PoloDriver

With the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) due to get underway with this month’s Rally Monte-Carlo on 19 January, it has been confirmed that there will be no Polo R WRCs on the entry list. Rumours circulated at the end of 2016 that 2015 Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah was looking to enter the car privately as almost all of the development work has already been completed by Volkswagen Motorsport.

Lack of time
Lack of time proved the ultimate stumbling block however, as the 2017 iteration of the world championship-winning Polo was close to homologation. Al-Attiyah commented to motorsport.com that ‘time was very limited’, and that despite his plan – which was backed by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund which owns 14.6 per cent of the Volkswagen Group – sadly the deal just did not happen in an acceptable timeframe.

It had been reported in the Finnish press before Christmas 2016 that around 15m euros would have been pumped into the project by the Qatari fund, and that each 2017-specification Polo R WRC would cost in the region of 10m euros. Now that the car will not run this year, the focus has now switched to ensure that all-conquering rallying Polo is back to contest the 2018 series.

Unconfirmed rumours also suggested that VW may have been eligible to enter a pair of Polos into the 2017 WRC series to ensure that the homologation process – which was already underway – was complete. However, the overall cost of the 2017 programme would have had to be met privately and not by Volkswagen itself.

Two-car squad
Current and four-time world rally champion Sébastien Ogier was mooted to make up a two-car squad with Al-Attiyah (above), but again, time wasn’t on the now departed VW driver’s side. The Frenchman had a limited period in which to make up his mind to secure a seat for the Monte-Carlo event, after VW’s shock announcement in November that 2016 would be its last year of WRC participation. Ogier has since signed for M-Sport, and will start his 2017 season on the start ramp in Monte-Carlo behind the wheel of the new Ford Fiesta WRC.

Even though the 2017 Polo R WRC may not compete, there may be hope for the already proven 2016 machine. A new WRC Trophy class has been created especially for 2016-specification cars, with drivers scoring points on a maximum of seven rallies, with the best six results counting towards drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles. There was talk of Al-Attiyah competing in a 2016-spec Polo R WRC before the collapse of the 2017 car deal, but there has been no confirmation of the current rallying Polo’s inclusion.

At the end of November, Volkswagen Motorsport Director Sven Smeets hinted to wrc.com that a slew of ex-championship Polos would be available for customer use in 2017: ‘I am happy to announce that we can rent out the 2016 cars next year. It’s something new for us, and we have had some contact already because news and interest spreads quickly. After the 2016 Rally Australia we will take this up on a first-come-first-served basis’.

It’s been another busy year for the Volkswagen Polo. On the asphalt and gravel stages of the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship, the Polo has, like 2013, 2014, and 2015, again taken on all-comers to emerge victorious: the 318bhp Polo R WRC has taken the Manufacturers’ Championship title for Volkswagen Motorsport and has also carried Frenchmen Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia to their third consecutive Drivers’ and Co-drivers’ Championship prizes. Sadly, that success is due to end this year with the announcement that Volkswagen is to quit top-level rallying.

Other Polo-based motorsport series have continued around the globe, though, with Wolfsburg’s small car taking an even larger presence in the FIA World Rallycross Championship. Volkswagen Driver magazine in the UK has also published a series of articles detailing cars in the 2015 AutoMuseum Volkswagen ’40 Years Polo’ exhibition, which were written by PoloDriver.com editor Rich Gooding. A number of Polo special edition models have also been released around the world, while 2016 is expected to be the final production year of the current fifth-generation Polo.

Here, we round up the Polo’s biggest achievements in 2016. (Bold entries are illustrated by the picture above that particular month’s list of events.)

January

– Our cars: 2015 Polo SE 1.2 TSI – report three
– Volkswagen RX Sweden rallycross team unveiled
– Volkswagen launches ‘Race Anywhere’ Polo R WRC smartphone rally game app
– Polo R WRC upgraded and improved ahead of 2016 FIA World Rally Championship
– Volkswagen Motorsport takes victory at Rally Monte-Carlo
– Polo is the seventh best-selling car in the UK.

February
– Polo E80 prototype and Öko-Polo eco models profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Volkswagen India refreshes Polo and Vento ranges; new sub-compact Ameo launched
– Polo GTI revealed for Indian market
– Sébastien Ogier, Julien Ingrassia and Volkswagen win Rally Sweden for the third time
– Polo Beats special edition announced ahead of 2016 Geneva motor show
– Polo is the eighth best-selling car in the UK.

March
– 1970s early Polos and Audi 50s profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Future Polo-based T-Cross Breeze SUV concept revealed at 2016 Geneva motor show
– Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila celebrate Rally Mexico win
– Volkswagen South Africa launches Polo Vivo Xpress van and Polo Vivo GTS
– Our cars: 2015 Polo GTI – report one
– Polo is the sixth best-selling car in the UK.

