PoloDriver

Fresh from Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila’s victory and its podium lock-out at last month’s Rally Portugal, Volkswagen Motorsport headed to Sardinia for the 2015 Rally Italy with emboldened confidence.

The sixth round of the 2015 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Volkswagen Motorsport had nothing to prove but still wanted to win. World champion Sébastien Ogier did just that, taking victory ahead of Hyundai Motorsport’s very capable Hayden Paddon and John Kennard.

Lure of a hat-trick
The German outfit won the Sardinian-based event in both 2013 and 2014, so the lure of hat-trick was strong. The Polo R WRC crews started off the 394km event in fourth, fifth and eighth places after the preliminary shakedown run through, but soon gained ground. Sébastien Ogier and Latvala finished the first day on the dusty tracks in second and third places respectively, behind New Zealand’s Paddon.

Andreas Mikkelsen meanwhile was forced out of contention by striking a hole in the road on the ‘Grighine Nord’ stage which damaged a wheel rim and a rear shock absorber, as well as parts of the fuel system. After attempting to fix the malady at the roadside, the Norwegian and his co-driver Ola Fløene abandoned their efforts and rejoined the event under Rally 2 regulations on day two.

Gripping battle
The second day – the longest rallying day for 13 years – saw Frenchman Ogier stage a gripping battle with the plucky Haddon for first place. The young driver was finally surpassed on stage 17, with Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia over two minutes in front by the day’s end. The Polo R WRC also took its 400th WRC stage win.

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Forget your ‘slammed’ and modified Polos. Bucking the Volkswagen scene trend, David Peters has unearthed a totally standard, base-model Polo C in a rare colour with the intention of a mild restoration and nothing more. Rich Gooding discovers more…

It’s not just the sporty Polos which are coveted. David Peters from South Devon spotted ‘Barry’, a 1984 Volkswagen Polo C for sale on a classic car website and just fell for ‘him’. A one-family-from-new car with a genuine recorded 56,000 miles, the Irish Green Polo had been garaged all its life and only used for short trips.

‘Completely original’
‘“Barry” was located in Swansea. It was a long way from south Devon but I had to have him. He was completely original and the family still had the brochure and original receipt of sale plus the dealers keyring and original number plates,’ David recalls.

‘When I went to see him, although he was completely original he was very dirty and in need of some TLC. He drove all the way back to south Devon in holiday traffic – which took 5 hours – smoothly and with no issues at all,’ he continues.

David’s plan was always to make sure ‘Barry’ stayed completely original and standard, and with nothing added that was not available as a factory option, as well as no aftermarket additions. The first thing David did was to strip out the interior and seats and give them a deep clean.

The four-speed base-model Polo had three missing mud flaps, however David managed to find an original set still in the packaging from an online Polo forum. He also sourced a set of original mats and the search goes on to find original parts to replace the worn ones.

Total respray
David says that the major facelift for ‘Barry’ was a total respray as the paint work was too far gone to salvage. Repainted in the original Volkswagen colour of Irish Green, David has yet to find another Polo in the same shade. We certainly think it’s rare, and, as it turns out, is also the colour used on the Polo on the front cover of the Haynes manual for the 1982-1990 models.

The one addition which David has been searching for since he took ownership is an original set of headlight washers, which were fitted to contemporary Polo GL models. He finally sourced a pair from Poland and is very much looking forward to finally fitting them.

David is looking to keep ‘Barry’ for quite some time. And in that period, he fully intends to give the car the love and attention it needs. ‘Barry has recently come out of winter storage and I am looking forward to taking him to as many shows and events as I can,’ David says.

‘Future plans include the stripping and cleaning of the underneath (with every nut and bolt done) plus an engine rebuild to take “Barry” back to as close to showroom condition as possible. I will also keep sourcing rare and genuine parts as well as factory extras,’ he continues.

Pilfered for parts
In a sea of modified and ’slammed’ cars on the Volkswagen scene, we at PoloDriver.com applaud David’s dedication to return ‘Barry’ to ‘his’ previous as-new state and leave it at that. A genuine car from its steel wheels to its rare factory sliding steel sunroof, basic ‘Barry’ is a breath of fresh air.

