PoloDriver

Announced in April 2021, the refreshed sixth-generation Volkswagen Polo’s arrival came just after the small car name celebrated its 46th birthday. And rumours are circulating that this latest version of the Polo could be its last. It may not even live to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

The reason? The car market is a very different place to when the original incarnation of the Polo was launched in March 1975. Emission legislation – especially that in Europe – is forcing car makers to produce more electric models, and while internal combustion engines will remain for some time to come, the costs and development needed to make them more environmentally friendly and cleaner are rising. This means the prices will have to rise, making small cars much more expensive.

Small car casualty
Some manufacturers have already pulled the plug on some of their most popular models. The Ford Fiesta has long been a Polo sparring partner, having been launched a year later than the VW, but it is the most high-profile small car casualty yet. Ford has announced that production will stop in June 2023, bringing to an end 47 years of a very popular – the Fiesta has topped the UK registrations chart for several years, most notably from 2009-2020 – nameplate. Could the same be about to happen to the Polo?

Autocar reports that Volkswagen is to take a decision on the Polo’s future within the next two weeks. New technology needed to bring engine emissions down under proposed new Euro 7 regulations would add at least £3,000 to the average cost of cars like the Polo. Volkswagen’s new CEO, Thomas Schäfer, said that would make the Polo essentially unsaleable, making plans for a new electric small car even more prescient. Auto Express states that the larger – and more ‘iconic’ – Golf may stay and even turn into an electric-only model in the future. French magazine Auto-Journal hints that ID 1 and ID 2-badged models – with elements taken from the ID Life concept car – could replace the Polo.

Market withdrawal
What all this means for sales – and a very possible market withdrawal – of the Polo in the UK and Europe is unclear, but there are signs the nameplate may not die imminently elsewhere in the world. A popular model in South Africa – although Cars.co.za reports that sales are starting to slip – the Polo is also built there, the Volkswagen factory in Kariega producing all Polos exported to right-hand drive markets. The facility is also the sole producer of the Polo GTI.

While it may be phased out in Europe, Martina Biene, the managing director of Volkswagen Group South Africa, has commented that the Polo and its cheaper Polo Vivo sister – based on the fifth-generation Polo made from 2009-2017 – will ‘remain’ beyond 2025. Quite what this actually means, we don’t know, but it intimates that for the local market, the Polo name will live on, at least for the short-term, and the model will mark its 50th birthday.

Only electric cars in Europe
The Polo is also built for South American markets in Volkswagen’s Anchieta factory in Brazil and is produced in China in the Anting SAIC Volkswagen plant. South America is still at the very start of the electric car transition, and so will need internal combustion-engined cars for some time to come, whereas China already leads the worldwide electric car market. So, we certainly see the Polo remaining a South American small car staple for a few years yet.

However, elsewhere, things are not so certain. Schäfer has outlined that from 2033 Volkswagen will only produce electric cars in Europe. Ironically, the Polo was the most popular VW in the UK in 2021, a market where the brand also reached the top of the registration charts for the first time. A total of 147,826 Volkswagens found homes, and the Polo was the fifth most popular car in the UK.

While the current Polo has nothing in common with the original car of 1975, given the name and subject of this website, we’d obviously be very disappointed to see the Polo name reach the end of the road. Now one of Volkswagen’s most popular models worldwide, the culling of the Polo name will be a decision that won’t be taken lightly, but European market odds don’t look good. We hope any decision Volkswagen reaches means its small car lives on in some way.

The 2022 Volkswagen Polo has been awarded a maximum five-star safety rating by European safety testing body Euro NCAP. In the first round of 2022 tests, the Polo gained its ratings in all four areas of safety: adult and child occupant protection, vulnerable road users – cyclists and pedestrians – and standard assist systems.

Based on factors including frontal and lateral impacts and whiplash tests, the Polo scored 94 per cent in the ‘Occupant protection for adults’ category. One safety feature of all new Polos is a centre airbag for the front seats, which, in the event of a side collision, can help to prevent or reduce possible head contact between front seat occupants.

