FIRSTDRIVE VOLKSWAGEN POLOThe new Polo not only looks like a Golf, but feels like one too, which leaves KYLE FORTUNEasking why you'd bother spending the extra. . .
‘WHAT’LL IT do, mister?” used to be the shout when driving something new but times have changed. The question is still the same, but now it’s not about speed and more about fuel consumption. Nowhere is that more apparent in the supermini sector, the marketplace for “small” cars bolstered by their continual growth in scale and their ability to offer decent headline l/100km figures.
Which makes the Polo a particularly attractive proposition. From every angle, it looks like its bigger Golf relative, which is no bad thing. The Polo has always been a sensible shoes option in the supermini class but has never really excited the eye.
This new fifth-generation model changes that. It looks and feels solid – the interior of the Polo is in a different league to the majority of its rivals.
The Polo’s chief protagonist, the Ford Fiesta, might offer more flair, but while the Ford will inevitably age, the Polo will merely mature gracefully.
It’s comfortable and spacious too, as in every dimension but height having swelled over its predecessor. It is now the same size as its Golf relative was a few models back, which is great news for downsizers.
The Polo’s maturity permeates through to its drive. Against the eager-to-please Fiesta, the Polo lacks feel and precision. We’re talking degrees here, and in fairness Ford does set a very high bar. What will concern Polo buyers more is refinement, ease of use and ride quality, the Volkswagen impressing on all three fronts. Noise is nicely suppressed in the Polo’s neat, nicely-detailed and comfortable cabin. It’s a cinch to drive – with light steering, strong brakes and a decent gearshift. That gearshift could be better if VW didn’t fit an armrest between the front seats – if only they’d tasked the person who designed the brilliant cubby in the glovebox for the logbook to design the armrest. That’s a tiny complaint in an otherwise-excellent cabin.
With its new, more-mature look comes a heavily-revised range of engines. They’re largely cleaner and more efficient – VW boasting improvements in economy by up to 20 per cent – aided by a bodyshell that’s 7.5 per cent lighter than the old car – which makes the performance offered by the smaller engines a bit disappointing. At the launch only a handful of petrol engines were available, the 1.4-litre unit not feeling particularly lively despite its 84bhp. That doesn’t bode well for the 1.2-litre units with one less cylinder and a good bit less power.
The new 1.6 TDI turbodiesels might not be able to match the petrols on paper, but even the lowest output version pulls with conviction at lower revs. With either the 74bhp or 89bhp choice of the 1.6-litre TDI delivering the same 4.2l/100km and A-rating achieving VRT-friendly 109g/km of CO2, they’re the pick of the bunch – for now.
Come 2010 the Polo will be available in super-frugal Bluemotion specification. In 1.6-litre TDI guise VW is forecasting 3.6l/100km and 96g/km of CO2. A 1.2 TDI Bluemotion will cover 100km on a mere 3.3 litres of diesel, while emitting just 87g/km of CO2. They’ll cost you though – the stop-start, low air and rolling resistance technology won’t be cheap.
Even performance die-hards are offered an economical solution in the guise of the 1.2-litre TSI. It’s a 104bhp turbocharged four-cylinder unit that returns the same 5.5l/100km as the entry-level normally-aspirated 1.2-litre petrol despite boasting 45bhp more. It’s an impressive engine, with smooth, linear acceleration and excellent smoothness, it coming as standard with a six-speed manual gearbox but also offered optionally with VW’s seven-speed twin-clutch DSG automatic transmission.
If that seven-speed auto not a sign of a more grown-up supermini experience then nothing is, Volkswagen’s adoption of its latest technology on one of its smallest cars very telling indeed. Specification levels are high as standard too, with ESP on all Polos in 85 per cent of all EU markets. That, allied with the Polo’s anticipated five-star Euro NCAP score make it a safe, more interesting choice.
It’s good enough to wonder why you’d ever need or want a Golf.
Factfile Volkswagen Polo
1.2 TSI
- Price:TBA
- Engine:1.2-litre turbocharged petrol, 103bhp @ 5,000rpm, 175Nm of torque @ 1,500-3,500rpm
- Transmission:six-speed manual, front-wheel-drive
- 0-100km/h:9.7 seconds
- Top speed:190km/h
- CO2 emissions:129g/km
- L/100km:5.5
1.4 TDI
- Price:TBA
- Engine:1.4-litre turbodiesel, 74bhp @ 4,000rpm, 195Nm of torque @ 1,500-2,000rpm
- Transmission:five-speed manual, front-wheel-drive
- 0-100km/h:14 seconds
- Top speed:170km/h
- CO2 emissions:109g/km
- L/100km:4.2