PoloDriver

Over the weekend of 26-28 June, the UK’s leading organisation for Volkswagen Polo owners once again staged its annual gathering. Previously called the ‘Polo Show’, for 2015 the name of the event was changed to more reflect its status and nature, being more of a social meet-up than a full-blown ‘show’ in the traditional sense.

Show ’n’ Shine
Whatever the name, it didn’t deter Polo owners from all corners of the UK descending on Billing Aquadrome in Northamptonshire for three days of Polo-based antics. With a Show ’n’ Shine on the Sunday, we made our way to the event to present the PoloDriver.com trophy for what we thought was the best car at the show. Shane Biggs’ 6N2 GTI was awarded the prize.

Eight trophies in total were up for grabs, with four (1st, 2nd, 3rd best cars in show and ‘People’s Choice’) awards chosen by the event attendees. Club Polo organisers chose the ‘Best Wheels’, ‘Best Interior’ and ‘Best Rat’ winners.

A relaxed and informal atmosphere is one of the nice things about the event, and as usual, there was a nice mix of older and newer cars, though sadly no Mk 1 Polos made the event in the model’s 40th anniversary year. To find out more about Club Polo or to join, visit clubpolo.co.uk.

Pause Play Play Prev | Next

According to sales figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the Volkswagen Polo was the eighth best-selling car in the UK last month. Repeating the top 10 success it has enjoyed during the first half of the year, 5457 Polos were sold by Volkswagen UK in June 2015. Once again, the Ford Fiesta was the most popular new model.

New car registrations were up 7.0 per cent in the first half of 2015 to 1,376,889, according to the SMMT. The organisation states that it was the highest half-year performance on record. June also marked the 40th consecutive month of growth in the UK. The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during June 2015 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 12,543 (71,990, 1st)
2 Vauxhall Corsa: 9561(50,125, 2nd)
3 Ford Focus: 9089 (45,078, 3rd)

4 Volkswagen Golf: 7575 (38,261, 4th)
5 Nissan Qashqai: 7140 (34,501, 5th)
6 Vauxhall Astra: 6428 (29,686, 6th)
7 Mini: 5551 (23,455, 10th)
8 Volkswagen Polo: 5457 (28,980, 7th)
9 Vauxhall Mokka: 5026
10 Vauxhall Insignia: 4478


(The 2015 top 10 best-selling cars absent from last month’s sales figures are the Audi A3 in eighth place with 25,765 cars sold and the Mercedes-Benz C Class in ninth place, selling 24,676 units.)

Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikkinen was the best-placed Volkswagen Polo RX Supercar driver at the sixth round of the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship, the World RX of Sweden, which took place in Höljes over the weekend of 4-5 July. Polos were prolifically-represented, though, with four cars in the semi-final rounds.

Welcome return
After scoring a third place in semi-final number two, Heikkinen advanced to the final race, and finished fourth overall behind the Ford Fiesta of Andreas Bakkerud. It was a welcome return to the podium for Volkswagen-backed Marklund Motorsport, and Heikkinen was jubilant about the result.

‘It’s nice to be back in the finals after missing the semi-final two races in a row. Too bad we were not able to compete for a podium, but I’m still pretty happy with this weekend. With my twelfth place in qualifying I was one of the last drivers into the semi-finals, but I still managed to be fourth overall,’ the young Finn said.

It wasn’t quite such good news for Heikkinen’s team-mate Per-Gunnar (P-G) Andersson. He finished 13th in heat four. A bad start in the qualifying heats was out down to a faulty generator on his 600bhp Polo RX Supercar, while a false start in the fourth heat put a stop to his chances in Sweden.

Runner-up position
Championship second-placed Johan Kristoffersson of Volkswagen Team Sweden suffered bad luck on his home round, with a puncture in the semi-finals. However, he still managed to retain his runner-up position in the drivers’ overall standings behind Petter Solberg, despite a seventh-place result in Höljes.

Pause Play Play Prev | Next

After a strong showing in Germany, it was a disappointing World RX of Sweden for Volkswagen Team Sweden’s Tord Linnerud. The Norwegian experienced technical problems and finished 15th in heat four, therefore not progressing any further.

