PoloDriver

Ahead of a revised model arriving shortly, Volkswagen India has announced details of the limited edition Vento Konekt model. While there are no mechanical changes to the Polo 6R-based saloon, as the name suggests, entertainment and connectivity options have been given a boost.

Available on Comfortline and Highline versions of the notchback model, Konekt equipment includes a seven-inch touchscreen Blaupunkt infotainment system which features Igo-NavTech satellite navigation, Bluetooth telephony options, and USB/iPhone/iPod connectivity.

Additionally, there is also a rear-seat entertainment system which comprises of an Android Bluetooth and 3G-enabled eight-inch Blaupunkt tablet. Dual-SIM capability is also standard, as well as Wi-Fi. Finally, leather seat covers and special ‘Konekt’ badging round out the limited edition car.

Pricing has yet to be confirmed for the Konekt package, but reports state that it is likely to bring no additional cost to the Vento models on which it can be specified. Petrol variants of the Vento are priced between Rs 7.84 and Rs 9.8 lakh while diesels cost between Rs 8.99 lakh up to Rs 9.8 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai).

Space-age looks and sci-fi technology. Rich Gooding straps himself in the fuel-efficient VW and prepares for an out-of-this-world driving experience

Driving the Volkswagen XL1 is like nothing I’ve ever driven before. Even walking up to the carbon-fibre eco supercar you’re amazed by its small footprint and low-slung stance. Little wider and longer than a Polo, the XL1 is far, far lower.

Its rear wheels are hidden by fairings and the lack of a back window and rear cooling vents remind you of early Beetle prototypes from the 1930s.

The front takes typically contemporary Volkswagen design cues and emboldens them with a bit more glitz: LED head lights and indicators dazzle in the overcast conditions, while the tapering nature of the XL1’s profile view has more than a whiff of sci-fi about it.

That’s made even more space-age by the white colour of the test car (although silver has the same effect). The narrow-tailed body serves a purpose though: with its precise trailing edges, the body exhibits, according to VW, ‘perfect aerodynamics’.

And that’s just the start of the theatre. Push the part-hidden door handle and the scissor door rises up on its gas struts to reveal a sparse cabin, quite technical in appearance.

Clamber gracefully over the exposed carbon sill and drop yourself into the carbonfibre driver’s seat. Adjust fore and aft to find the perfect position to drive Volkswagen’s £98,515 eco-warrior and you’re ready.

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The Marklund Motorsport team’s trip overseas to the seventh round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship over the weekend of 9-10 August was rewarded with a second place for Anton Marklund and his Polo RX Supercar.

The young Swede has been consistently fast this season but has rarely translated the speed into results. That all changed last weekend. The 21 year-old Swede finished in the top five in all his heats, and won his semi-final to line-up against Petter Solberg on the front row of the grid of the final.

‘This has been a lot of fun,’ grinned Marklund. ‘I’ve managed to score points all day and driving down the long straight at speeds of around 190kmph is just amazing. Usually rallycross events are over two days so this has been a big challenge for my team to work over one day and they have done an amazing job.

‘It’s also really good for Volkswagen to have three out of four cars in the final and now we’re tied with Olsbergs MSE in the manufacturer standings too – it’s been a great weekend for the whole team.’

Marklund Motorsport had another success at WorldRX Canada, too. The 1.3km Trois-Rivières circuit Canada has a 59 per cent asphalt and 41 per cent gravel mix, which suited Toomas ‘Topi’ Heikinnen well – the other regular driver for the Swedish team scoring a fifth place finish.

He now moves to second place in the drivers’ championship points table, while Marklund’s podium placing consolidates his fifth place.

The team fielded four Polo RXs at the event, with two for regular drivers Marklund and Heikinnen, and one each for Global Rallycross Championship driver Tanner Foust and former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Patrick Carpentier.

Carpentier made his RX debut in the event. The French Canadian proved a natural talent despite having only one short test ahead of the race. ‘I can’t explain how happy I am to have made it to the final. Before today my only aim was to reach the semis and to be in the final on my RX debut is more than I could ever have hoped for,’ he beamed.