April

– 1982 Polo bb Buchmann profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Volkswagen India recalls Vento 1.5 TDIs due to ‘inconsistent emission issues’
– 2016 Volkswagen RX Sweden Polo RX rallycross Supercar revealed
– 2017 Volkswagen Polo R WRC technology announced
– Sixth for Johan Kristoffersson and Volkswagen RX Sweden at World RX of Portugal
– Polo R WRCs finish in second and third places at Rally Argentina
– Polo is the sixth best-selling car in the UK.

May
– 1983 Polo Sprint prototype profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Polo RXs finish seventh and 15th at World RX of Hockenheim
– Special edition Polo Beats hits the UK from £13,910
– Volkswagen RX Sweden Polos in World RX of Belgium final
– Rally Portugal podiums for Andreas Mikkelsen and Sébastien Ogier
– Polo GT Sedan 1.4 TSI launched in Russia
– Polo is the seventh best-selling car in the UK.

June

– 1985 Polo G40 ‘World Record’ endurance car profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Polo RXs complete World RX of Great Britain in eighth and 11th places
– New Polo Select and Vento Celeste special editions for India
– Double podium and an extended championship lead for Volkswagen at Rally Italy
– Polo RXs finish in seventh and 15th places at World RX of Norway
– Wimmer Rennsporttechnik announce 417bhp Polo R WRC tuning kit
– Polo is the eighth best-selling car in the UK.

July

– Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jæger take Polo R WRC to victory at Rally Poland
– Polo scoops Auto Express New Car Awards 2016 ‘small car’ prize
– Fourth and fifth place finishes for Polo RXs at World RX of Sweden
– Polo is the seventh best-selling car in the UK.

August

– Five generations of sports Polos profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Second place for Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila at Rally Finland
– Goodridge Performance launches 2014-onwards Polo GTI 1.8 TSI ‘Phantom’ brake line kit
– PoloDriver.com profiles Belgian-only special edition Polo RX from 1978
– Kristoffersson scores Volkswagen RX Sweden podium at World RX of Canada
– Volkswagen Group announces roll-out particulate filters for petrol-engined cars
– Polo 1.2-litre TDI included in Volkswagen EA189 engine recall
– Sixth-generation Volkswagen Polo spotted testing; ‘hybrid’ platform car to be sold in India
– Polo R WRC takes on Kamaz 4326 Dakar Rally truck in Ouninpohja, Finland
– Cobra Sport announces performance exhaust system for 2014-onwards Polo GTI 1.8 TSI
– Ogier and Volkswagen Motorsport win Rally Germany
– Polo is the sixth best-selling car in the UK.

September
– 1986 Volkswagen Motorsport Polo GT G40 profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Kristoffersson scores emphatic first team victory at World RX of France
– Polo Vivo expanded production plans announced with building of Kenyan factory
– Pete Hedström pilots Polo RX at World RX of Spain and World RX of Latvia
– Remus stainless steel exhaust upgrade for 2014-onwards Polo GTI 1.8 TSI announced
– Kristoffersson finishes sixth at World RX of Spain
– Polo is the sixth best-selling car in the UK.

October
– 1986 Wintershall VW Polo G40 Cup profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Ogier and Volkswagen Motorsport victorious at Rally France
– PoloDriver.com tests the Polo R-Line 1.0 TSI
– Kristoffersson claims second place at World RX of Latvia
– Special edition Polo Vivo Storm released in South Africa
– Polo Beats special edition launched by Volkswagen South Africa
– A solid sixth for Kristoffersson at World RX of Germany
– Ogier and Ingrassia claim fourth WRC drivers’ championship title at Rally Spain
– Volkswagen claims its twelfth WRC title in four years at Rally Great Britain
– Polo is the seventh best-selling car in the UK.

November
– Second-generation Polos profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Volkswagen announces it is to exit the World Rally Championship
– ‘Limited edition’ Polo GTI launched in India for Rs 25.99 lakh
– Polo Beats special edition arrives in Ireland
– Polo Allstar and Vento Preferred special editions launched by Volkswagen India
– Volkswagen bids farewell to Polo R WRC with Rally Australia win
– Polo is the eighth best-selling car in the UK.

December
– Late-generation Polos profiled in Volkswagen Driver magazine
– Polo R WRC is named as Autosport magazine’s 2016 Rally Car of the Year
– Sébastien Ogier is named as Autosport magazine’s 2016 Rally Driver of the Year
– Polo GTI named Overdrive magazine’s Performance Car of the Year
– Ameo, Polo and Vento Crest Collection special edition models launched
– PoloDriver.com compares the SEAT Ibiza Cupra and Volkswagen Polo GTI
– Value-driven Polo Match Edition launched in the UK
– Polo is the seventh best-selling car in the UK for the month and the year overall
– Over 704,062 Polos are registered worldwide during 2016, making it the eighth best-selling car in the world.

