PoloDriver

The latest version of the Polo BlueMotion is tested by Auto Express in this week’s issue of the magazine. Announced last year, the 2010 version of Volkswagen’s eco supermini has a 1.2-litre, 74bhp TDI engine and aerodynamic body modifications to help cut both drag and C02 emissions. The result? Emissions of 91g/km and a claimed 80.7 miles per gallon. Costing from £14,445 – and coincidentally the same Volkswagen UK press car we drove earlier in the week – how did the road testers at Auto Express rate it? Buy a copy of the 21-29 June 2010 magazine to find out.

We were under warm sunny skies in rural Leicestershire yesterday with the Volkswagen UK press office, driving the latest additions to the new Polo range. Come back in a few days’ time to find out what we thought of the latest version of the fuel-saving Polo BlueMotion, as well as the range-topping ‘mainstream’ petrol model, the 104bhp 1.2-litre turbocharged TSI.

Second victory in a row for the Volkswagen brand; BlueMotion models declared 2010 World Green Cars

It’s no April Fool’s joke. Not only is the new fifth-generation Polo 2010 European Car of the Year, but it is also now 2010 World Car of the Year, and we’ll be honest, we didn’t think it would win. Why? Announced today at the start of the New York International Auto Show in Manhattan, the Polo isn’t even sold in the US, although rumours persist about its Stateside introduction.

Merit, value, safety, environment, significance and emotional appeal are the criterias for the World Car of the Year and it’s the second time Volkswagen has been victorious; the Mk 6 Golf was declared the winner last year. The Polo fought off its European Car of the Year adversaries the Mercedes E-Class and the Toyota Prius to come out on top. The decision was unanimous, too; the majority of the 59 World Car jurors from 25 countries across the world chose the Polo from 30 entries.

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Here’s a cute new TV commercial to promote Volkswagen’s recently-launced ‘Think Blue’ environmental initiative. Using the idea of a young daughter disapproving of her father’s energy-consuming and non-environmentally friendly lifestyle, she soon flashes a smile when he decides to drive the latest Polo BlueMotion.

Environmental protection is the top priority for Volkswagen: new campaign for efficient driving and environmental awareness

Volkswagen launched its new ‘Think Blue’ campaign on 27 February, using and building on its BlueMotion tag for its greenest and lowest-polluting models. The company says that ‘protecting the environment is simple and everyone can help in their everyday lives,’ and that along with BlueMotion, it is ‘sending out a new signal for sustainable mobility.’ Marketing puff maybe, but the newest incarnation of the Polo BlueMotion is set to play a major part in the Think Blue marketing campaign.

Fielding press and TV advertisements, brochures, web specials and the Think Blue Challenge game for both the iPhone and iPod Touch, all the marketing strands feature a focus on potential savings, sustainability and environmental awareness. The popular interactive Volkswagen Polo Challenge game for example, seems to have been adapted to become the Think Blue Challenge app, where gamers drive more environmentally to use less fuel. In all materials for the campaign, the predominant colour is – ironically for a green campaign – blue, again underpinning the BlueMotion philosophy. The company’s goal is to establish Think Blue as an expression of its corporate mindset and a firm feature of its ecologically sustainable activities.

Linking its future with its past, Volkswagen is pillaging its archives to come up with the launch advertisement, featuring the infamous ‘Think Small’ strapline, which trumpeted the international success of the Beetle in the 1960s. ‘The “Think Small” slogan symbolises Volkswagen’s achievement in democratising mobility the world over. The challenge of the future lies in achieving efficient and sustainable mobility for everyone. This is expressed by the campaign: “Think Small” has become “Think Blue”,’ Luca de Meo, Head of Marketing at Volkswagen Passenger Cars explains.