Child protection
For child protection, the Polo achieved an 80 per cent rating. Assessing the protection provided by child restraint systems in frontal or lateral impacts, the score also takes into account the options for the installation of child seats of various sizes, and the equipment a vehicle offers for the safe transportation of children.

In the ‘Assist systems’ category, the Polo achieved 70 per cent. As standard, all Polos feature a Driver Alert System, a Front Assist emergency braking system with city emergency braking function and pedestrian detection, as well as a Lane Assist lane keeping assistant.

Emergency braking systems
Euro NCAP also examines how well automatic emergency braking systems protect vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. Here, the Polo scored 70 per cent. Its standard-fit Front Assist system recognises critical distance situations by using a radar sensor and camera, helping to shorten stopping distances. In more dangerous situations, the system warns the driver both visually and acoustically, and by issuing a braking jolt and automatic braking.

As well as the five stars achieved by the Polo, the new Volkswagen Taigo small SUV – closely related to the Polo – and the all-electric ID 5 were also awarded maximum Euro NCAP safety ratings. First launched in 1997, 2022 marks 25 years of the Euro NCAP safety assessment programme, and in that time, testing procedures and the requirements of standard assistance systems and passive safety have become increasingly rigorous.

New figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that the Polo was the most popular Volkswagen in the UK during 2021. More than 30,634 Polos were registered in the UK last year – that’s 394 more than even the perennial Golf.

The small Volkswagen was the fifth most popular car overall, and the third most popular supermini, following the Vauxhall Corsa in first place (40,914 units) and the Mini (31,792 units). The Corsa knocked the Ford Fiesta from its long-held top spot, thanks in part to the sem-conductor chip shortage which has plagued the car industry during 2021 and looks set to continue into 2022.

Volkswagen is UK’s most popular car brand
While the Polo missed out on a place in December’s UK top ten of most popular models, it was the most popular car in the UK twice during 2021, the first time in July, the second in October. The popularity of the Polo helped Volkswagen become the UK’s most popular car brand in 2021, with a total of 147,826 vehicles registered. 

The new all-electric ID 3 and ID 4 cars also aided Volkswagen’s rise to the top, with the ID 3 being the UK’s third most popular electric car in 2021, with 11,032 finding homes. It was also the recipient of 11 of Volkswagen’s 30 UK awards, while its ID 4 sibling was named World Car of the Year. Volkswagen’s share of the UK car market now stands at 8.97 per cent, and it leads the market for the first time.

The UK’s top ten most popular new cars during 2021 were as follows:

1 Vauxhall Corsa: 40,914
2 Tesla Model 3: 34,783
3 Mini: 31,792
4 Mercedes-Benz A-Class: 30,710
5 Volkswagen Polo: 30,234
6 Volkswagen Golf: 30,240
7 Nissan Qashqai: 29,922
8 Ford Puma: 28,697
9 Kia Sportage: 27,611
10 Toyota Yaris: 27,415

The updated version of the sixth-generation Polo went on sale in September 2021, after being unveiled in April. As well as a more digitised interior, the new Polo has sharper looks, and a new range of trim levels. A new more powerful 204bhp Polo GTI opened for UK order in November.

2021 was a busy year for the Volkswagen Polo. Celebrating the model’s 46th anniversary, the refreshed sixth-generation car was unveiled and arrived in the UK towards the end of the year. The second-generation Polo commemorated the 40th year since its debut in the autumn of 1981.

The Polo Harlekin (Harlequin) marked its 25th birthday in 2021, and more teams took the Polo GTI R5 rally car on global stages. New models were launched in Germany, India and the UK, and the Polo’s popularity remained strong, its sales in selected markets remaining high.

Below, we round up the Polo’s biggest achievements in 2021. (Bold entries are illustrated by the picture above that particular month’s list of events.)

