PoloDriver

Following on from last month, the Polo has once again recorded a top 10 chart position in the UK’s best-selling cars, according to figures just released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). February 2012 saw Volkswagen UK sell 1518 units through its retailer network, making the Polo the eighth most popular car on these shores. Its stablemate the Golf was third with 2857 examples finding homes, while in a surprise entry, the larger Passat polled three places lower in sixth, shifting 1565 cars. The Ford Fiesta was again top of the supermini heap, with the Vauxhall Corsa coming in as runner-up.

New car registrations fell 2.5% in February to 61,868 units, says the SMMT, with supermini totals falling in February but up for the year-to-date by 2.9%, representing 35.0% of the total market. ‘The February new car market was broadly in line with industry expectations with a welcome increase in private retail activity,’ said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive. ‘The March market will provide a much better indicator of industry health than the relatively low volumes traditionally seen in February.’ The top 10 UK best-selling cars in February 2012 and for the year overall (sales figure and position in brackets) are as follows:

1 Ford Focus: 3713 (9356, 2nd)
2 Ford Fiesta: 2899 (10,723, 1st)
3 Volkswagen Golf: 2857 (6849, 3rd)
4 Vauxhall Corsa: 2855 (6479, 4th)
5 Vauxhall Astra: 1589 (4929, 5th)
6 Volkswagen Passat: 1565 (3592, 9th)
7 Vauxhall Insignia: 1547 (4266, 7th)
8 Volkswagen Polo: 1518 (4416, 6th)
9 BMW 3 Series: 1474 (3476, 10th)
10 Nissan Qashqai: 1377 (4004, 8th)

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Once again, Volkswagen Group South Africa leads the way in the South African new passenger car sales charts. The Polo Vivo in both hatchback and sedan guises was again the top-seller with 2651 units, but the fifth-generation, locally-made Polo 6R wasn’t far behind, with 2470 examples sold. 6033 Polo 6Rs were also exported from Volkswagen Group South Africa’s Uitenhage factory, which also manufactures the CrossPolo.

The Polo Vivo was launched in March 2010 as an entry-level model for the South African market, replacing the Series 1 Golf-based CitiGolf, and is available as a three or five-door hatchback and four-door booted saloon with 74bhp/84bhp 1.4-litre and 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines. Costing from R106,100 for the base-model 1.4 hatchback to R153,200 for the top 1.6 Trendline Sedan, the 2012 Polo Vivo is based on the revised version of the Series 4 Polo (9N3), built from 2005 to 2009. The fifth-generation Polo (6R) is available as both a three and five-door hatchback, in addition to the traditionally-styled four-door Polo Sedan.

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Two S2000 wins into the 2012 World Rally Championship, the Volkswagen Motorsport team faces an extreme challenge later this week on the Rally Mexico, which runs from 8-11 March, over 24 stages and 407km. At altitudes of 2000m, the geographically highest stages this season (2000m above sea level) will push the drivers and cars to their limits. Due to the low oxygen content of the air at these high altitudes, the engines’ outputs drop by around 20 per cent. The familiar pairing of Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia will be joined by Dutchman Kevin Abbring and his new co-driver Frédéric Miclotte.

‘Despite special engine tuning we’ll have less engine power in Mexico than at other rallies,’ said Sébastien Ogier. ‘As drivers, we’ve got to adjust to that. In addition, the high temperatures make it necessary for us to drink a lot so that our concentration won’t suffer during the special stages.’ Abbring meanwhile, clinched S2000 victory in his last Volkswagen Motorsport outing at Rallye Monte Carlo and is competing in the Latin American event for the first time. ‘The gravel stages are good for me, not least due to my experiences in the 2010 French Gravel Championship. I am looking forward to the 54-kilometre spectator stage through the tunnels in Guanajuato on Thursday, with thousands of spectators.’

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After an 8-year absence, the Polo GT is back! Rumours of this potentially groundbreaking new Polo model only surfaced last week, but today, Volkswagen has made it official news. The Polo BlueGT (no space) was announced this morning at the 2012 Geneva Auto Salon, and pairs up the unlikely bedfellows of performance and frugality. Using ACT (Active Cylinder Technology) cylinder deactivation technology we first reported on recently, it is the first production Volkswagen to be fitted with such cutting-edge mechanicals. The 1.4-litre turbocharged engine is the first of the new EA211 series of powerplants which will become commonplace in Volkswagen’s new modular transverse matrix platform system.

