Archive | February, 2010

17 February 2010 ~ 0 Comments

New Polo GTI: first official pictures
and details


Fast, clean and sharper than ever: new Polo GTI unveiled

Volkswagen have done it again. The German giant has unexpectedly pulled the covers off the new performance Polo and just like this time last year when the wraps were taken off the new Polo range, we weren’t expecting it. The company has also produced what we think is one of the best-looking performance superminis in the business. Yes, it’s more mini-me Golf than ever – though this time the GTI – but the details are there; check out the (optional) LED front running lights, the signature 17-inch GTI ‘telephone dial’ alloys, the double exhausts and what looks like a panoramic sunroof.

178bhp, 0-62mph in 6.9 seconds
Volkswagen state that the 2010 Polo GTI is shaping up to be the fastest, most focused and cleanest performance Polo yet produced by the company. Following in the tyre tracks of the 148bhp GTI of 2006, the new upstart develops 30bhp more, courtesy of its 1.4-litre TSI engine, which is both supercharged and turbocharged. Currently in use in the SEAT Ibiza Cupra, the little unit uses the supercharger from idle to 3000rpm, at which point the turbocharger kicks in to provide boost.

Peak power of 178bhp comes at 6200rpm, with 184lb ft of torque available from 2000rpm. Weight is a modest 1184kg, enabling the new hotshot Polo to get from rest to 62mph in just 6.9 seconds, before chasing a top speed of 142mph. The first properly hot Polo was the GT G40 Coupé from 1986 with 114bhp and as that also came with a supercharged engine, there’s a common link between old and new. The 2010 car comes with a seven-speed, twin-clutch DSG gearbox and the Volkswagen Group’s electronic XDS differential (again, just as on the hot Ibiza) linked to the ESP system. The new range-topper also produces just 139g/km and will do 47mpg on the combined cycle.

Sharper responses
Just as on that featherweight GT G40 Coupé of 24 years ago, the 2010 Polo GTI should have sharper responses due to its 15mm lower ride height and sports springs and dampers. Red brake calipers help differentiate the GTI from lesser models in the Polo range, along with new deeper bumpers with larger airdams, a red-trimmed honeycomb grille, GTI badges and sill extensions. Sporting accoutrements inside include revised dials, a flat-bottomed steering wheel with red stitching and gearshift paddles, aluminium pedals and sports seats trimmed in Volkswagen’s now-traditional ‘70s-inspired tartan trim. Gloss black trim covers the centre console to match the black headlining.

Pricing and specifications
Volkswagen hasn’t released any prices as yet, but many sources point to an opening bat of £18,000 and an arrival date of August 2010. Officially, the 2010 Polo GTI is due ‘in the summer’ and while exact details of pricing and specifications will be announced nearer the time, the car will be on show at the 2010 Geneva motor show from 4 March to 14 March. We at PoloDriver are very excited.

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16 February 2010 ~ 0 Comments

New Polo: ‘Expect Big Things’
TV commercial

Here’s the latest TV commercial in the global advertising campaign sales push for the new Polo. Marketed to the individual needs and aspirations in each market, this Volkswagen South Africa spot features that particular country’s new Polo marketing message, ‘Expect Big Things’. The big thing in this latest 60-second commercial is the fact that snow is falling in the middle of a heat wave in Cape Town. But of course, advertising being what it is, the snow just might not be real snow at all…

[Behind the scenes image courtesy of flxy]

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15 February 2010 ~ 1 Comment

New Polo: official Volkswagen accessories brochure

The car’s very new, the accessories brochure even newer. Though not listed on the UK Volkswagen website quite yet, an official new Polo accessories brochure is available on the company’s online German pages. From styling add-ons to alloy wheels, from DVD satellite-navigation systems to in-car entertainment, and from practical storage solutions to clothing and model cars, this catalogue details it all. It’s all in English, too. Download a copy here.

And, while we can’t guarantee that all or any of these items are available from your local Volkswagen retailer, we can let you know that the accessories can be seen in action in the video below, also available for download.

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12 February 2010 ~ 0 Comments

New Polo one of Britain’s top 10
best-selling cars

It’s been absent for almost a year, but the Polo has charged back into Britain’s best-selling cars list to become one of the most-sold cars in the country. The first cars sales statistics for 2010 have been released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and the new Polo charts at number four for January, no doubt buoyed by the arrival of the three-door model in December 2009. The five-door version has been on sale since October.

Registrations rose by 29.8% in January, but it’s not just the Polo which has benefitted. Rivals such as the Vauxhall Corsa also did well, coming third (only just beating the Volkswagen), while the traditional mainstay of the best-sellers list, the Ford Fiesta, topped January’s chart, selling more than half the Polo’s volume again. Volkswagen UK reported an unprecedented demand for the new Polo when sales began last autumn with predictions up 83%, and that certainly seems to be transferring into purchases.

The new Polo is now the best-selling Volkswagen in the UK, even beating the Golf in the sales race, which is two places below at number six. With 1.2 TSI, 1.6 TDI 90, BlueMotion and GTI models all joining the new Polo family by the summer, we can see no reason why the impressive fifth-generation model won’t stay in the top sellers list for a long time to come. The SMMT’s best-selling cars for January 2010 are as follows:

1 Ford Fiesta: 8885 units
2 Ford Focus: 6953 units
3 Vauxhall Corsa: 5788 units
4 Volkswagen Polo: 5707 units
5 Vauxhall Astra: 5075 units
6 Volkswagen Golf: 4388 units
7 Peugeot 207: 3853 units
8 Hyundai i10: 2955 units
9 Audi A3: 2738 units
10 Fiat 500: 2439 units

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10 February 2010 ~ 2 Comments

World Rally Championship Polo
‘a possibility’ for 2012 series

The UK’s Autocar reports that Volkswagen will is currently contemplating its motorsport future, and, excitingly, a decision to enter the 2012 World Rally Championship (WRC). The company will make a final decision on its motorsport plans later next month, but if the WRC promoters can convince the German giant of the series’ worth, a new 2.0-litre, 200bhp-plus Polo rally car could well be in the offing.

A tarmac or gravel-spec motorsport Polo is nothing new. Volkswagen launched the club-level Volkswagen Polo Rally Challenge in 2001 and officially fielded a Super 1600 version of the Polo GTI around the same time. There were Series 4 Polo-based rally cars, too, with entries in events in South Africa and Europe from 2002. Super 2000 (S2000) Polos were even running in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge as late as year. If WRC participation becomes a reality and the new Polo goes rallying, it will add yet another motorsport string to its bow; the track-based Volkswagen Polo Cup India starts in June.

Now that the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup championship has been replaced by a Scirocco-based series and with the WRC reportedly switching to S2000 cars in 2011, the time could be right for a new motorsport version of the Polo. Autocar states that even Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen thinks a new Polo (or Golf) rally car could be a possibility: ‘If we decided to go with the WRC, my view is that we would need at least a year and a half to prepare, so we would be looking at coming in for 2012,’ he said.

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