Volkswagen Polo
Isn't it interesting how some brands identify with a par- ticular unique selling point and bang on incessantly about it? Think back to the latter half of the last millennia and all the concerted focus Volvo put into safety. Boring wasn't it? On and on about the same dull safety story.
Antisubmarineing seats? Whoa and there the teenager in me was thinking submarineing seats? Oh yeah, bring it on man. What a cool feature only the guy who played Bond in the Lotus got submarineing seats. Oh yeah, that was the whole car. Crash protection? ABS, pfah. Who needed that stuff? Airbags, huh that would just make a car expensive to repair in years to come. Seriously who cared?
I was a teenager, remember? Yet look where we are now. Many people wont even consider a car until they have read the euro-NCAP score. Not that that particular test reveals all, but it is the best indication of how safe you are if you happen to be a wired up dummy pushed into a concrete wall by a hydraulic ram. Unlike Volvo, VW went for being the peoples car, in those days when knowing which people you were mattered so much. Then they went on to the glory days of GTi and then… Well maybe VW is still basking in those glory days. Even if it isn't cool to advertise how fast your car really is. The right stuff now being the wrong stuff apparently. Sigh . . .
Why do I mention all of this? Because almost a third of the elegant press pack for new Polo is about vehicle safety! I think they may have mentioned that it got 5 Stars in that test or something. Four A4 pages of it! The times they are a-changin' New Polo is now Golf Nano and other Polo is now Citi 2 and it is all very confusing really for something named after a breath mint.
So what do we get with the new Polo? Three engines and two versions. Version A is about 15k cheaper and that is because the door mirrors don't heat up and the interior does. They left out the aircon to justify a price difference. That and a little chrome. My test was the 1.4, with aircon and shiny bits and some mirrors that adjust automatically and rear windows that you get to open from the front electrically, not that you would, but you could. Comfortline.
Trendline is stripped out and more basic, but if you want that, why not just buy a Polo Vivo (the Citi replacement) and save some serious hard earned? Three days into my driving test I called to complain about the fuel gauge, 150kms in and it was still and full. Humph shoddy manufacture?
Nope, just hadn't used that much fuel yet apparently. This was shocking, and just a little exaggerated. It does really sip on fuel though, note that the second “half” of the tank disappears a bit more quickly. This brings me to the model versions. The diesel? Why bother. Faster, but substantially similar performance to the petrol's , similar fuel consumption at least to the 1.4. With much higher purchase price and maintenance costs.
The 1.6 seems silly again, if you want a compact efficient car get the 1.4. Neither is a GTi threat, and the 1.4 offers acceptable performance and ama z ing l y g o od fue l consumption. Essentialy the car is overall what you expect. Good bui ld qual i t y. VW ethos throughout. Slightly lower rent than Golf, as to be expected.
Easy if unobtrusive handling. A sensible package really. Styling is current VW with some details such as seat stitching paying homage to its big brothers, such as Scirocco. A very sensible choice, if you want to buy a five star Euro whatsit awarded small car that sips petrol and has just won an award as World Car of the Year 2010 or something.
No t e , when c ompa r i s on shopping though, the maintenance plan is an optional extra.
