PoloDriver

Despite reports that Volkswagen sales fell by 10 per cent in the UK last month when compared to the same period last year due to the ‘dieselgate’ emissions issue, the Polo is still in the UK’s top 10 best-selling cars list, sitting in seventh.

According to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) today, 3233 Polos found new homes during October 2015, boosting the car’s overall top 10 best-sellers position for the year so far to sixth.

New car registrations down
Overall, UK new car registrations were down 1.1 per cent last month to 177,644 units, after a record 43 months of growth. The year-to-date figures are up 6.4 per cent, though, with 2,274,550 vehicles registered. Both diesel and petrol engines remained steady through October, though slightly more petrol vehicles than diesel were registered (1,117,306 vs 1,095,601 respectively).

With 8577 examples registered, the Ford Fiesta once again reigned supreme at the top of the October 2015 chart, with the 5061-selling Vauxhall Corsa in second. Another VW, the Golf, finished third (actually up one place from September), with 5,057 cars driven off the forecourts, despite the barrage of publicity and ongoing ‘dieselgate’ issue.

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

1 Ford Fiesta: 8577 (116,631, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 5061 (77,896, 2nd)
3 Volkswagen Golf: 5057 (64,257, 4th)
4 Ford Focus: 4913 (73,966, 3rd)
5 Nissan Qashqai: 4544 (54,259, 5th)
6 Audi A3: 3884 (42,137, 8th)
7 Volkswagen Polo: 3233 (48,770, 6th)

8 Nissan Juke: 3155
9 BMW 1 Series: 2944
10 BMW 3 Series: 2805

(The 2015 top 10 best-selling cars absent from last month’s sales figures are the seventh-placed Vauxhall Astra, the ninth-placed Mini and the Mercedes-Benz C Class in tenth place with 45,487, 38,241 and 37,748 cars sold respectively.)

Our friends at Indian Autos Blog have reported that Volkswagen Argentina has launched a revised version of the Polo Sedan, but only with a petrol engine. The Argentina Polo notchback is the same as the revised versions of the Polo Sedan in Russia and South Africa, as well as the Indian-built Volkswagen Vento. In fact, the Argentinian cars roll out of the same Indian plant in Pune where its Vento sister is produced.

1.6-litre, 103bhp engine
Premiered in Buenos Aires earlier in the year, the Polo Sedan for Argentina has a 1.6-litre, 103bhp engine with peak power produced at 5250rpm. Peak torque of 112lb ft (153Nm) of torque comes in at 3750rpm. Both six-speed manual and five-speed automatic gearbox options are available. Manual versions have a top speed of 116mph.

Standard equipment is high and includes ABS, Bluetooth connectivity, climate control, cruise control, dual airbags, electric windows, Isofix child seat mounts and an RCD 320G CD/MP3/USB/SD music system. Fifteen-inch alloy wheels are also fitted. Prices start at ARS 237,600 for the Comfortline manual, and rise to ARS 251,400 for the automatic version.

[Source: Indian Autos Blog]

At last! Volkswagen’s rising rallying star Andreas Mikkelsen took his first FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) win at the recent Rally Spain, which took place in the Catalonia region from 22-25 October. The penultimate round of the 2015 series, the last two runnings of the event were won by Mikkelsen’s team-mate and current world rally champion Sébastien Ogier.

Seventh 2015 one-two
The young Norwegian Mikkelsen has risen through the rallying ranks and was part of Volkswagen’s S2000 programme which readied the squad for WRC glory using Skoda Fabia S2000s in the lead-up to a full world championship assault in 2013.

Mikkelsen and his co-driver Ola Fløene’s Spanish win gave Volkswagen Motorsport its seventh 2015 one-two in Spain, ahead of Finns Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila. After 63 starts and 12 podium positions, Mikkelsen and Fløene finally stood on the top step on the rostrum and took their well-deserved plaudits.

Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia were forced to retire after a rare slip-up saw them hit a crash barrier on the asphalt section of the event and render their Polo R WRC undrivable due to the severity of the damage the car sustained. The result didn’t matter however: Ogier and Ingrassia have already been crowned overall 2015 world rally champions*.

Dramatic end
It was a close and dramatic end to a spectacular event, the only one on the WRC calendar to mix both gravel and asphalt surfaces. (The Volkswagen Motorsport mechanics changed over 4044 individual parts including wheels, gearbox, chassis geometry and dampers, and transformed the Polo R WRC from gravel muncher to asphalt skimmer in around 75 minutes!)

