PoloDriver

In a repeat of August’s position, the Volkswagen Polo was announced as the fifth best-selling car in the UK during September according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) today. A total of 11,026 Polos were sold by Volkswagen UK last month. Seemingly unaffected by the ‘Dieselgate’ emissions ‘scandal’ (no UK-market Polo engine has so far been implicated), the Polo has sold 45,537 examples so far in 2015.

Highest September on record
Once again, the Ford Fiesta was both the best-selling small car and the most popular car overall with 22,807 examples finding homes in September alone, and an overall total of 108,054 units sold in 2015 thus far. The SMMT reports that September 2015 was the highest September on record in terms of sales with 462,517 cars registered (a rise of 8.6 per cent), undoubtedly helped by the now-traditional registration plate change.

It was the 43rd consecutive month of growth. Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive said: ‘September is traditionally one of the year’s biggest months for new car registrations, and last month set an autumn record. With plenty of attractive, affordable deals available on the new ’65-plate, Britain’s car buyers – whether private, fleet or business consumers – were busier than ever’.

The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during September 2015 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 22,807 (108,054, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 15,670 (72,835, 2nd)
3 Ford Focus: 14,258 (69,053, 3rd)
4 Volkswagen Golf: 13,603 (59,200, 4th)
5 Volkswagen Polo: 11,026 (45,347, 6th)

6 Nissan Qashqai: 10,119 (49,715, 5th)
7 Mini: 8,754 (35,679, 9th)
8 Vauxhall Astra: 7920 (42,687, 7th)
9 Vauxhall Mokka: 7670
10 Fiat 500: 7460

(The 2015 top 10 best-selling cars absent from last month’s sales figures are the eighth-placed Audi A3 and the Mercedes-Benz C Class in tenth place with 38,253 and 35,505 cars sold respectively.)

The petrol-powered version of the latest Polo BlueMotion has gone on sale in South Africa. The first Volkswagen BlueMotion model with a TSI engine, the 97g/km Polo BlueMotion TSI officially achieves 4.2l/100km (67.2mpg), as opposed to the standard 1.2-litre TSI model with 57.6mpg. Volkswagen South Africa claims it tops the class for fuel consumption.

1.0-litre, 94bhp engine
The same as other versions worldwide, the new Polo BlueMotion TSI for South Africa has a 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine which develops 70kW (94bhp) and can reach a top speed of 191km/h (118mph). Maximum torque of 160Nm (118lb ft) is available from 1500rpm up to 3500rpm. Maximum power is reached between 5000 and 5500rpm. The Polo BlueMotion TSI reaches 62mph from rest in 10.5 seconds.

A lowered ride height, rear spoiler, underbody aero-package and faired in front radiator grille are features carried over from the previous Polo BlueMotion. The latest car also shares its low rolling resistance tyres and longer gear ratios with its predecessor. A stop/start system is standard along with a regenerative braking function and a gear change indicator which informs of the optimum shift times.

Equipment highlights
Equipment highlights include – stylish and one of best rims available for the current Polo in our opinion – 15-inch ‘Buenos Aires’ alloy wheels, a six-speaker Radio Composition Colour touchscreen infotainment system with MP3/SD/USB/Bluetooth connectivity options. Volkswagen’s latest Automatic Post-Collision Braking (standard) and Driver Alert (optional) systems are also available.

Priced at R235,800, the new Polo BlueMotion TSI can be specified with bi-xenon headlights allied to LED daytime running lights, while cruise control is fitted as standard. Head over to the Polo pages of Volkswagen South Africa’s website to find out more.

New Polo TDI engines
Volkswagen South Africa has also announced the addition of two new common rail 1.4-litre TDI engines, which replace the 1.6-litre units used previously (and which are possibly part of the current worldwide ‘Dieselgate’ EA189 emissions scandal). Both offer improved engine acoustics and less vibration than their predecessors.

Two power outputs are available, 55kW (74bhp) and 77kW (103bhp). The 55kW unit develops 210Nm (155lb ft) of torque from 1500rpm, while maximum power is reached between 3000-3750rpm. Top speed is 173km/h (107mph) and the 0-62mph dash is reached in 12.9 seconds. It is only available in Trendline trim.

