PoloDriver

Despite its recent announcement to focus its motorsport strategy on electric mobility, Volkswagen Motorsport has revealed plans to technically fine tune the Polo GTI R5 rally car over the course of the next 12 months. The 270bhp, four-wheel drive special stage star has over 125 podium finishes to its name up to the end of 2019.

Following on from the multi-championship-winning Polo R WRC, the latest rallying Polo is sold by Volkswagen Motorsport as part of its customer sport programme, and has been overwhelmingly successful around the world. Findings from these global events have fed back into the updating of the car, and the Polo GTI R5 will be the recipient of upgraded suspension components in the spring 2020, with other modified parts to follow over the course of the year.

Package of improvements
Several cars have already been delivered to teams with new chassis components, but a larger package of improvements will be added over the next 12 months. These detail changes will be homologated for use in competitions including the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), FIA European Rally Championship (ERC), and other national championships. As well as the improved mechanical upgrades, production of the rallying Polo is also being stepped up to meet the huge demand – 20 per cent more Polo GTI R5 than initially planned will now be built in 2020. Production will also continue beyond 2020.

‘The success story of the Polo GTI R5 is overwhelming. In customer hands, it has claimed more than 75 victories and 125 podium finishes up to the end of 2019,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport director Sven Smeets. ‘However, it is not only the success of our customers that is important to us, but also their experience in a wide range of conditions – whether on asphalt, gravel, or ice and snow. Our engineers use this feedback to make detailed improvements to the Polo GTI R5. Our goal is to ensure that the Polo GTI R5 remains successful.’

‘Comprehensive feedback’
‘If you are not moving forward, you are always moving backward in the world of motorsport,’ said François-Xavier Demaison, technical director at Volkswagen Motorsport. ‘As such, it is hugely important to be constantly working on ideas for improved performance and durability. Thanks to the comprehensive feedback we receive from our customers, we have been working on updates for the Polo GTI R5 since 2019 and the first detailed improvements are already being delivered to customers.’

To facilitate the updates, Volkswagen Motorsport states that ‘countless amounts of feedback’ from teams and drivers currently running the Polo GTI R5 in series from locations as far and wide as the Arctic Circle to Africa, and North and South America to Europe, have been collected and analysed. A professional feedback system now makes the process simpler and more direct.

Despite the statement that ‘a clear emphasis on fully electric racing cars will be backed up by the farewell to factory-backed commitments using internal combustion engines’ which Volkswagen Motorsport released in November 2019, the Polo GTI R5 remains, for now at least, an integral part of Volkswagen Motorsport’s customer sport offering. In the same statement, the Hanover outfit said it will still be responsible for continued customer support, spare parts supply and the competitiveness of the rallying Polo, it was just factory-backed competition entries with the GTI R5 that will no longer go ahead.

Following on its Volkswagen’s recent design sketches, the company has released the first official images of the new Russian and international-market Polo sedan. The car’s Skoda Rapid-based origins are obvious, and the car will be built at Volkswagen’s Kaluga factory in Russia, alongside its Czech stablemate.

Appearing less sleek than the car depicted in the sketches, the Skoda heritage of the new Polo sedan is most obvious in the side profile. The car bears a resemblance to the 2012–2018 SEAT Toledo, too, which was also based on the Skoda Rapid. However, the front does have the Jetta-inspired grille as shown in the preliminary sketches, which also borrows cues from Volkswagen’s newest batch of SUVs. LED headlights are standard as is VW’s new style of roundel badge. At the rear, the tail lights take current VW design forms, as does centred ‘POLO’ badging. A pair of fake exhaust finishers add a finishing touch.

Interior update
Inside, the car has had more of an update. Volkswagen’s 10.25-inch Active Info Display digital instrument set-up is optional, and the car’s colour touchscreen infotainment systems are available in 6.5 or 8.25-inch sizes. A steering wheel which borrows style from the new all-electric ID 3 is also emblazoned with VW’s new corporate logo, while the air conditioning controls are also different from the sixth-generation Polo, which is based on the ‘MQB’ platform. Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and a USB-C port will take the new Polo notchback into the digital age. The new model sits on the Volkswagen Group’s older ‘PQ25’ chassis which also underpinned the fifth-generation Polo and it’s Vento-based saloon sister.

