PoloDriver

The internet is awash with stories about the notchback version of the Polo, currently under development for launch next year. CarAdvice in Australia is one of the latest places to find new renderings of the 2010 sedan, and they’re the best yet, looking almost official. But, the images shown here are depicted in Auto Bild’s ‘Cars of Tomorrow’ online feature.

Meanwhile, the German Car Blog reports that Volkswagen UK have made a decision not to sell the saloon version of the new car, echoing the decision the company made in 2003. The last version of the three-box Polo was sold on UK shores in 2001.

[Images: Auto Bild]

Longstanding Volkswagen monthly magazine Volkswagen Driver has a test of the Polo 1.2 SE five-door in its December 2009 issue, out today. The mid-range version of the new Polo, the 1.2 SE could become Volkswagen’s biggest-selling model in the UK and so is of great importance to the company.

Also expected to be the most popular new Polo variant in this country, Volkswagen Driver says of the £11,385 newcomer: ‘Volkswagen’s latest Polo is the biggest, best and most stylish yet.’ It seems that the car left an impressive impression. Grab a copy of Volkswagen Driver from all good newsagents (find your nearest stockist here), or contact Autometrix Publications on 01525 750500.

Fresh from its double victory at the Golden Steering Wheel awards last week, the new Polo has clinched its first UK trophy, winning Small Car of the Year at the Scottish Car of the Year awards. Placed in the fiercely competitive supermini category, the Polo was crowned champion at a ceremony in St Andrews after being tested by judges on Scottish roads.

The panel said: ‘The Polo’s mix of quality and competitive pricing plus a wide range of trim and engine options ensured its place on pole position. If only everything in life was as reliable as our 2009 champion.’

Volkswagen reports that since the new fifth-generation Polo went on sale on 16 October, over 8,000 advance orders have been taken, beating projected volumes by 86%. This high level of interest is expected to be sustained in the New Year with the introduction of the new 83mpg Polo BlueMotion. Over 1,060,000 Polos have found homes in the UK since the model’s introduction in 1975.

Chris Craft, Director of Volkswagen UK, commented: ‘To win this award is a tremendous honour. The Scottish market is incredibly important to us and the Polo accounts for nearly a third of all Volkswagens sold in Scotland. We’re looking forward to even greater success in 2010.’

The latest rendering of the rumoured high-performance Polo R (above, top left) has been causing ripples on internet forums this week. Nothing has been confirmed by Volkswagen of course, but the firecracking version with upwards of 200bhp could be a possibility. Even respected UK motoring weekly Autocar recently reported that a ‘Cup’ version of the new Polo could arrive sometime in the future.

This, the magazine reported, would be powered by a 280bhp version of the 1.4-litre TSI engine already in service in the SEAT Ibiza FR and Cupra, and slated for a starring role in 2010’s Polo GTI, with or without its seven-speed DSG gearbox. The GTI itself is still causing excitement, too; initial reports suggested 168bhp, but now 198bhp could well be likely.

So, how likely is the 136mph R? The new Scirocco R has been largely well received by the motoring press and with the even more powerful Golf R due very soon, the time could be right to light the blue touch paper on a hot shot Polo. It could hit the roads in 2012, but its price would be crucial.

It would need to be around £17,000 to be on a par with the souped-up supermini class-leader, the 200bhp Renaultsport Clio. With the high-gloss and high-tech that would come as standard with a Polo R, that seems unlikely. That same Polo R rumour mill quotes a proposed price of 22,500 euros (£20,300) in Germany.

But, Volkswagen has been known to surprise. When we visited the AutoMuseum Volkswagen five years ago, a special prototype rumoured to be a Polo R18, R23 or R25 was being moved from the store to the development centre at the company’s Wolsfburg HQ. It looked suitably sporty and could well have been a little brother to the Golf R32, but unfortunately it never made it into production. Check back in a few days for a fuller report of this exciting but forgotten Polo design study.

[Polo R rendering: Bernhard Reichel/Bild]

Many sources have reported in the last week that Volkswagen has already achieved its 2018 goal to become the world’s largest carmaker. The latest set of released production figures state that the German giant has now overtaken Toyota to become world number one in terms of units produced.

Industry analysts Global Insight state that the Volkswagen Group manufactured 4.4 million units in the first nine months of 2009, compared to Toyota’s 4.0 million. Ford and General Motors made up the top four (in that order), with VW producing over 700,000 units more than its nearest American rival.

Success has been due to a large number of factors. Pan-European scrappage schemes have undoubtedly helped, along with rising new car sales figures in Western Europe where Germany has seen the largest upturn. From January to September 2009, the Volkswagen Group’s sales rose by 34.0% to 622,853 units.

The Polo and Golf have contributed greatly to the company’s astonishing figures, with sales of the new-generation models up 56.2% and 54.1% respectively. While the Volkswagen Group hasn’t released a formal statement, it told the UK’s Autocar magazine that the quoted production figures were accurate.