Young drivers might not see it, but the show scene needs more cars like this, historical documents, and proof of Volkswagen’s past. Its success was built on by cars like this little green 31 year-old Polo, but so many are pilfered for parts or lowered to an inch of their wheel arches. Staying standard is the right thing to do with this car. David, we salute you.

Discover more about the history of the Mk 2 Polo in our heritage pages section here.

A new version of the best-selling Polo Vivo has been announced by Volkswagen South Africa. The Eclipse special edition is available in both five-door hatchback and four-door sedan body styles, and is powered by a 1.4-litre 63kW (84bhp) petrol engine. Tax-inclusive prices start at R168,600 for the hatchback and rise to R174,600 for the sedan.

Silver-coloured door mirrors
Distinguished by Pure White or Deep Pearlescent Black paintwork, the Eclipse gains silver-coloured door mirrors, 16-inch ‘Mistral’ alloy wheels, ‘Eclipse’ badging, chrome strips on the boot edge, and lowered suspension. Inside, the centre console has a ‘steel graphite’ finish, a leather-trimmed steering wheel, gear lever and handbrake grip, as well as ‘Global’ seat fabric.

Both cars come with a 3-year/120,000km warranty and a 6-year anti-corrosion warranty. A 5-year/60,000km Volkswagen Automotion Maintenance Plan as well as a 5-year/60,000 km Service Plan are available as options. A 15,000km service interval is standard.

‘Dominant model’
‘Polo Vivo has been the dominant model in the local A0 hatch segment in spite of the new competitor models being launched. Its key product attributes such as affordability, German build quality, safety, space and comfort have a set an unparalleled benchmark in the segment.

‘These attributes continue to re-affirm Polo Vivo’s unique offering of “affordable and accessible mobility” to the South African customers. The cost of ownership over a 3-year cycle makes Polo Vivo one of the cheapest cars to own in the South Africa market,’ said Petra Hoffmann, Volkswagen Group South Africa Director, Sales and Marketing.

With over 175,000 sold since its introduction in March 2010, the 2005-2009 Mk 4 Polo-based Polo Vivo range has dominated the ‘A0’ hatchback market in South Africa, and is continually in the NAAMSA monthly best-selling car lists. The car, along with its Polo 6C sibling are the only locally-built models in the segment, and have a combined market share of 33 per cent.

Last weekend (13-14 June) we trundled across the county border from Essex to Suffolk for the Alive & V-Dubbin’ 2015 show. Taking place on a field adjacent to Jimmy’s Farm just off the A14, the event is organised by the Suffolk Bugrs VW Club. While the 2015 running was sadly a wet and drizzly affair, it didn’t stop the hardcore VW fans coming out in force. We were surprised by the amount of Polos on show. Here are some of the best. If you spot your car, drop us a line at info@polodriver.com or tweet us @polodrivercom and we’ll amend the captions to include you!

Holding firm in the sales stakes, the Volkswagen Polo was the seventh best-selling car in the UK last month according to the latest sales figures announced by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). A total of 4028 Polos found new homes in the UK during May 2015. The popular first-placed Ford Fiesta continued its market dominance with 9349 cars sold.

The latest SMMT tallies show that May new car registrations were up 2.4 per cent to 198,706 units, recording the 39th consecutive month of growth. 2015 new car registrations are up 5.7 per cent overall, with 1,119,072 units sold. The UK’s top 10 best-selling passenger cars during May 2015 and the year so far (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 9349 (59,447, 1st)
2 Ford Focus: 7355 (35,989, 3rd)
3 Vauxhall Corsa: 6513 (40,594, 2nd)

4 Volkswagen Golf: 5897 (30,686, 4th)
5 Vauxhall Astra: 4916 (23,538, 6th)
6 Mini: 4095
7 Volkswagen Polo: 4028 (23,523, 7th)
8 Audi A3: 3999 (22,338, 8th)
9 Nissan Qashqai: 3978 (27,361, 5th)
10 Nissan Juke: 3897


(The 2015 top 10 best-selling cars absent from last month’s sales figures is the Mercedes-Benz C Class with 20,726 units sold and the Fiat 500 in 10th place, selling 18,449 units.)