January

• Niclas Grönholm and Polo GTI R5 finish sixth at the 2021 Arctic Lapland Rally
• Polo Vivo crowned 2020’s most popular car in South Africa, selling 19,750 units from Volkswagen’s total sales of 53,319 units, giving the company an all-time local market share of 21.6 per cent
• Volkswagen Netherlands creates a new version of the Polo Harlequin to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original model
• Nikolay Gryzin takes his Polo GTI R5 to fifth place in the RC2 class at the 2021 Rallye Monte-Carlo
• Polo GTI R5 of Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel wins 2021 Qatar International Rally, their 15th victory at the event
• Polo Active special edition launches in Germany.

February

• Victory for the Larsen Motorsport Polo GTI R5 of Frank Tore Larsen and Morten Abrahamsen at the 2021 Lygnasprinten (image: Larsen Motorsport)
• The Polo GTI R5 of Egon Kaur and Silver Simm takes first place in the Rally2 class at the 2021 Otepää Rally. Georg Linnamäe and Volodymyr Korsia’s Polo GTI R5 finish second.

March

• 108bhp Polo Matt Edition 1.0 TSI launches in India: special features include matt grey paint, gloss black door mirror caps and rear spoiler, cruise control, multifunction steering wheel and a colour touchscreen infotainment system
• Polo GTI R5s take first and second places at the East Safari Rally with 10 out of 10 stage wins. Reigning champions Simos Galatariotis and Antonis loannou finish first ahead of Alexandros Tsouloftas and Stelios Elia
• Luca Pedersoli and Anna Tomas win Rally del Bardolino in their Polo GTI R5 – their maiden outing in the car
• First victory for Marco Signor and Francesco Pezzoli in their Polo GTI R5 at the Rally Ronde del Canavese
• Another debut win, this time for the Polo GTI R5 of Francisco Dorado and Roi Torrente at the 2021 Rallysprint de Valdelaguna
• Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov are victorious with their Polo GTI R5 at Valasská Rally ValMez
• Jurie Swart wins both races at the opening round of the 2021 Volkswagen Polo Cup in Cape Town, South Africa – the 2021 season celebrates the 25th anniversary of the one-make series. In the first round of the 2021 GTC SupaCup series, Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa Polo SupaCup driver Jonathan Mogotsi finishes second.

April

• Polo Active joins UK model range
• Refreshed MY22 Polo revealed in digital online premiere featuring more digital technology and updated looks
• Sixth-generation Polo evaluated for possible Indian launch on MQB A0 IN platform
• Carl Flash Tundo and Tim Jessop win the FIA African Rally Championship Equator Rally Kenya in their Polo GTI R5
• Kristian Poulsen and Ole R Fredriksen win Rally Himmerland, round one of the Danish Rally Championship – the second victory for Polo GTI R5 chassis #44 in Denmark
• First place for Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel’s Polo GTI R5 at Rallye Tierras Altas de Lorca
• Tomasz Kasperczyk and Damian Syty win the 2021 Tech-Mol Rally in their Polo GTI R5. Zbigniew Gabrys and Krzysztof Janik’s Polo GTI R5 also finishes on the podium at the first rally of the year in Poland.

May

• MY22 Polo GTI revealed in official Volkswagen design sketch
• Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel win the Jordan Rally in a Polo GTI R5 – their ninth overall victory in the Volkswagen rally car
• 1-2 for the Polo GTI R5 at the Larnaca Rally – Alexandros Tsouloftas and Stelios Elia win the event, followed by Simos Galatariotis and Antonis loannou
• Jurie Stewart and Arnold Neveling victorious in the Volkswagen Polo Cup races held at Aldo Scribante, near Gqeberha. Jonathan Mogotsi drives his Polo SupaCup to a maiden win during the GTC SupaCup race
• Volkswagen Polo named the third most popular car in the UK during May 2021.

