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CAP Blog > CAP Blog > Martin's Blog
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Nov
18
Written by:
Martin Ward
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
 Moda is a new name in Volkswagen vocabulary and it sits in the Polo range between the S and SE trims. The Moda has a sporty theme and VW say that it is aimed towards the younger market who want a car that possesses more in terms of style than luxury. The Moda has the following standard features which help to make it more appealing for just such a market: 15” Cadiz six spoke alloy wheels, body coloured door mirrors and door handles, radiator grille with chrome trimmed louvre insert, front fog lights and tinted rear windows. There are some nice touches in this list, especially the front fog lights as they are integrated into the bumper and give the car an attractive and stylish look. The alloys also look good and are really easy to clean, and the darkened rear windows also make the car look a bit special; they make it look larger than it really is.
 The interior has plenty of chrome detailing which can be seen on the air vents, gear lever gaiter surround, internal door handles and handbrake button. These features may not sound as though they make much of a difference to the car, but it does give it that look and feel of quality.
The Moda is available with a 1.2 litre three cylinder engine, with power outputs of 60 or 70 ps. The test car we had was powered by the 60 ps engine, which gives the Polo a 0-62mph time of 16.1 seconds. The combined fuel consumption is 51.4 mpg, it has CO2 emissions of 128g/km and a top speed, where permitted, of 98mph.
I went to Bracknell in the Polo this week. It was dark and pouring with rain on the M1, and when I set off from home I wondered how I would feel after the 220 mile journey; I really thought I would regret travelling in this baby sized VW.
The official figures don’t bode well for a fairly long journey; the 0-62mph time on this car around town is acceptable, but on the motorway it is quite a concern. We have driven the new Polo numerous times over the past few months but we never had the chance to drive the 1.2 litre as none were available at the time. Maybe VW were nervous about anyone driving the 60 or 70 ps engine, and maybe they didn’t want us to go anywhere near one. After around 10 miles on the M1, the Polo was doing well and did not seem to lack power at all once you had were up to normal motorway cruising speeds. However, if you had to slow down on one of the many uphill sections then it did take a little while to get the car back up to 70mph. With a drop in gear down to 4th, it helped to get the car back up to speed. Once you realised how to drive it to keep up with the traffic, then it was fine. You just have to work this little engine to keep it going. Once you reach the more level sections of motorway from the Midlands going south, the Polo was brilliant and very surprising in its abilities. The Polo has to be one of the quietest cars I have driven for some time. Despite its size, and that engine working overtime, there is very little noise in the cabin, which is quite amazing. Once at Bracknell, I got out of the car feeling as fresh as I had got into it.
 The one downside to the Polo however, is that when it has been raining heavily and there is water on the roof, this water seems to find its way very easily onto your shoulder and arm when you open the door. Although this only happens when the car is leaning slightly to one side when parked, a larger gutter to keep the water away would be an advantage. However, this would then increase the drag and would certainly create some noise so I suppose while there is an upside to this lack of adequate drainage, it’s also a real annoyance.
Our Moda did not have air conditioning but there is a Moda A/C model available which costs an extra £600. It is probably worth the spending the extra money for this. The car we tested is priced at £11,385, with the non air conditioning, 70ps model costing £11,995. This is £600 for an extra 10ps; is it worth that much money? No, probably not, as the 60 ps engine seemed to suffice when it came to proving how good it is. Over the coming weeks, we will be driving some more variants of the Polo, so it will be interesting to see how they all compare with each other and which engine and trim will be the best one to go for.
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