Polo Driver

This one’s been a long time coming, but the new issue of UK motoring weekly title Auto Express carries a test of the much-anticipated Polo 1.2 TSI this week. Pitting the new 103bhp small-capacity turbocharged VW in range-topping SEL spec against the similarly powered Renault Clio 1.2 TCe Dynamique with 99bhp, a price difference of almost £1000 to the Clio’s advantage doesn’t quite tell the full story. The latest addition to the Polo range costs £14,710 for the three-door version; add another £600 for two more doors. Head over to the Auto Express website to read more, or for the full test, buy a copy of Issue 1114, on sale now.

[Image: Auto Express/Pete Gibson]

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The hottest factory Polo to date was the 178bhp GTI Cup Edition produced in 2006 to tie-in with the German ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup racing series, so imagine our surprise when we saw this 485bhp monster in the May 2010 issue of Redline magazine. Yes, that’s right, a Polo GTI with 485bhp. Faster than a Mitsubishi Evo X FQ-330, Liam Burke’s tuned Polo sleeper boasts a GTI Cup Edition body kit, has 416bhp-per-tonne (203bhp-per-tonne more than the Evo) and 384lb/ft of torque. Quite an improvement on the standard GTI’s 148bhp and 384lb/ft. Available as a back issue, buy a copy of the May issue of the performance tuning title here and read more about this mental Polo.

[Images: Redline magazine]

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Latest reports from India suggest that the new Polo Sedan could take the name of VW’s Series 3 Golf-based saloon, the Vento. Autocar India states that as the name means ‘wind’ in both Italian and Portugese, the new Polo notchback would follow the longstanding Volkswagen tradition of calling its cars after prominent winds. The current issue of the magazine also hints that the car will go on sale in July, and that the company is aiming for 25,000 units to be sold each year.

The wheelbase has reportedly been extended by 50mm to allow for better legroom, while the platform and bodywork are similar to the Polo hatchback as far as the B-pillar. The notchback rear body panels – which house a massive 500-litre boot – are said to be well-integrated with the rest of the car, and if Autocar India’s latest mock-up photos are based on fact, then the new Vento could be the best-looking Polo three-box since the original Derby of 1977. Engines are expected to be 104bhp 1.6-litre petrol and TDI units. The common-rail TDI unit could then also be dropped into the Indian-market Polo hatchback to mirror models in Europe, the magazine states.

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It’s finally here! The April 2010 issue of What Car? magazine on sale now features the long-awaited £14,830 Polo 1.2 TSI three-door squaring up to its premium supermini competition in the form of the style-led Citroën DS3, as well as the Mini Cooper and Renault Clio GT. A mammoth 14-page test covers everything from performance to ride and handling, quality and reliability to space and practicality. What wins? We won’t give the game away here, but praising the new turbocharged engine the magazine says, ‘a small prod of the throttle is all that’s needed to send the Polo surging forward.’ Until the GTI arrives in the summer, could the new 104bhp unit be the pick of the range?

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While the speculation over the Polo’s move to the US continues, Brazilian car magazine Revista Autoesporte seems to have the clearest rendering yet of the upcoming saloon version. While the new notchback is rumoured to appear in the Chinese, European and Russian markets, it’s the North and South American territories that have been the most reported on in recent months as possible sales destinations.

We still don’t know of course if Volkswagen are going to take the jump and put the boot in (or technically, on) the fifth-gen Polo, and while spyshots are few and far between, the illustration on the front of Revista Autoesporte (alongside photos of the facelifted CrossFox and SpaceFox) definitely seems to resemble a Polo. Unfortunately, there’s no confirmation, just the tag ‘Anti-Civic’, which would point to a sedan-style car with the Polo’s footprint. The waiting game continues.

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