Three petrol engines power the new Polo sedan. As expected, a naturally-aspirated 1.6-litre four-cylinder gives outputs of 88 and 108bhp, mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. A six-speed automatic can be specified on the higher-output version. A 1.4-litre, turbocharged TSI model has 123bhp and is allied to a seven-speed DSG gearbox as standard. The wheelbase and length of the booted Polo has grown with the introduction of the new model, up by 49mm and 93mm respectively. Luggage space has grown by 90 litres to 550 litres. On sale in the summer, the new Polo sedan will arrive in four trim levels for the Russian market: Origin, Respect, Status and Exclusive.

Volkswagen’s Match trim level has a rich heritage in the UK when it comes to the Polo. The first Polo Match appeared in late 1989 as a value-driven special edition, and subsequent versions have become staples of Polo generations since. Replacing the SE, Volkswagen has added a new Match variant to the latest sixth-generation Polo range. In the best Match tradition, the new model features extra equipment.

Prices start from £16,465 RRP OTR for the 78bhp model, which represents a £785 value boost over the outgoing SE when the generous additional standard equipment and small price rise of £200 is taken into account. Match-specific features include 15-inch ‘Seyene’ alloy wheels, front fog lights, rear tinted windows, as well as front and rear parking sensors – kit which, if specified as options on the Polo SE, would cost £980.

Comprehensive package
The Match’s additional equipment crowns an already comprehensive package including Car-Net App Connect with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, an 8.0-inch Composition Media infotainment system and lumbar adjustment for the front seats.

The Polo Match adopts the outgoing SE’s three engine and gearbox options. Exclusively 1.0-litre petrol three-cylinder units in 78bhp ‘Evo’ and 93bhp TSI outputs, the less powerful engine is allied to a five-speed manual gearbox, while the TSI adds the choice of a seven-speed DSG. Emissions of 125-139g/km are quoted with 42.8-51.4mpg fuel economy, both WLTP-certified.

A multi-award-winner
Volkswagen’s supermini collected a number of awards in 2019, two years after it made its international debut. It was named the What Car? ‘Small Car of the Year’, and scooped the Company Car Today ‘Supermini of the Year’ prize, ‘Safe Car of the Year’ at the First Car Awards and ‘Small Car of the Year’ from the UK Car of the Year panel. It repeated its success at the 2020 What Car? Awards, with another ‘Best Small Car’ title.

The Polo is Volkwagen’s second best-seller in the UK after the Golf, and was the ninth most popular car in the country in 2019. The range starts with the £15,390 S and tops off with the £23,520 GTI. The £17,205 Beats model offers enhanced style and sound, while the £19,060 SEL adds luxury features. For more details on the Volkswagen Polo range, visit volkswagen.co.uk.

2020 VOLKSWAGEN POLO MATCH PRICES

1.0 78bhp, five-speed manual, 48.7–51.4mpg*, 125g/km (WLTP), 106g/km (NEDC): £16,465
1.0 93bhp, five-speed manual, 47.1–50.4mpg*, 127g/km (WLTP), 105g/km (NEDC): £17,180
1.0 93bhp, seven-speed DSG, 42.8–46.3mpg*, 139g/km (WLTP), 108g/km (NEDC): £18,530

RRP OTR prices are based on current VED rules and NEDC-derived CO2 values.
*Fuel economy figures based on WLTP combined cycle, min-max.

Official Volkswagen Design sketches of the newest Polo sedan destined for international markets show a Jetta-inspired appearance. In particular, the four-door notchback adopts a ‘face’ which bears a striking resemblance to the larger saloon which is sold in the US. The Polo sedan will be sold in Russia and other selected territories later in 2020 and will replace the model first introduced in 2010.