The more powerful 75kW version is offered to buyers choosing Highline and Cross (CrossPolo) trims. Torque of 250Nm (184lb ft) is available from a 55kW version-matching 1500rpm. Top speed is 194km/h while the Polo 1.4 TDI 77kW gets to 62mph from rest in 9.9 seconds. As with the 55kW variant, CO2 is 108g/km and fuel economy is a claimed 68.8mpg.

The Polo 1.4 TDI 55kW Trendline is priced at R223,500, with the 1.4 TDI 77kW Highline at R252,000. The 1.4 TDI 77kW CrossPolo costs R260,000. As standard, the new Polo comes with a 3-year/45,000km Service Plan, a 3-year/120,000km warranty and a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty. Service intervals are 15,000km. The two new diesel and BlueMotion TSI models complete the South African range which includes the range-topping GTI.

THE POLO IN SOUTH AFRICA
The Polo first came to South Africa in October 1996, and sat between the Citi Golf and Golf in the model line-up. A booted sedan/saloon model, it was based on the contemporary SEAT Cordoba. A hatchback version, the Polo Playa, joined it in July 1998 and was similarly based on another SEAT, the Ibiza.

October 2002 saw the all-new Polo 9N hit South African shores, and promptly won the 2003 South African Car of the Year title. It was joined by a notchback Polo Classic saloon version in March of that year.

The fifth-generation Polo was launched in South Africa in 2010. The hatchback and saloon range has has consistently been the second best-selling car in the country. The best-selling model in South Africa since 2010 has been the Polo’s sibling, the Polo Vivo which was also launched in the same year to replace the Citi Golf.

The Polo has sold over 14 million units and is now available worldwide. The factory in Uitenhage is one of the two plants in the Volkswagen production network that assembles the Polo hatchback. In South Africa, the Polo is produced for both the local and export markets.

With two Polo S2000s taking podium places at the 2015 Toyota Cape Dealer Rally on 18-19 September, the Volkswagen Sasolracing team celebrated at the event in the Western Cape. The crews of Gugu Zulu and Hilton Auffray, and Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries finished second and third respectively. In addition, Volkswagen Sasolracing was also handed the Manufacturer’s Award.

‘Best finish to date’
Zulu was understanably pleased with his and Auffray’s result: ‘Second place on the podium is my best finish to date,’ he said. ‘The longer, sweeping stages out here in the Western Cape make for a very tough and long event and we had to push – but not too hard. Rallying is a fine line between absolute pace and caution to get to the finish.’

Fekken and Arries meanwhile scored a second consecutive podium appearance on the tracks around Cape Town & Malmesbury. ‘This is a very good result for the team,’ remarked Fekken. ‘We had a puncture which cost us time, but we had a really good event overall. We pushed right up until the end, ending with a clean rally and another podium.’

Sadly, the Polo S2000 of Henk Lategan and Barry White developed an issue on the final section of stage 13 and ended in retirement for the third Volkswagen Sasolracing crew. The pair came home fourth, but had put in the best performance of the weekend. The first stage of day two saw the duo third-quickest, followed by second quickest times for the following four stages. Lategan and White actually produced the fastest times for stages 10, 11 and 12.

‘A fantastic result’
Mike Rowe, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa, was pleased with the overall result of his team but disappointed with the retirement of Lategan and White: ‘It’s a fantastic result. The Volkswagen Sasolracing team did well and were there at the finish when it mattered, crossing the line for second and third.

‘The stars of the rally were Henk Lategan and Barry White who didn’t put a foot wrong the whole event. Henk and Barry really should have won today: they had great pace and won rally stages, but aren’t here at the finish through no fault of their own.’

The eighth and final round of the South African National Rally Championship is the Polokwane Rally which takes place on 16-17 October around Limpopo.

At the tenth round of the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship, the 18-20 September World RX of Spain, Johan Kristoffersson was the highest-placed Volkswagen Polo finisher, coming home second ahead of fellow Polo pilot Tanner Foust in fifth.

