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.

Another day, another test of the new Polo GTI. ‘WOB-NP-123’ must be one of the most well-known Volkswagen press cars in the country. Long-running UK glossy title CAR magazine pits the new hot shot Polo against four fashionable contenders in its new issue. Alfa Romeo’s Mito, Citroën’s Ds3 and Mini’s Cooper S provide the stylish competition, while the Renaultsport Clio tests the Polo GTI’s mettle as something more a little hardcore. Tested on Welsh roads over two days, buy a copy of the magazine to see how the Polo fares. See an online preview of the July 2010 issue – which is out now and also includes 31 pages of Alfa Romeo celebrations and the new Ford Focus RS500 – below.

[Image: CAR magazine]

Head over to the Times Online to read a first drive of Volkswagen’s latest pocket rocket by Clarkson. Yes, that Clarkson. A self-confessed lover of Golf GTIs old and new, does he like the hot Polo? A fan of the outgoing Polo GTI with 148bhp which appeared in 2006, he takes a long time to deliver his verdict. Read the Times Online’s mini-test – which first appeared in the Sunday Times – to find out (if you’re still with him at the end of the article – skip to about halfway through to read specifically about the new Polo GTI).

Tying in neatly with its 2010 Polo GTI vs SEAT Ibiza Bocanegra twin test, Auto Express has put an immaculate 1991 Polo G40 through its paces on the same Welsh roads as the modern in-house rivals. Owned by Volkswagen Classic in Germany, the Nineties Polo even has a very apt ‘WOB-PO-40’ licence plate. The Polo G40 became a top-flight mainstay in the Polo range in 1991, following small volume production runs on the continent in the mid-1980s. Sharing supercharging as a means of propulsion (the new Polo GTI also has a turbocharger), the 113bhp ‘coupé’ weighed a flyweight 830kg and could crack 60mph from rest in only 8.1 seconds. Rawer than the latest model, read how the UK motoring magazine seemed to enjoy the driving experience.

[Image: Nathan Morgan/Auto Express]

The latest issue of UK car news weekly Auto Express goes one better than its recent 2010 Polo GTI first drive by pitting VW’s latest performance newcomer against the SEAT Ibiza Bocanegra. Possibly the hot Polo’s most obvious rival, its Spanish rival packs the same 178bhp punch, provided by the same 1.4-litre TSI engine and coupled to the same seven-speed, paddle-operated DSG gearbox. Unsurprisingly, both sprint from 0 to 62mph in 6.9 seconds, but the Ibiza is only £17,245 compared to the Polo’s basic price of £18,275. Which car wins? We’ll leave you to head over here to read the twin test and find out the answer.

[Image: Nathan Morgan/Auto Express]