PoloDriver

Just as we thought it possibly couldn’t get any higher, the Volkswagen Polo impressively jumped two places up the UK new car registrations chart last month and became the third most popular car in the country. With 3,847 units registered, the Polo now sits under its larger Golf sibling which is at number two in July’s top ten chart released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The Polo rose one place to number six in the year-to-date list, too, while Ford’s all-ruling Fiesta once again topped the monthly list, with 6,222 registrations.

As well as the Golf and Polo, Volkswagen completed a trio in July’s registration figures, as the Tiguan repeated its feat from June’s tally, and stayed firm in ninth place with 2,687 units finding homes. With 45,512 units, the Golf also retained its second place in the year-to-date list. Year-on-year demand grew 1.2 per cent according to the SMMT, with 163,898 cars joining the UK’s road network, although the year-to-date market is down by 5.5 per cent.

Other figures to note are those of alternatively-fuelled cars which rose 21 per cent (10,734 units), to take a 6.5 per cent market share. Diesel registrations were down by 24.4 per cent, while petrol-engined cars rose by 20.1 per cent. The UK’s top 10 most popular cars during July 2018 and the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) were as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 6,222 (62,637, 1st)
2 Volkswagen Golf: 5,582 (45,512, 2nd)
3 Volkswagen Polo: 3,847 (25,874, 6th)
4 Vauxhall Corsa: 3,670 (31,673, 5th)
5 Nissan Qashqai: 3,470 (33,536, 3rd)
6 Audi A3: 2,687
7 Mercedes-Benz A Class: 2,840 (22,842, 9th)
8 Ford Kuga: 2,776 (24,560, 8th)
9 Volkswagen Tiguan: 2,687
10 Kia Sportage: 2,442

(The UK’s 2018 year-to-date top 10 most popular cars absent from July’s registration figures were the fourth-placed Ford Focus, the seventh-placed Mini, and the tenth-placed Mercedes-Benz C Class with 32,899, 25,704 and 27,812 registrations respectively.)

In South Africa, the sixth-generation Polo claimed the best-selling passenger car prize in July, with 2,817 units finding new homes. The fifth-generation Polo-based Polo Vivo was second, with 2,351 examples registered. The Polo Vivo has been consistently top of the registrations chart since its introduction in 2010. The latest Polo is also the most popular car in the Netherlands of all places, with top ten entries in Austria, Italy and Slovenia among others, according to figures from JATO Dynamics.

If you’re reading this website, we’re assuming you already know how good a drive the Volkswagen range of GTIs is, but the German manufacturer has partnered up with Waze, the Google-owned navigation app to allow its two million users (and not just drivers of GTIs) to experience a selection of the UK’s best driving roads via a new ‘GTI Superdrives’ campaign. Up to 75 of the country’s finest driving roads will be offered through the partnership, which will be discoverable in-app for a limited period over the summer months.

Launched just after the new Polo GTI hits UK roads, Waze’s team of data scientists has selected the GTI Superdrives after analysis and ranking of roads based on a number of key variables. Perhaps obviously, GTI Superdrive routes are scenic, but are close enough to points of interest; have the right driving conditions – including engaging corners; low amounts of traffic; as well as low incident reports. The data has also been cross-referenced by volunteer Waze map editors from across the UK. Volkswagen states that all GTI Superdrives routes ‘fit with the GTI ethos of driving enjoyment’. Game on, then!

To enjoy a GTI Superdrive, Waze users need to look for a GTI badge when the app is active. If they are within 12 miles of a GTI Superdrive road, drivers will be able to tap on the badge – which has designed to reflect the famous brown UK road signs for tourist destinations – to receive directions to the road. Once a GTI Superdrive has been found, the driver simply follows in-app instructions to discover the road. When they are not driving, users can find out more about the route and discover its ranking among the top routes.

Waze and Volkswagen GTI Superdrives

2018 Volkswagen Up GTI

2018 Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance

The top 10 roads from Waze’s analysis of proximity to urban areas, number of points of interest nearby and driving stats are:

• B3135 from Cheddar to Ashwick
• 940-A939-A944-A97 (from Forres to Alford)
• From A701 Moffat to A700 Edinburgh
• A4069
• A82
• A308, B3021, B3026, Old Windsor – Dorney
• Alcester to Wilmcote
• Draycote Water to Warwick
• Hard Knot Pass: Skelwith Bridge to Gosforth
• A675 Bolton to Blackburn.