June

• The Polo GTI R5s of Osian Pryce and Noel O’Sullivan and reigning champions Matt Edwards and Darren Garrod debut at first round of the 2021 British Rally Championship at Oulton Park
• 1-2 for the Polo GTI R5 at the Super Prime Alpasa rally in Paraguay. Miguel Zaldivar Jr and Victor Aguilera finish first, followed by Diego Dominguez Sr and Edgardo Galindo
• 2022 Volkswagen Polo order books open in Germany
• Refreshed MY22 Polo GTI revealed with updated looks, DSG and 204bhp
• Frank Tore Larsen and Morten Abrahamsen steer their Polo GTI R5 to victory at the 2021 Aurskog-Holand Rally
• Volkswagen Polo named the sixth most popular car in the UK during June 2021
• With 11,560 cars finding homes in the first six months of the year, the Polo Vivo remains the most popular new car in South Africa. In second place, the sixth-generation Polo sells 9,045 examples.

July

• RacingLine releases Polo GTI ‘AW’ sport springs and turbo muffler delete products
• Volkswagen Polo crowned the UK’s most popular car, based on official registration figures, finishing ahead of the Toyota Yaris and Kia Sportage.

August

• The second-generation Polo celebrates four decades since it was launched to the press in Sardinia
• Jurie Stewart, Arnold Neveling, and Leyton Fourie win one Volkswagen Polo Cup race each at the East London Grand Prix circuit.

September

• The new MY22 Polo goes on sale in the UK, priced from £17,885 to £23,355
• Polo Trendline MPI, Comfortline TSI, Highline Plus TSI manual, and Highline Plus TSI and GT TSI automatic models demand a five-month waiting list in India, along with the Polo saloon-based Vento Highline TSI manual
• Sixteen-year-old Leyton Fourie claims both South African Volkswagen Polo Cup wins at the Red Star Raceway.

October

• Jurie Stewart wins Volkswagen Polo Cup South Africa races at Zwartops Raceway.

November

• MY22 Polo GTI joins the UK model range with a starting price of £26,430
• Polo Vivo Black Style launches in South Africa. Special equipment includes black 16-inch ‘Portago’ alloy wheels, gloss black mirror caps, roof and B and C pillar covers, black sill covers, a body-coloured boot spoiler, privacy glass, a chrome exhaust tip as well as anthracite headlining and sun visors
• Autocar publishes its first UK drive of the new MY22 Polo.

December

• What Car? long lists Polo as a Car of the Year Awards 2022 small car entrant
• Auto Express, Carbuyer and What Car? publish the first UK drives of the new MY22 Polo
• MY22 Polo announced for sale in South Africa from January 2022
• 2022 Volkswagen Polo Cup unveils CompCare Medical Scheme as sponsor; Jurie Stewart wins Killarney races at final round of 2021 series, but Leyton Fourie crowned 2021 Volkswagen Polo Cup champion
• South African Volkswagen Polo GTC SupaCup tested during Killarney 9-Hour race ready for 2022 season
• A panel of broadcasters, car designers, engineers, motorsport legends and auto industry journalists and media professionals announces MY22 Polo as one of the Best Cars of the Year 2021/2022 award winners in tenth place.

As another year passes, we would like to thank our readers and followers old and new, and we’ve got lots more stories and features coming to the website in 2022.

[Click on the ‘Polo 2017-’, ‘Polo Vivo’, ‘Polo GTI R5’ and ‘Motorsport’ tags in the category drop-down list in the right-hand sidebar to see all entries relating to the sixth-generation Polo, Polo GTI R5, and Polo motorsport activity respectively. Choose other category or month sections for relevant entries.]

Almost two months after the ‘mainstream’ versions of the new Polo opened for order in the UK, Volkswagen Retailers have, today, opened the order books for the new, more powerful Polo GTI. Priced from £26,430 RRP on-the-road, the sporty newcomer tops the new Polo range, and makes the family complete.

It also continues the illustrious Volkswagen GTI line, which now extends from the diminutive Up GTI, through to the eighth-generation Golf GTI. The Polo GTI is the latest in a lineup of hot Polos that started with the 60bhp Polo GT in 1979. The famed 112bhp supercharged Polo G40 first hit the market in 1986, the first 118bhp Polo GTI appearing in a limited series of 3,000 units in 1998.