Once again, we would like to thank the loyal readers and followers who have helped make the year another enjoyable one for PoloDriver.com, and hope that you’ll enjoy the developments and stories coming to the website in 2017.

[Click on the ‘Polo 2009-’, ‘WRC’ and ‘Motorsport’ tags in the category drop-down list in the right-hand sidebar of the website to see all entries pertaining to the revised fifth-generation Polo, Polo R WRC, and Polo motorsport activity respectively. Choose other category or month sections for relevant entries.]

Volkswagen UK has enriched the popular Polo range with the addition of the Match Edition model, available to order from Volkswagen Retailers on 21 December. Prices start at £13,315 OTR for the model with enhanced technology, which also comes with a choice of four engines. Among the highlights of the Polo Match Edition is Car-Net App-Connect which integrates smartphones to the car via a USB connection, and allows Apple CarPlay, Android Auto or MirrorLink apps to control the device.

Useful interactivity
Practical information and apps such as Skype and Spotify – can also be accessed by the Car-Net App-Connect system – which also features on the distinctive Polo Beats model – while for Android smartphones, Google Voice Control functionality is also enabled. Car-Net App-Connect builds on the car’s standard Composition Media infotainment system, too, for further useful interactivity.

For MirrorLink users, Volkswagen has developed special apps including Call & Remind for those all-important ‘to do’ lists, as well as Cam Connect, which lets a GoPro® Hero4 camera be placed in the car and a still image shown on the infotainment screen on demand. Video from the camera can also be streamed when the car is moving slowly or is at a halt.

Value-driven
Aside from the heightened technology count, standard equipment on the value-driven new Polo Match Edition is high. Features on the Polo Match Edition include auto-dimming rear view mirror and auto-sensing windscreen wipers, cruise control, a ‘coming/leaving home’ function for the lights, electrically-heated door mirrors, front and rear parking sensors, as well as 15-inch ‘Stratford’ alloy wheels.

Three petrol and one diesel engines power the Polo Match Edition. A 1.0-litre petrol unit starts the range, and is available in 59 and 74bhp forms, while Volkswagen’s familiar 1.2-litre TSI petrol engine with 89bhp provides a little more go, and can be chosen with either a manual or DSG automatic gearbox. A 1.4-litre TDI diesel engine with 74bhp completes the Match Edition range, and Volkswagen states it offers as much as 74.3mpg* on the combined cycle.

For additional details on the Polo Match Edition and the complete Polo range, visit the Volkswagen UK website. Pricing for the Polo Match Edition is below.

2016 VOLKSWAGEN POLO MATCH EDITION PRICES (UK)
1.0 BMT 59bhp, 108g/km, five-speed manual, 3dr: £13,315
1.0 BMT 59bhp, 108g/km, five-speed manual, 5dr: £13,945
1.0 BMT 74bhp, 108g/km, five-speed manual, 3dr: £13,840
1.0 BMT 74bhp, 108g/km, five-speed manual, 5dr: £14,470

1.2 TSI BMT 89bhp, 109g/km, five-speed manual, 3dr: £14,460
1.2 TSI BMT 89bhp, 109g/km, five-speed manual, 5dr: £15,090
1.2 TSI BMT 89bhp, 109g/km, seven-speed DSG, 3dr: £15,835
1.2 TSI BMT 89bhp, 109g/km, seven-speed DSG, 5dr: £16,465

1.4 TDI BMT 74bhp, 97g/km, five-speed manual, 3dr: £15,525
1.4 TDI BMT 74bhp, 97g/km, five-speed manual, 5dr: £16,155

* Fuel consumption and CO2 figures are obtained under standardised EU test conditions (Directive 93/116/EEC). This allows a direct comparison between different manufacturer models but may not represent the actual fuel consumption achieved in ‘real world’ driving conditions. More information is available on the Volkswagen website at www.volkswagen.co.uk and at www.dft.gov.uk/vca

PoloDriver.com contributor, motoring writer, engagesportmode.com editor and Polo GTI owner John Redfern weighs up the pros and cons of two seemingly similar Spanish-built Volkswagen Group hot hatchbacks

Styling
This is evidently a subjective area, and neither Cupra nor GTI could be considered unattractive designs. Whether you prefer the basic Polo or Ibiza shape is personal taste, so we concentrated on the actual effort made to transform regular supermini into a hot hatch.

