It has taken a long time, but Volkswagen has finally found style for its Polo. After four generations of utilitarian shapes, only two of which were sold in Australia, the Polo has at last joined the style brigade. With neat angles, clever edges and a good touch of sportiness, Polo will now appeal to a much larger audience.
To the extent that Volkswagen intends the 2010 Polo to become its third largest seller, behind Golf and Transporter. After several hundred kilometres of driving in a variety of models in the Brisbane region we fully agree with VW's ambitions.
The wider look of the new model that's created by the design of the wide grilles and central VW logo gives the Polo a great look on the road. From the rear there are touches of BMW and even Alfa Romeo, and there's nothing to apologise for in that.
As is often the way, the new Polo is larger than the model it supersedes. Indeed, it's about the same size as the VW Golf of a decade or so back. According to VW's technical experts the interior space is about the same as the Golf 4, but the boot size is slightly smaller, being roughly Golf 3 in capacity. This change in priorities makes sense as it means the extra interior room in the Polo is in the back seat.
Its expanded dimensions mean the 2010 Polo could easily be used as a family car if the children haven’t reached their teenage years. In fact, if the travellers in the front seats are seats are willing to compromise on legroom it's not too difficult for the little Volkswagen to carry four adults on a routine basis. Width will be the determining factor when it comes to transporting children, but try if for size with the tribe on your personal test drive.
Polo is being sold as a three- and five-door hatchback, with a choice between three engines and two transmissions. Powerplants are 1.2-litre and 1.4-litre petrol, the former being turbocharged for greater efficiency. There's also a 1.6-litre turbo-diesel.
Again in the interests of efficiency, the new design of 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine has a six-speed manual gearbox, the other two engines only have five forward ratios. However the most popular transmission is likely to be the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic that's offered in all models.
In our mind the 1.2-litre engine is the pick of the group. It gives you diesel-like torque characteristics thanks to developing 175 Newton metres from 1500 to 3500 rpm. It's almost as economical as the turbo-diesel, with consumption officially rated at 5.5 litres per hundred kilometres compared with the diesels 4.7 litres. The petrol unit feels and sounds sweeter and is happy to work at the top end of the rev band.
You save $2500 on the petrol compared with the diesel. And having the petrol engine means you don’t get the smell and noise that's a downside of even the best of the current diesel engines.
Ride comfort is good on the standard suspension and the handling is nearly neutral until you are going at far harder than normal cornering speeds, when safe understeer brings things back under control again.
The sports suspension, which includes larger wheels – at 17 inches instead of the 15 or 15-inch diameter of the standard suspension – may prove slightly too harsh for some owners on rough and ready Aussie country roads.
Safety is assured by the use of ABS brakes, ESP (Electronic Stability Program) and six airbags on all models. It almost goes without saying that these cars meet the highest standards and have five stars in European and Australian crash testing.
A high-performance Volkswagen Polo GTI featuring the latest version of the German marque’s Twincharger (supercharged and turbocharged) engine is due in Australia later in the year. No definite date has been set for this sports model, but given the way that long waiting lists have built up previous Golf GTI models, it might be worth calling into your favourite VW dealer fairly soon.
The complete 2010 Volkswagen Polo range, with prices (excluding government and dealer charges) is:
Trendline 1.4-litre petrol three-door hatch: $16,690 (manual), $19,190 (DSG automatic)
Comfortline 77TSI 1.2-litre turbo-petrol five-door hatch: $19,850 (manual), $22,350 (DSG automatic)
Comfortline 66TDI 1.6-litre turbo-diesel five-door hatch: $22,350 (manual), $24,850 (DSG automatic) |
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