New look, more power and kit
The new Polo GTI packs 204bhp (an increase of 7bhp over the outgoing model) and has a new look, more equipment, and is safer than ever. It’s also more digital, too, with a fully digitised cabin, similar to that seen on the eighth-generation Golf. As before, power is out down through a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch gearbox (with paddles on the leather multifunction sports steering wheel), and performance is every bit a GTI: 0-62mph comes up in just 6.5 seconds thanks to 236lb ft (320Nm) of torque, and the Polo GTI will top out – where conditions allow – at 149mph.

To keep all that performance in check, the new hot Polo has a larger anti-roll bar and more rigid coupling rods at the front, and stiffer axle-locating rear mounts. The suspension is also 15mm lower than other Polos, and Volkswagen’s XDS electronic differential lock is also standard. This controls brake pressure on the front wheel on the inside of a bend, preventing it from spinning.

Driving profile selection
Adaptive Chassis Control DCC is also fitted, which includes a driving profile selection. Two different damping characteristics for the adjustable shock absorbers can be chosen, along with four driving modes: Eco, Individual, Normal and Sport. Allowing drivers to make individual settings that have a direct effect on vehicle dynamics, steering, engine characteristic and DSG shift patterns are adapted, and in Sport mode, the exhaust system is automatically modified to make it sound sportier.

Outside, the new Polo GTI is easily recognised by its new face, fitted with Volkswagen’s IQ Light LED matrix headlights, with an illuminated radiator grille crossbar, as already seen on the ID family of electric cars and the eighth-generation Golf. New red ‘GTI’ badges adorn the front and rear, and of course, there is a red radiator grille strip, which extends into the headlights. At the back, new tail lamps feature dynamic indicators, and red brake calipers peep through 17-inch ‘Parker’ alloy wheels (18-inch ‘Faro’ rims are optional, seen here) and continue a GTI tradition.

Inside, more traditions remain. Black headlining creates a sporty feel, as does the red stitching and the ‘Jacara’-patterned tartan seats. A Kings Red Glossy-painted dash pad is standard, but buyers who are more of the shrinking violet type can choose the subtler Deep Iron Glossy option. The striking Kings Red Metallic is just one of the Polo GTI’s exterior paint finishes: others include Deep Black Pearl, Pure White, Reef Blue Metallic and Smokey Grey Metallic. A black-roof option is also available on blue, red and white cars.

Sharing its 10.25-inch colour Digital Cockpit Pro instruments with other new Polos, the new GTI also comes as standard with 8.0-inch Discover Media Navigation system. A 300W Beats sound system with six speakers, subwoofer, and 8-channel amplifier is optional. Standard kit includes ambient interior lighting, auto lights and wipers, a digital button-controlled 2zone climate control system, and a centre airbag.

‘Sporting family’
Lisa Hartley, Polo Volkswagen UK product manager, said: ‘The marriage of “Volkswagen” and “GTI” kicked off in 1975 with the launch of the now legendary Golf Mk I GTI. Since then, those hallowed three letters have adorned many other models such as the Scirocco, Lupo, and Up. However, it is the Polo – whose GTI model debuted in 1998 – that is, after the Golf, the longest running member of this sporting family.

‘Continuing this illustrious history is this newest version of our pocket-rocket, and it really is the best so far. With driver-focused dynamics, a powerful 204bhp turbocharged engine, big-car tech, a generous list of standard equipment, and assertive yet understated looks, the new Polo GTI is a class act among hot hatches.’

Sadly, Volkswagen is phasing out traditional sales brochures and price lists, so if you want to investigate the new Polo GTI, head to Volkswagen’s online configurator to explore. We’ll take ours in Kings Red Metallic, with 18-inch Faro wheels, please…

2022 VOLKSWAGEN POLO GTI PRICES

Polo GTI
2.0 204bhp seven-speed DSG; 155g/km*; 41.3mpg**; £26,430 (RRP OTR)

*WLTP CO2, **WLTP combined.