Foust, who has appeared at previous rounds of the championship earlier in the season, suffered bad luck at Trois-Rivières. His Polo RX had driveshaft failure in practice and heat one, and the Marklund Motorsport team ran out of spares for his car.

The Rockstar Energy Drink-liveried Polo was the same car Foust drove in the Finnish round of the championship. It repeatedly suffered from driveshafts popping out when the US driver landed after heavy jumps, yet his team-mates cars were frustratingly trouble-free.

‘I’ve watched the other guys (Carpentier, Heikkinen and Marklund) hitting the jumps twice as hard as I was with no problems, so we really don’t know why it has been doing it,’ said a disappointed Foust. The Top Gear USA presenter also confirmed he may be appearing at another European round of the series.

Norway’s Petter Solberg took a sensational lights-to-flag victory at the World RX of Canada to become the first driver to win a round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship held outside of Europe.

Round eight of the series is the World RX of France which will be held in Lohéac on 6 and 7 September.

2014 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 Petter Solberg, 155
2 Toomas Heikkinen, 135

3 Reinis Nitiss, 133

4 Andreas Bakkerud, 113

5 Anton Marklund, 111

2014 FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP,

TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 = Ford Olsbergs MSE, 246
1 = Volkswagen Marklund, 246

3 Team Peugeot-Hansen, 185

4 PSRX, 147

5 Monster Energy World RX Team, 83

With criticism coming from the press for the New Polo being too ‘bland’, PoloDriver explores the reasons why the New Polo may look the way it does

Volkswagen is known to be conservative when it comes to model refreshes. Not one to be especially flamboyant with its bread and butter models, the German company lets its handsome style do the talking. 

While the Golf is sacrosanct when it comes to the look of subsequent generations, the Polo, and to a point, the Scirocco don’t share the same legendary (we refuse to use the word ‘iconic’) status, and so can be afforded a little more style direction now and then.

Both were refreshed (sounds so much better than ‘facelifted’) this year, but in recent road tests from the UK’s weekly motoring magazines, the Polo seems to have come under fire for being too ‘anonymous’ or ‘bland’ in the looks department.

While both it and Volkswagen’s sports coupé have been relaunched on the European (and in the case of the Polo certain global) markets, it seems to be the VW supermini which has come in for most criticism.

Criticism from the very quarters which called it ‘handsome’ back in 2009 when the fifth-generation Polo 6R first broke cover. The Ford Fiesta may be the darling of the small hatchback market due to the way it can be punted down a B-road (and rightly so, it’s great), but you couldn’t call it handsome. Striking perhaps, but never pretty.

Yes, the way a car looks matter. And small cars perhaps more than most. We’re all human and therefore a little shallow – we judge a car, people, and the things we surround ourselves with on their looks. We like nice, shiny things that work well and look good.

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Finally (or should that be Finn-ally)! Breaking a four-year non-Finnish win run, Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila reigned supreme at the 2014 Neste Oil Rally Finland, taking victory in their Volkswagen Polo R WRC.

The Finnish pairing won their home rally taking the victory all the way to the line, enduring a thrilling battle with team-mates Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia. The margin of victory? 3.6 seconds.

Latvala was dominant in the second day of the Finnish event, but suffered a setback in the afternoon. A large pothole damaged a brake line and his Polo R WRC had no braking on the front right-hand wheel, losing him and Anttila 27 seconds from his overall lead.

With a slimmed-down lead of just 3.4 seconds, the Finn summoned up tenacity and a determined spirit on the final day, demonstrating his driving skills to take a commanding victory.

But it was the tense and close duel between Latvala/Anttila and Ogier/Ingrassia which was the main story of Rally Finland, with 25 of the 26 possible best times being scored by one or the other of the two Volkswagen duos.

Only Citroën’s Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle managed to keep up with the Volkswagen pairs, finishing third.

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