrations rose by 0.03% or 42 units in January 2012 to 128,853 units. The total was boosted by the private market, up 2.7% on January 2011 and further growth in the fleet sector. ‘The January new car market held firm with 128,853 registrations, up on January 2011, a welcome sign of stability in uncertain economic times,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. ‘2012 is set to be an exciting year with record numbers of new models coming to market filled with innovative technology that will save the motorist fuel, enhance comfort and further increase levels of safety and security.’ The UK’s top 10 best-selling cars for January 2012 (and therefore the year so far) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 7824
2 Ford Focus: 5643
3 Volkswagen Golf: 3992
4 Vauxhall Corsa: 3624
5 Vauxhall Astra: 3340
6 Volkswagen Polo: 2898
7 Vauxhall Insignia: 2719
8 Nissan Qashqai: 2627
9 Audi A3: 2380
10 Peugeot 207: 2364

Two race-quailty boost hose kits for the Polo GTI 6R have recently been added to Forge Motorsport’s tuning parts catalogue. Based on the original specification items, Forge’s silicone woven fabric reinforcement hoses are easy and direct replacements over Volkswagen’s official parts, and can tolerate higher boost pressures and temperatures, as well as a longer life. They can be ordered black, blue, or red, and will also fit the 1.4 TSI Audi A1 TFSI, SEAT Ibiza Cupra/Cupra Bocanegra and Skoda Fabia vRS (twin-charged models only). Prices start at £111.30 excluding VAT for the four-hose kit, while the complete kit retails at £160.97 excluding VAT. For more information, visit the Forge Motorsport website.

Volkswagen Group South Africa has made a strong start to 2012, as the Polo Vivo and Polo took the country’s top two positions in the passenger car sales chart for January. From a total of 35,428 vehicles, the budget Polo Vivo sold 2964 units, while the fifth-generation Polo 6R swept up 2644 sales, an astonishing combined figure of 15.3% of the passenger car market. ‘Total vehicle sales of 9803 in January saw Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) top the total market in the first month of the year – with a 21.3% market share. Its market share in the passenger vehicle category was even more pleasing, at 25.5% with sales of 9003,’ said VWSA Sales and Marketing Director, Mike Glendinning.

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 R104,065 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R156,220 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2011 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 traditional four-door Polo Sedan.