WITH EVEN Government ministers prepared to cut their ample budgets, we must be in a right monetary mess. It’s at times like this, with a punitive Budget seemingly inevitable, that Ireland is indeed ready to cut its cloth to better suit these chastened times. Downsizing is no longer simply a buzzword for management consultants and HR directors afraid to mention the word “redundancy”. Every part of daily life has to justify the outlay on it, and motoring is no different.
The reality is that even those with secure jobs are having difficulty coming up with the finances for future car purchases. The end result is an inevitable downsizing in motoring terms. In reality that means moving from Focus to Fiesta, from Auris to Yaris and from Golf to Polo.
The good news is that it need not be painful. In preparation for all these motoring cutbacks, the industry has busied itself with creating a fleet of superminis that would leave the previous generations of family hatchbacks looking like glorified wheelbarrows. This segment of the market is now the most lively when it comes to new cars.
In the last two years there has been a wealth of new arrivals, from the funky new Ford Fiesta and Renault Clio to the lesser-spotted Seat Ibiza and Mazda2. All have increased in terms of spaciousness and the metal you get for your money.
Now it’s the turn of the new Volkswagen Polo. The theme remains the same, with the new car effectively being a slightly reduced version of the VW Golf. In fact it’s not that reduced: the new Polo is bigger than any of the first three iterations of the Golf.
The new look is altogether conservative, and there’s no mistaking that it’s a Polo, even from 500 metres away, but there are some minor touches to bring the exterior up to date. For a start there’s a front nose that owes a little to the styling of the popular Scirocco. Aside from that the styling is very traditional and conservative VW.
Inside the car is a serious step up from previous models. It feels like a Golf when you sit inside, and there is very impressive legroom in the front and rear. In fact, the Polo’s rear seats are supposedly the most spacious in this segment. If you do have to make a sacrifice in downsizing from the family hatchback class, it’s around the back, where the boot is nowhere near as roomy as the Golf, nor as spacious as rivals like the Fiesta.
In terms of fit and finish the new car ticks all the boxes, as we’ve come to expect from the brand. There is nothing too daring in the interior styling, and the usual wall of dark plastic faces you from the dashboard. It’s not exciting, but it’s ultra-functional, and you get the impression that it’s both sturdy and reliable.
The car might lack some of the funky youthful features of the Fiesta, but it’s a more mature offering in many ways.
That’s also reflected on the road, where the Polo really starts to impress. Handling is responsive and smooth, if a little neutral, while the ride is really advanced for such a small car.
Cars of this size should offer a nimble handling that you can’t get in their larger counterparts, and the Polo is able to boast such accuracy. The trade-off usually is a rather rudimentary ride quality, but the Polo overcomes these potential problems. It’s perhaps not as advanced as the Mazda2 or Fiesta, but it’s more than sophisticated enough for its price.
You take it all for granted after a while, experiencing a car that feels like its larger sibling in everything but boot space. That’s when you realise that they’ve got the Polo right. It’s a pity then they have opted to scrimp a little and put stability control – a known lifesaver – on the options list at over €650. They’re reflecting the decision by the rest of the market to do the same, but someone of the status of VW – or Ford – needs to step up and set the precedent for introducing ESP as standard in this class.
The engine range focuses on a 1.2-litre petrol and a 1.6-litre diesel. The latter may seem a little large for a supermini, but this is a pretty big car and well able to take the larger engine. Its emissions levels push it into Band A, with just 109g/km. However, for most people, the saving of €52 a year on motor tax isn’t enough to pay out the premium of €1,535 over the petrol model.
Its only real benefit is that it’s not as noisy as the three- cylinder 1.2-litre petrol, which makes a right little racket when put under pressure. Some might describe it as “enthusiastic” or “eager”, but it can be downright annoying if you find yourself on a long journey listening to its drone. Its power delivery is decent enough at a steady pace – it’s only when you kick down that you realise how much work it needs to do to drag you and all that metal along.
The best engine of the lot is the turbocharged four-cylinder 1.2-litre TSI version, which is a real star. Unfortunately it only comes in the top Highline specification and starts at €22,110, but it does manage even better emissions figures than its normally aspirated sibling. It’s a fantastic little engine, which, one suspects, the car was actually built around. The three-cylinder in the entry-level model might mean that VW now has a real competitor with the ultra-price-conscious entry-level models offered by rivals, but it’s just too wispy for a car of this size. With a 0-100km/h time of 16.1 seconds in the 60bhp version, that’s simply too slow for modern driving. It’s improved in the 70bhp version but if you want to downsize from a Golf, then try to go for the higher specification and opt for the TSI engine.
Overall the Polo puts the VW badge right into the mix in a part of the market that’s not only become a necessary focus for Irish car buyers, but one that can boast a host of great buys. The Fiesta offers a little more fun than the Polo, but VW has long carried something of a premium cachet in the mainstream market, and being regarded as a mini-Golf will do it the world of good.
When deciding which rivals to feature against the Polo, we could have come up with more than nine decent challengers that are all worth a look and all equally good value. Few, however, carry the same brand recognition that VW does, and that’s why this Polo is an odds-on bet to secure a strong position on Irish roads in the coming years.
VW Polo 1.2 70bhp 5dr Comfortline CC: 1,198 BHP: 70 0-100km/h: 14.1 seconds Consumption: 5.5l/100km (51.4mpg) Emissions: 128g/km Motor tax: €156 Bootspace: 280-952 litres Price: €16,795
Engine: 1,198cc three-cylinder petrol engine putting out 70bhp @ 5,400pm and 112Nm of torque @ 3,000rpm; five-speed manual transmission
Specification: standard features on entry-level Trendline include ABS, dual front/head/ thorax/side airbags in the front, 14" steel wheels, tonneau cover, front seat height adjustment, power steering, central locking, rear fog lamp, electric door mirrors, electric front windows; Comfortline adds chrome inlay on air vents, drawers under front seats, 15" steel wheels, all-electric windows, manual air-con, fog lamps; Highline adds three-spoke leather wheel, front centre arm rest, 15" alloys, full-size spare wheel, footwell lighting
L/100km (mpg): urban – 7.3 (38.7), extra-urban – 4.5 (62.8), combined – 5.5 (51.4)
Emissions (tax): 128g/km (Band B tax – €156 per year)
Price: €16,795 (from €14,590 for 3-door 60bhp version)