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CAP Blog > CAP Blog > Martin's Blog
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May
20
Written by:
Martin Ward
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
 Olbia on the Costa Smerelda in Northern Sardinia is a popular place for many manufacturers to launch a new car. It is easy and quick to get to from mainland Europe and is only a two hour 10 minute flight from London. The roads are reasonably empty and the scenery is spectacular whether you are on the coast or up in the mountains. The weather is generally good all year round and is particularly good at this time of year with a temperature of around twenty five degrees centigrade, even though it can be windy. It is becoming a popular tourist attraction with many budget airlines now flying from the UK but it can be an expensive place to have a holiday.
 The original Polo was launched in 1975 with 1,059,730 being sold in the UK to the end of April 2009. 10.6 million have been sold worldwide so the Polo is a big seller and an important car for Volkswagen. The all new Polo goes on sale as a five door in the UK in October with the three door, which nobody has seen yet, coming six weeks later. European left hand drive cars will be available next month. The new car has grown in length by 36mm to 3970mm, it is wider by 32mm but is lower by 13mm so it now looks to be more in proportion and sportier. The car looks good from every angle; the design team have really got the styling right.
 Four petrol engines will be offered at launch. Two of these are naturally aspirated 1.2 litre units producing 60ps and 70ps. Both have a Co2 emissions figure of 128g/km and official combined fuel figures of 51.4mpg. A 1.4 litre 85ps that emits 139g/km will also be available along with an all new 1.2 litre TSI turbocharged unit that produces 105ps, with a Co2 emissions figure of 129g/km and a similar MPG figure to the other 1.2 petrol engines. The all new 1.6 litre TDI common rail  diesel engine makes its debut in the new Polo with power outputs of 75ps and 90ps. Both have a fuel consumption figure of 67.3mpg and a Co2 emissions figure of 109g/km. I did not get a chance to drive any of the 1.2 litre engines as they seemed to be the most popular and once the journalists got into them, it was difficult to get them back out again. Those who were lucky enough to get to drive the 1.2 reported how good they were. Volkswagen seemed to underestimate the demand for the small engine cars and concentrated mainly on the larger ones. They had many more 1.4 petrol engines and 1.6 TDI engines to test on the event than the 1.2. However, the 1.4 petrol or 1.6 TDI diesel engines in the new Polo are ultra quiet and they join the new Golf and new Mazda 3 in contention for being the quietest in all conditions. Volkswagen has managed to get a B sector car to be as quiet as a more expensive C sector car, which is quite an achievement. The cabin in the new Polo really is a nice place to sit, with hardly any wind, road or engine noise intrusion. The new 1.6 TDI diesel engine, available with either 75ps or 90ps, has more than enough power and when driving up some of the steep mountain roads around Olbia, it just kept pulling and never ran out of steam. On the limited amount of dual carriageways in North Sardinia, it easily got up to 120kph and stayed there with ease, even when travelling up some of the fairly steep inclines. The 1.4 litre petrol was equally as efficient and capable and it would be difficult to say which would be the best or first choice. The 1.6 TDI diesel certainly scores high in terms of Co2 and fuel economy but the 1.4 petrol is likely to be much cheaper than the diesel.
There will be four trim levels at launch: S, SE, Mode and SEL, with prices starting at around £9,000 for the three door and the five door expected to start at around £500 more. The level of standard equipment on all models will be higher than the current Polo so it will appear to be even better value for money than the outgoing model. VW UK expect to sell around 38,000 in 2010; they sold 38,710 Polo models in 2008. The most popular model is expected to be the 1.2 litre SE and it will account for 13% of sales. The SE trim is likely to account for 50% of total sales.
 The interior seems much larger than the current car with shoulder room being noticeably better. The rear seat back is flat with a hump in the middle so it is comfortable even for the three people. The quality is very high with fit and finish excellent and it has a very nice soft touch dashboard to add to the luxurious feel and touch.
Now saving the best until last, the driving experience of the new Polo. It has to be said that 99% of all Polo driver’s will never get a chance or even want to throw this small car around twisty, quiet mountain roads in Sardinia. They will just drive this car normally around town or up and down the motorway. However, if they did then by first hand experience I can quite categorically say it is fantastic. The road holding, stability, braking, precise steering and comfort are just brilliant. It felt so safe and solid and did not at any stage want to go off in its own direction; it stuck to the road like glue. For the 99%, they can rest assured that it is as good around town as it is on those mountain roads. It is also easy to park with good all round visibility.
 During the whole time that I drove a number of new the Polo models, the only rattle came from a few Euros in my pocket. Volkswagen seem to have got this car absolutely right in terms of design, quality, price, specification, comfort, economy and quietness. The badging policy also seems to have been well thought out as it seems to make a lot of sense. It will appeal to the young and old, male and female as both a new car and for many years to come, as a used car. It joins the growing band of very capable new to the market B sector cars such as the Ford Fiesta, Seat Ibiza and Mazda 2; the choice just became much better. I tried very hard to find something to criticise the new Polo for, but failed miserably.
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