Of course, as well as the new 197bhp Polo GTI available in standard (£21,260) and enhanced GTI+ (£22,760) specifications, there is also the smaller £14,055 113bhp Up GTI, and above them, the legendary £28,205 227bhp Golf GTI*. So there’s never been a better time to get out and veer off the beaten track – go discover a GTI Superdrive!

*Standard Golf GTI models are only available from Volkswagen Retailer stock and not available for factory order. Enhanced specification 242bhp Golf GTI Performance models are available to factory order from £29,930.

About Waze
Waze is a social navigation pioneer using mobile technology and a global community to redefine expectations of today’s maps. Home to the world’s largest network of drivers who work together daily to outsmart traffic to save time and money. The app consistently recommends the fastest routes based on real-time driving and data from two million users, as well as traffic re-routes and low fuel price alerts.

Becoming very predictable, and just as the first batch of new GTIs arrive in VW retailers, the Volkswagen Polo was again the fifth most popular car in the UK last month according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). A total of 5,494 Polos found homes in June. That was enough to see it rise two places to seventh in the year-to-date list. The Ford Fiesta once again topped the list, with an 8,900 registrations tally.

Volkswagen’s best-selling Golf was second with 6,873 units, and with 39,930 cars registered, it stays in second place for the year-to-date. Here, too, though, in a familiar story, the Ford Fiesta leads the charge with 56,415 examples registered since January. With 3,527 registrations, Volkswagen’s Tiguan also crept into the top 10 chart, earning it a ninth place. In a reversal of May, the UK market as a whole declined 3.5 per cent in June when compared to the same month in 2017, with 234,945 cars registered. Small cars like the Polo remained the most popular, the supermini and lower medium models taking a 57.4 per cent market share.

Other figures to note are those of hybrids and plug-in hybrid cars which rose 45 per cent (15,549 units), to take a record 6.6 per cent market share. Diesels fell by 28.2 per cent from June 2017, while the petrol-engined car tally saw a rise of 12.3 per cent. The UK’s top 10 most popular cars during June 2018 and the year-to-date (sales figure and position in brackets) were as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 8,900 (56,415, 1st)
2 Volkswagen Golf: 6,873 (39,930, 2nd)
3 Vauxhall Corsa: 6,076 (28,003, 5th)
4 Mini: 5,839 (23,641, 6th)
5 Volkswagen Polo: 5,494 (22,027, 7th)
6 Ford Focus: 4,840 (30,757, 3rd)
7 BMW 3 Series: 4,002
8 Nissan Qashqai: 3,939 (30,066, 4th)
9 Volkswagen Tiguan: 3,527
10 BMW 1 Series: 3,383

(The UK’s 2018 year-to-date top 10 most popular cars absent from June’s registration figures were the eighth-placed Ford Kuga, the ninth-placed Mercedes-Benz A Class, and the tenth-placed Mercedes-Benz C Class with 21,784, 20,002, and 19,684 registrations respectively.)

In South Africa, the sixth-generation Polo was second to the fifth-generation Polo-based Polo Vivo as the best-selling passenger car during June 2018. A total of 1,844 new Polos found homes in the country where it is also built, compared to 2,285 Polo Vivos. The Polo Vivo has been consistently top of the registrations chart since its introduction in 2010. According to figures by Jato Dynamics, the Polo was the second most popular supermini in Europe in 2017 with 272,061 units registered. The Clio took the top spot, with 327,395 small Renaults finding new homes.

Long-standing suspension bush tuning company Powerflex has announced details of a pair of geometry adjusting products for the Volkswagen Group PQ24 platform, which includes the fourth-generation ‘9N’ and ‘9N3’ Polo models, built from autumn 2001 to spring 2009.

The front wishbone front bush with camber adjustment (PFF85-201G) costs from £45.54 each, while the front wishbone rear bush with caster offset (PFF85-602G) is priced from £65.94 each. Manufactured by the company which produces the number one selling performance bushes in Europe, prices include VAT and both are available now to order online at www.powerflex.co.uk.