Although the new Polo sedan has updated looks, it is still based on the older Volkswagen Group ‘PQ35’ platform, and not the newest ‘MQB’ chassis of the sixth-generation Polo and its Virtus saloon sister. The Russian-market Polo sedan will be a sibling to the latest Skoda Rapid, the two cars having a similar relationship in other markets: the Indian version of the Skoda is itself a re-engineered Volkswagen Vento (sold as the Polo sedan in some countries), which is essentially a fifth-generation Polo saloon. Still with us?

The Volkswagen Design sketches show a strong ‘face’, with headlamps that merge into the front grille, and a rear end with evokes the Passat. And while it has the appearance of a traditional saloon, if the car is based on its Czech stablemate, it will actually be a five-door ‘liftback’. The exterior silhouette may point to its older origins, but the interior is totally new, and will include a central touchscreen as well as digital instruments. There will also be around 550 litres of luggage space and a choice of 88bhp and 108bhp 1.6-litre MPI, and 123bhp 1.4-litre TSI petrol engines, paired with either five and six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG gearboxes.

Volkswagen Motorsport India is celebrating 10 years of its one-make racing success in 2020 with the return of its competition Polo. The Polo burst onto India’s motorsport scene with the Volkswagen Polo Cup back in 2010 and at the Auto Expo 2020 event in New Delhi, Volkswagen India took the wraps off the newest version of its race Polo. The new racer will power onto circuits later this year, and replace the Ameo Cup.

Showcasing TSI technology, Volkswagen Motorsport India’s 2020 Race Polo is powered by a version of the fifth-generation Polo GTI’s 1.8-litre petrol engine delivering 210bhp and 236lb ft (320Nm) of torque, with a push-to-pass option which unleashes an extra 20bhp. Mated to a six-speed sequential gearbox and limited slip differential, the new Race Polo – which is based on the fifth-generation car, still the most current model in India – also features an electronic shift actuator for speedy gear changes and adheres to international standards of motorsport safety.

We unveil the Motorsport marvel. Meet the New Race Polo.@SirishVissa @VWmotorsportind #VWxAutoExpo #VolkswagenMotorsport #RacePolo #VolkswagenIndia #AutoExpo2020 pic.twitter.com/ktKcbyYlaB

— Volkswagen India (@volkswagenindia) February 6, 2020

Sirish Vissa, head of Volkswagen Motorsport said: ‘The Polo continues to be the most loved hatchback among Indian customers. We are thrilled to bring the race version of the Polo back to the Indian racing circuit, enabling our Indian drivers to experience this powerful hatch. As a brand, we relentlessly make efforts towards providing the best of technologies to our Indian drivers.’

‘Fun-to-drive experience’
Unveiled alongside the all-electric ID Crozz, Steffen Knapp, director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars said: ‘We, at Volkswagen, take immense pride in showcasing our best technology to the Indian customers through the ID Crozz and Race Polo. The two are symbols of Volkswagen’s ground breaking and innovative technologies that continue to offer Volkswagen’s core DNA of safety, build quality and fun-to-drive experience.’

The 2020 Volkswagen India one-make Polo series has already had its driver selection process, with over 1,300 applications for the 11th edition of the championship. A series of tests including assessments for aptitude, driving skills (you can hire the best driver from Safe driver Dubai here), and fitness took place in January. ‘It is a proud moment for us to mention that with a decade’s presence in India, Volkswagen continues to be the only OEM directly involved in motorsport. With the eleventh edition of this championship, Volkswagen would like to reiterate its continued commitment in promoting motorsport in India,’ Vissa noted.

Ten years of success
The Volkswagen Polo Cup India was launched in 2010, and featured 1.6-litre, diesel-powered Polo racers. In 2012 the championship switched to TSI petrol power and changed its name to the Volkswagen Polo R Cup India. DSG gearboxes were also introduced. The Polo’s saloon sister, the Vento was tested for the first in the Indian Touring Cars (ITC) Championship, and the one-make baton was passed to the Vento in 2015. The Volkswagen Vento Cup India bowed out to the Ameo Cup in 2017, which used racing versions of India’s Polo-based sub-compact saloon, the Ameo.

[Images: Volkswagen India]