A puncture on the 12th stage brought Latvala’s duel with rally leader Ogier to a premature end, with the Finn losing almost a minute. But, through a determined drive, he bounced back into second place and into another fight, this time with Mikkelsen. A game of cat and mouse then saw Latvala suffer another puncture in stage 20, while Mikkelsen spun his car on stage 21 which cost him time.

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Volkswagen South Africa celebrated the 500,000th Polo to be produced at its Uitenhage factory on 22 October. The jubilee car – a Flash Red Cross Polo to be shipped to an Austrian customer – was met by a number of dignitaries, including the Managing Director of Volkswagen Group South Africa, Thomas Schaefer.

Sole supplier
‘We have also exported over 390,000 vehicles since 2009, with the Uitenhage plant being the worldwide sole supplier of the Cross Polo derivative which coincidentally is the 500,000th vehicle to be manufactured today,’ commented Schaefer.

‘Since being launched in the South African market in January 2010, the Polo has consistently been the second best-selling passenger model after Polo Vivo. We are extremely proud to reach this milestone as 2015 also marks 40 years since the very first Polo was manufactured in 1975 in Germany,’ he added.

All five-door Polos for right-hand-drive markets including Britain, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand are produced at the Uitenhage plant.

The South African-built Polo built has received notable recognition, including the 2011 South African Car of the Year and 2010/2011 Japanese Import Car of the Year. Uitenhage is scheduled to build over 85,000 Polos this year.

Forty years ago, when the Volkswagen Polo was first launched, the synchronistic output of 40bhp was more than enough for the 685kg small car. Fast forward four decades, though, and that total power output of the 1970s model translates into a mere power upgrade.

Hardcore and powerful
German Volkswagen tuner ABT has long fiddled with Polos to make them more hardcore and powerful with added style, and it has announced the ‘ABT VW Polo 2015’ programme which boosts power to as much as 230bhp (169kW) from the 1.8-litre TSI engine fitted to the Polo GTI.

The company’s ‘New Generation’ performance upgrades are based on a specially-developed control unit, and in the case of the 230bhp Polo, helps torque rise to a maximum of 360Nm (265lb ft). ‘40 years ago it would have taken the then brand new Porsche Turbo to beat it,’ said ABT Sportsline CEO Hans-Jürgen Abt.

Enhanced handling
ABT upgrades are available for most Polo models, with even the 108bhp (81kW) 1.2-litre TSI boosted to 138bhp (103kW) with torque of 220Nm (162lb ft). ABT says handling is enhanced with lowered 25mm (front) and 30mm (rear) springs. A wide range of 18-inch wheels with 215/35 R18 tyres can be chosen, too.

Other add-on features include various carbonfibre-look body addenda as well as an upgraded exhaust system. The three-door model can also be ‘exclusively’ fitted with a bi-coloured carbon wrap set and for the ultimate ‘exclusive’ touch, how about ABT-branded LED entrance lighting and floor mats?

ABT VW POLO 2015: DATA AND FACTS
ABT engine technology
Engine: 1.8 TSI, 1,798cc capacity, R4
Performance tuning: ABT Power ‘New Generation’
Performance: 230bhp/169kW (standard: 190bhp/141kW)
Torque: 360Nm (standard: 250 or 320Nm)

Engine: 1.2 TSI, 1,197cc capacity, R4
Performance tuning: ABT Power ‘New Generation’
Performance: 138bhp/103kW (standard: 108bhp/81kW)
Torque: 220Nm (standard: 175Nm)

ABT aerodynamics
– ABT carbon-look rear attachment above third braking light
– ABT rear skirt set
– ABT sticker set (two-coloured carbon-look)

ABT wheels
– ER-C, DR or Z-Design in 8.0 x 18-inch, ET35
– Available also as complete set of wheels and 215/35 R18 tyres.

ABT exhaust technology
– ABT muffler system with two end pipes 

ABT suspension
– ABT suspension springs (FA 25 mm, RA 30 mm lowering)

ABT interior
– ABT floor mats
– ABT LED-door entrance lights with ABT logo.


For more details on the whole range of ABT tuning upgrades for the Polo, visit ABT’s website.