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14/03/2011, 20:46
Car Review by DEREK OGDEN
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A funny thing happened on the way to the Volkswagen dealership. The day I was to pick up the new WV Polo 77TSI test car, the little hatchback picked up one of Australia’s premier automotive gongs as 2010 Wheels magazine Car of the Year. And that was up against the usual suspects, Audi, BMW, Benz, Citroen, Ford, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault, Volvo, plus a smattering of Japanese and Korean combatants.
Does it stack up against some of the best vehicles to come from these world champion stables? Not half! At the hands of VW engineers and designers, from a little cheap-as-chips entry level hatch the Polo has grown into a handsome Golf-like model with the goods to match.
This, the sixth generation, comes as a three or five-door hatchback in three variants denoted by their different power plants – two petrol and one diesel – all fulfilling new tighter Euro-5 emission standards and giving up to 24 per cent more fuel efficiency. Two specification levels – Trendline and Comfortline – are on offer.
The new Polo becomes the first vehicle in its class to meet the more stringent EuroNCAP safety rating, being awarded five stars.
Contributing to this are standard features such as ABS anti-skid braking and electronic stability program, plus front, side and curtain airbags. Topping off a new peak of quality in its class are audio systems lifted from more expensive VWs such as the Golf and Passat.
Top of the range Polo is the GTI, which if it follows its best-selling bigger brother Golf, is destined for great things in the small-car market. Powered by a 1.4 litre turbocharged petrol engine mated with a DSG double-clutch automatic transmission, it comes with three or five doors, selling for $27,790 and $28,990 respectively.
Cellar-dweller is the 1.4 litre petrol Trendline at $16,690; then comes the 1.2 litre petrol Comfortline at $19,850 and topping off the range is the 1.6 litre turbo-diesel Comfortline at $22,350. Star among the lot has to be the 77TSI, punching above its weight with 77kW from a 1.2 litre engine backed by peak torque of 175Nm between 1500 and 3500 revs. This turbocharged four-cylinder direct injection petrol motor is claimed by the maker to use just 5.5 litres of fuel per 100km on the combined urban/highway cycle, 24 per cent less than the equivalent model of the previous generation, while putting out 128g/km of CO2. This was the test vehicle and in performance and fit-out it sets the highest standard for others in its class to follow.
BODY STYLE
As somebody once said: ”Simplicity is the keynote of good design” and Walter de Silva, Head of VW Group Design, declared ‘La Semplicità’, simplicit y, as his aim for the new Polo, while at the same time not skimping on attractive features.
VW designers were tasked with maintaining the VW brand through design elements, while taking the Polo into Golf territory and why not? The Golf continues to set the standard for compact cars around the world. The result is a wider, longer more purposeful stance, which while it may seem bland and unexciting, is meant to endure and not fade with the coming of any new fad.
The body also was specifically designed to attain the recent stricter, more comprehensive, 5-star EuroNCAP crash rating. The greater structural rigidity of the Polo’s bodyshell contributes to these results. In the footwell area alone, intrusion – related to the car body’s resistance to deformation in a frontal crash – is lowered by 50 per cent. In the case of a side impact, the intrusion value is reduced by 20 per cent.
POWERTRAIN
The 1.2TSI motor in the Polo is turbocharged following present-day targets of producing maximum power with minimum fuel consumption. Compared with the 1.6 litre engine it replaces, average fuel consumption is cut by 1.4 litres per 100km on the six-speed manual and 1.8 litres/100km on the DSG automatic, with a corresponding reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 37g/km with the manual and 58g/km the auto.
SAFETY
Passive safety has been made a priority, with the rigidity of the new Polo being attained by use of high-strength steels and the right structure for loading and reinforcement of strategic parts of the body. Hence a reduction in body intrusion during a crash.
And in the worst kind of crash in which the vehicle hits a tree or power pole side on, the Polo body offers a high level of safety through an extremely stable roof frame and rigid side sills. Active safety is courtesy of anti-skid braking and electronic stability program, while pedestrians are protected by sheet metal under the bonnet which provides maximum deformation space preventing contact with the hard engine block. At the same time, fenders have their own deformation design.
INTERIOR DESIGN
The entire interior was redesigned and features soft-touch instrument panel surface found in classier cars these days. Also completely new is the centre console which now leans towards the driver putting redesigned controls, positioned as in the previous model, within easy reach. Below two centrally situated air vents are switches operating things such as hazard lights and rear window heater. On the next level are controls for one of the high-end audio systems fitted to the new Polo, while on the bottom row are controls for the climate control air-con system.
With all five seats undergoing an upgrade, there is more leg room in the back and added shoulder space up front. The 60:40 split rear seat can be folded to offer a dual cargo floor which can be fixed at two heights.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
I agree with the maker when it says a new Volkswagen highlight in drive technology is the 1.2TSI motor in t he Polo which follows the company’s philosophy of downsizing to the 1.4TSI and 2 .0TSI to give maximum power with minimum fuel consumption.. Torque of 175Nm, available between 1500 and 3500rpm, helps produce a really relaxed drive with accelerator pedal response being transferred effortlessly to the wheels through the sharp, yet easy-going, six-speed manual transmission.
This means urgent overtaking can be undertaken without the speculative downshifting required with some vehicles with small power plants. A final fuel saving feature of the Polo is a gearshift guide in the instrument cluster that recommends when the optimum gear should be selected.
PRICING* AND SPECIFICATIONS
VW Polo 1.2 77TSI Comfortline manual, $19,850
(*Manufacturer’s list price does not include dealer and government charges)
VW POLO 77TSI ENGINE:
Type: 1.2 litre turbocharged
Cylinders: Four
Displacement: 1197cc
Bore x stroke: 71.0mm x 75.6mm
Compression ratio: 10:1
Fuel system: Bosch Motronic/Electronic ignition
Fuel: Premium unleaded, 95ON
Maximum power: 77kW/5000rpm
Maximum torque: 175Nm/1500-3500rpm
Transmission: Six-speed manual, front-wheel drive
DIMENSIONS
Overall length: 4064mm
Overall width: 1682mm
Overall height: 1500mm
Wheelbase: 2456mm
Track width, front/rear: 1464/1456mm
Kerb weight: 1048kg
Boot capacity: 280-952 litres
Tank capacity/reserve: 45 litres
PERFORMANCE AND FUEL CONSUMPTION
Acceleration 0-100km/h: 9.7sec
Fuel consumption, combined cycle: 5.5 litres/100km; CO2 emissions, 128g/km
Emission level: EU 5
RUNNING GEAR
Front: Independent suspension, MacPherson struts and coil springs.
Rear: Torsion beam axle, trailing arms, coil springs.
Brakes: Ventilated discs, front; Discs, rear. Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with
Electronic Brake-pressure Distribution and Brake Assist. Hill Start Assist
Steering: Electro-hydraulic power assisted rack & pinion
Towing: 1000kg (braked); 530kg (unbraked). Towbar load limit, 50kg
Turning circle: 10.6m
Wheels: Alloy (Lakeside) 15x6in
Tyres: 195/55 R15
WARRANTY
Vehicle: 3-year/100,000km. Every new Volkswagen passenger vehicle is also
covered by a 3-year paintwork and 12-year anti-corrosion perforation warranty
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