So what sets the GTI apart is the fact it looks more bespoke compared to the rest of the Polo range. From the red trim running across the grille into the headlights, to the honeycomb mesh and the GTI branding, it feels more special. Yes, it might be a scaled-down pastiche of the Golf GTI, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

On the other hand, the Ibiza Cupra struggles to separate itself from the hundreds of FR-badged imitators. Where it does differ is often through fussy styling, like the trapezoidal centre-exit exhaust or fake vents in the rear bumper. It’s still a good-looking car, but doesn’t quite do enough to make things feel distinctive.

Take the gloss black alloy wheels fitted to this Cupra Black test car, and compare them to the multi-spoke items, with diamond cut elements, on the GTI. Whether you like them is a matter of taste, but it exemplifies the extra attention to detail and sense of occasion found on the transformation of the Polo into a GTI.

Winner: GTI

2016 Volkswagen Polo GTI and SEAT Ibiza Cupra

2016 Volkswagen Polo GTI and SEAT Ibiza Cupra

2016 Volkswagen Polo GTI and SEAT Ibiza Cupra

Interior
Volkswagen Group interiors have long held a reputation for strong design and build quality. That doesn’t change when it gets to the Cupra and GTI, but subtle distinctions between them still exist.

As with the exterior, the Polo GTI edges ahead with a cabin that manages to have a greater sense of occasion. It starts with the ‘Jacara’ (or tartan) seats, and extends to the red stitching on the gear knob and steering wheel. The addition of piano black trim helps break up a sea of charcoal, as do the extra chrome elements.

Unlike the GTI there’s no additional trim to separate acres of grained black plastic. It could be a Cupra, or it could be a base-spec E, there’s no real feeling of delineation. Where the Ibiza does score an advantage is with seats that will go lower to the floor, and ultimately feel more cosseting than those in the GTI. Get back in the Polo and the sense of extra seat height is palpable – blame the extra storage drawers hiding underneath for that.

Fundamentally the Polo GTI feels more expensive, looks more expensive, and persuades you that VW were inclined to try that little bit harder in making it feel unique.

Winner: GTI

2016 Volkswagen Polo GTI

2016 SEAT Ibiza Cupra

Performance
Same 1.8-litre TSI engine and, unsurprisingly, the same official performance figures for both. Drive them back-to-back, or have someone drive the other one alongside, and you’ll be extremely hard-pressed to say one is faster than the other.

The Cupra does, however, have a slightly sharper initial throttle pedal response and feels ever so marginally quicker in terms of initial acceleration. Conversely, the GTI seems to have a fraction more lag before the torque kicks in. It is a very subtle difference, and one that could only really be detected driving one immediately after the other.

More noticeable is the lighter clutch pedal and gearbox of the Cupra, which removes an extra degree of effort that’s needed in the GTI. The Polo’s gearbox is still accurate but needs more force to shift cogs, whilst the clutch is also heavier.

Both cars here feature Sport modes that sharpen the throttle response and provoke more noise from the interior sound actuator. As noted in our review, the Cupra makes a slightly strange offbeat tone, whilst the GTI sounds more conventional. Despite the Cupra’s fancy tailpipe design, it’s the GTI that actually makes more noise from the exhaust itself.

The 1.8-litre TSI engine is an impressive unit in both applications and, so nuanced are the differences, we’re calling this round a tie.

Winner: draw

2016 Volkswagen Polo GTI

2016 SEAT Ibiza Cupra

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The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) in the UK has released its monthly new car registration figures for November 2016 and once again, the Volkswagen Polo makes the top 10 most popular cars chart. The Polo stays rooted in the number eight position, which is exactly where it was for October. Often criticised for being on the more sensible side of the small car class, you can’t knock its consistency. Overall, 3519 Polos were registered in the penultimate month of the year.

In a very reoccurring trend, the Ford Fiesta again sits pretty at the top of the rundown, with 8382 cars registered in November. Another popular Volkswagen, the Golf, is third, with 4663 units finding their way off the forecourts. The SMMT records that the market growth in November rose by 2.9 per cent, to a total of 184,101 cars registered. Overall, 2.5 million new cars have hit the UK’s roads to date in 2016, a new record.

The UK’s top 10 most popular passenger cars during November 2016 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 9382 (112,327, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Astra: 4829 (54,585, 6th)
3 Volkswagen Golf: 4663 (64,137, 4th)
4 Vauxhall Corsa: 4341 (73,172, 2nd)
5 Ford Focus: 4321 (65,554, 3rd)
6 Nissan Qashqai: 4242 (59,840, 5th)
7 Mini: 3778 (43,691, 8th)
8 Volkswagen Polo: 3637 (50,798, 7th)
9 Audi A3: 3296 (40,817, 10th)
10 Mercedes-Benz C Class: 3203 (41,121, 9th)