‘Fantastic job’
Kristofferssen was runner-up to current rallycross world champion Petter Solberg. ‘It feels awesome to be a part of the winner’s press conference again. I would like to thank my team: they did a fantastic job with the car, which worked magnificently and just keeps getting faster,’ said the Volkswagen Team Sweden Polo WRX driver.

The podium spot leaves Kristoffersson in third place in the overall drivers’ points table with 182 points, while the Swede also posted the fastest lap time of the weekend in his 600bhp Polo WRX Supercar.

Kristoffersson’s team-mate Tord Linnerud went out in the semi-final. However, the pair’s European Championship team-mate Ole Christian Veiby won the Euro RX part of the Spanish event after another Polo driver, Tommy Rustad, was disqualified.

Launch control
‘A victory is always a victory, but to be honest, this is not the way I want to win. I was car number two over the finish line, but rules are rules and that means I got the victory after all,’ said Veiby. Rustad had somehow activated the launch control system on his Polo RX during the race, when it is only permitted at the start of a race.

Veiby is now back in the fight for a trophy in the European Championship classification, after the penultimate round at the 1.133mile-long Formula 1 Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. ‘The event in Spain was a “make or break it” in terms of the chances to get a medal in the Euro RX this season,’ said an elated Veiby.

25,000-strong crowd
Foust meanwhile put on a show for the 25,000-strong crowd in Barcelona and was the highest-placed Polo RX driver from the Marklund Motorsport squad. Thomas ‘Topi’ Heikkinen went out in the semi-final race and finished the event in eighth place.

Coming from a podium at the World RX of Canada, Foust, the US TV star and two-time Formula Drift Champion remains the only American to have a won a round of the World Rallycross Championship having triumphed at last year’s World RX of Finland.

The next round of the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship, the World RX of Turkey, will take place in Istanbul from 2-4 October.

2015 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Petter Solberg, Citroën DS3: 243
2 Timmy Hansen, Peugeot 208: 208
3 Johan Kristoffersson, Volkswagen Polo WRX: 182
4 Davy Jeanney, Peugeot 208: 166
5 Andreas Bakkerud, Ford Fiesta ST: 163

2015 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Team Peugeot-Hansen: 374
2 Ford Olsbergs MSE: 297
3 SDRX: 268
4 Marklund Motorsport: 216
5 Volkswagen Team Sweden: 214

In a triumphant and jubilant show of skill, Volkswagen Motorsport has once again taken the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season titles. With a one-two finish in the red dust of Rally Australia, the victorious French pairing of Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia lifted the 2015 Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ Championship crowns, while Volkswagen Motorsport took the manufacturers’ laurels, the third time in as many seasons.

Ogier and Ingrassia may have won the event and the 2015 title, but the second place of Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila meant they could help the Frenchmen celebrate, too. Citroën’s Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle spoilt the all-Volkswagen Australian podium party: a slightly disappointed Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene had to ‘settle;’ for fourth place.

Formidable Frenchmen
As in 2014, Volkswagen Motorsport has secured the trio of WRC titles with more 2015 rallies still to come. Ogier and Ingrassia have proved an almost unbeatable and formidable duo this season, and so great is their advantage in the overall standings that neither they or Volkswagen Motorsport can be caught in the remaining quarter of season. In total, Volkswagen drivers have won nine out of the 10 rallies so far in 2015.

Day three of Rally Australia saw Ogier and Ingrassia lead Meeke and Nagle by just two car lengths. With the 2015 titles in their grasp, the French pair extended the gap to 32.6 seconds. Latvala and Anttila then leap-frogged the Citroën pair to fall just 12.3 seconds behind Ogier and Ingrassia at the finish line. Mikkelsen and Fløene had kept Meeke and Nagle out off the podium places on the final day, but sadly incurred a late time check arrival penalty which added 10 seconds to their result.

It wasn’t all bad news for the Norwegians, though. The duo took third-place in the final test, the Power Stage, where they joined Ogier and Ingrassia as well as Latvala and Anttila in taking additional bonus points for Volkswagen. It was the 61st, 62nd and 63rd time in 30 Power Stages that the German manufacturer had picked up extra points.

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