Powerflex PFF85-201G front wishbone front bush with camber adjustment

Powerflex PFF85-201G front wishbone front bush with camber adjustment

In-built camber adjustment
The front wishbone front bush has in-built camber adjustment, and the 30mm diameter bushing permits +/- 0.5 degrees of camber adjustment thanks to its offset bore, which can be easily rotated using the bespoke tooling (supplied). This gives a greater degree of control over the car’s geometry settings, while the bush’s knurled end prevents unwanted sleeve rotation and enables camber settings to be ‘fixed’ once the optimal position has been achieved.

In-built caster adjustment
Powerflex’s front wishbone rear bush with in-built caster adjustment is even more impressive. Engineering a bushing able to offer +1 degree of caster proved challenging for the Powerflex research and development team, but the resulting product comprises a low friction polyurethane centre bush, housed within a specially-created, hard-anodised aluminium outer shell.

Powerflex PFF85-602G front wishbone rear bush with caster offset

Powerflex PFF85-602G front wishbone rear bush with caster offset

Powerflex PFF85-602G front wishbone rear bush with caster offset

This is proven to promote the optimum relationship between bushing and aluminium shell, with the low friction rotating bush serving to reduce the forces acting on the arm itself. The lower arm deflection has been decreased by reducing the compliant material within the aluminium shell, effectively allowing for improved in-corner camber, without compromising straight line traction.

Lifetime warranty
Powerflex’s signature polyurethane is the material from which the latest bushes are made. As it has a proven ability to withstand the immense forces, temperatures and conditions which are part and parcel of a hard-working automotive chassis, the PQ24 bushes benefit from Powerflex’s lifetime warranty. As well as the standard kits, Powerflex also offers the PQ24 chassis products in its Black Series range, which are tailored for use with track day and competition cars, and boast a stiffer construction.

Also compatible with the 1999 to 2005 Audi A2 (1999-2005), the 2002 to 2009 SEAT Cordoba ‘6L’ and 2002 to 2008 SEAT Ibiza ‘6L’, 2000 to 2007 Skoda Fabia (2002-2008), as well as the 2205 to 2011 Volkswagen Fox, visit the Powerflex website for more information.

Well-respected Volkswagen and Audi tuner Forge Motorsport has released an all-new dump valve kit for 2014 to 2017 ‘6R’ and ‘6C’ 1.0-litre TSI-engined Polos, as well as their closely-related Audi A1, SEAT Ibiza and Skoda Fabia derivatives. Priced from £207.77 including VAT, the FMDV9 kit for the PR-TJ4 engine is a complete ‘fit and forget’ part.

Specifically designed for this application, the twin-piston design has a number of advantages, including an ability to increase throttle response during gear changes thanks to a reduction in turbo lag. It also helps the turbocharger maintain its rotational speed when under acceleration and, Forge reports that it gives a loud (and addictive) sound when lifting off the throttle!

Forge Motorsport 2014-2017 Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI dump valve kit

Forge Motorsport 2014-2017 Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI dump valve kit

Silicone from turbo to manifold
The kit also comes with a new, longer-than-OEM-lasting hose, which features an inner layer of Flurosilicone, which makes it more resistant to oil exposure, temperature and pressure, and also suitable for modern long-life coolants, Organic Acid Technology coolants or air-containing oil mist. Available in a choice of colours, the kit completely replaces the OEM plastic pipe from the turbo to manifold with silicone.

Forge Motorsport 2014-2017 Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI dump valve kit

Forge Motorsport 2014-2017 Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI dump valve kit

Forge Motorsport 2014-2017 Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI dump valve kit

Impressibly reliable reputation
All the required couplers and fixings are included, too. CNC-machined alloy couplers and jubilee clips ensure that the kit is built to OEM standards, and will perform faultlessly for countless miles. Future-proofing the car’s induction system, Forge even throws in a limited lifetime warranty. Not that you’ll need it, as Forge’s products enjoy an impressively reliable reputation, and won’t set off engine warning lights or trigger fault codes.

Forge Motorsport’s Polo 1.0 TSI dump valve ships with everything required for a straightforward installation, including detailed fitting instructions. Call call 01452 380999, head to www.forgemotorsport.co.uk or email info@forgemotorsport.co.uk for more details.