Displacing 138bhp (103kW), the new unit gets the Polo BlueGT to 62mph from rest in 7.9 seconds, while top speed is 130mph. Emissions number 108g/km, some 31 less than the 178bhp Polo GTI, but specify the optional seven-speed DSG gearbox and this last figure tumbles further, with a CO2 reading of just 105g/km. Fuel economy is exceptional for a ‘warm’ hatch – the Polo BlueGT is forecast to do 60mpg on a combined cycle with a manual gearbox, and 62mpg when fitted with the semi-automatic shifter.

Of course, it’s all about the engine with the Polo BlueGT. Under light and medium loads, the second and third cylinders of the four-cylinder unit are automatically shut off, saving up 0.2 gallons when driven at a constant 31mph. Cylinder deactivation starts at engine speeds of between 1250 and 4000rpm, and at torque outputs of 18-74lb ft (25-100Nm). When the accelerator pedal is pressed, Volkswagen says that the two cylinders are imperceptibly reactivated. With mechanical switchovers happening in 13-36 milliseconds, a dashboard display lets drivers know when deactivation occurs.

Style-wise, the new Polo BlueGT is somewhere between a BlueMotion and a GTI. Visually triking nonetheless, it borrows the side sills and windscreen rain channels (we didn’t realise these were special!) from the thrifty Polo BlueMotion, while the rear spoiler, rear bumper and diffuser, and front bumper with LED running lights are also common to the GTI model. 17-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels help the Polo BlueGT stand out, as well as blue ‘GT’ badges front and rear, the tailgate one supplemented by a ‘BlueMotion’ script. A black-painted front grille and black door mirror cappings complete the look.

A black interior roof lining helps give the cabin a sporty ambience, while GTI instruments impart information to the driver. Bespoke BlueGT sport seats with grey and blue alcantara panels help distinguish the Polo BlueGT from its lesser siblings, while a flat-bottomed, leather-trimmed steering wheel features a blue ‘GT’ emblem. On sale in Europe in July, UK availability has yet to be confirmed, but if it was, we expect it to be near the end of the year, and at around £16,500, placing it directly between the 104bhp Polo 1.2 SEL TSI and the 178bhp Polo GTI. We hope Volkswagen UK decides to import it.

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Last week Volkswagen Motorsport filled the last hole in the Polo R WRC’s rally testing programme, by testing the car in Spain on gravel. The rally challenger has now been driven on all surfaces that feature on the World Rally Championship, and the 700 kilometres driven near Almería in the south of Spain were the last pieces of the puzzle. Now using a custom-built car rather than the ‘0’ development car, the pairing of Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia put the car through its paces.

‘For us, it was mainly about driving this car on as many kilometres as possible on very hard ground. In parallel, we made a few minor changes to the setup in order to pick up speed step by step,’ explained Ogier. Former World Rally champion Carlos Sainz was also on hand to give his opinion, and sat alongside Ogier, taking the wheel before the end of the test session, co-driven by by Timo Gottschalk. Covering twice the distance of a WRC round, there where no problems reported with the car.

‘Around 70% of the WRC consists of gravel tracks, about 20% of asphalt, and roughly 10% of ice and snow. The gravel test served to simulate the roughest WRC sections and to take the car to its load and stress limits. Particularly chassis components such as the hub carriers, dampers and suspension components were successfully tested in the limit range,’ said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen.‘

‘Carlos Sainz – who with two title wins and 26 rally victories is one of the most successful drivers in WRC history – and Sébastien Ogier are working together extremely well – the two are forming a very good combination. They respect each other without any rivalry and are purposefully driving the project forwards. Our next step will be to run further tests on tarmac to complete our specifications book.’

Sainz was equally enthusiastic. ‘During my active days, I drove thousands of test kilometres and hope to be able to support Volkswagen with my experience,’ said the ex-Dakar Rally driver. ‘I have a lot of confidence in the squad and the Polo R WRC will no doubt be a big hit. But we mustn’t forget that 2013 will be the Polo’s first year in WRC, whereas the competition have been active for many years.’

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