‘Had the pace’
Michael Schneider, team manager of Marklund Motorsport, summed up the weekend with mixed feelings: ‘I am pleased that we are back in final, but not totally happy. Andersson had the pace for the finals this weekend, but unfortunately he had bad luck in the first heat. Tommy Rustad drove a very good race again, just as in Germany. But, for the rest of the season, I hope to put an end to all the bad luck’.

The overall event was won by EKSRX’s Mattias Ekström. It was the second consecutive Swedish win for the Audi S1 Supercar driver, who initially finished second in Höljes, but was awarded the first place after Peugeot’s Timmy Hansen was penalised for an overtaking manoeuvre on the last corner of the final.

The next round of the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship, the Word RX of Canada, takes place in Trois-Rivieres on 7-8 August.

2015 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Petter Solberg, Citroën DS3: 159
2 Johan Kristoffersson, Volkswagen Polo WRX: 115
3 Andreas Bakkerud, Ford Fiesta ST: 113
4 Timmy Hansen, Peugeot 208: 104
5 Reinis Nitiss, Ford Fiesta ST: 96

2015 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1 Ford Olsbergs MSE: 209
2 Team Peugeot-Hansen: 192
2 SDRX: 182
4 Volkswagen Team Sweden: 154
5 Marklund Motorsport: 126

Sunbury, UK-based carburettor manufacturer Webcon has reintroduced its carburettor kit for 1043cc-engined Volkswagen Polo and Derby models, built from 1981 to 1985. Priced at £183.75 (€253.58) plus VAT, the kit features a genuine Spanish Weber replacement carburettor for cars originally fitted with the Solex 31PIC7 part. The new item’s part number is 1527075000.

No additional tuning
The new item has been designed to fit the original manifold and air filters, and is supplied fully jetted for the engine with no additional tuning needed. Also included is every bolt, nut, washer and gasket for the job, as well as comprehensive instructions. Webcon says, ‘If you can carry out basic home DIY maintenance on your car, then you will easily be able to fit a Webcon replacement carburettor kit’.

The replacement kit is available from Webcon direct or from one of the company’s appointed worldwide dealers. For further information, contact Webcon on +44 (0)1932 787100 or visit www.webcon.co.uk. Webcon is a long-standing manufacturer of carburettor systems and has used the same engineers since 1978. The company states that ‘every kit produced is designed to return your car to factory levels of performance’.

Just ahead of the 2016 model year, Volkswagen Australia has introduced a raft of upgrades for the Polo and other models in its passenger car and SUV range. Among the important changes to Volkswagen’s small car is the addition of a standard reversing camera across all models, as well as a new App-Connect USB system which integrates Apple’s CarPlay system, in addition to Android Auto and the existing MirrorLink system.

GTI gets adjustable dampers
The range-topping GTI also receives Sport Select electronically-adjustable dampers as standard, with the addition of a ‘Sport’ button on the dashboard, as in European models. This also tunes the suspension, steering weight, throttle response and level of cabin engine noise. Prices of the realigned Polo vary from -AU$100 to +AU$500.

Volkswagen Australia describes the range amendments as the ‘biggest model year update in the local company’s history’. The 2016 model year cars will arrive in Volkswagen Australia retailers in the coming weeks. They are available to order now.

The full raft of 2016 model year Polo revisions is detailed below.

Polo 66TSI Trendline

($16,990 plus on-road, +$500)
Additional features over and above the MY15 Polo 66TSI Trendline:
– Composition Media 6.5-inch (replaces Composition Colour 5.0-inch) touchscreen display
– App-Connect USB interface for Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink
– Reversing camera

Polo 81TSI Comfortline

($18,490, -$100)
Additional features over and above the MY15 Polo 81TSI Comfortline:
– Composition Media 6.5-inch (replaces Composition Colour 5.0-inch) touchscreen display
– App-Connect USB interface for Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink
– Reversing camera

Polo GTI
(Remains at $27,990)
Additional features over and above the MY15 Polo GTI:
– Sport Select suspension (electronically adjustable dampers)
– App-Connect USB interface for Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink
– Reversing camera.

Visit the Volkswagen Australia website for further information.