PoloDriver

The current issue of monthly independent VW title Volkswagen Driver features three pages on Rachel Inglis’s 1981 Derby GLS. We saw the car at the recent Stanford Hall event (coincidentally where the photos for the magazine feature were taken) and it really is a stunner. With only 21,000 miles on the clock since new, its paintwork gleams and the interior looks like brand new. Find out more in the June 2010 issue of Volkswagen Driver magazine on sale now.

A more comprehensive version of this brochure has appeared on Volkswagen regional websites in Europe for quite some time now, but at last the UK gets its own specific official Volkswagen Genuine accessories catalogue. With sections on Sport & Styling (body kits, spoilers and sill trims), Alloys, Technology (mobile phone kits, sat-navs and upgraded radio units), Touring (roof bars and boxes), Child Seats, Convenience & Protection (mudflaps, boot liners and floor mats), Car Care and Volkswagen Collection, there should be something for everyone. Download your copy from the Volkswagen website.

Hot on the tracks of UK motoring weeklies Auto Express and Autocar, monthly performance car title evo has now published an online review of the new Polo GTI on its website. The respected journos at evo seem to like it, too, calling the new twin-charged Polo ‘a surprisingly old school GTI’, before summing up with, ‘Here is the best attempt yet at a convincing GTI-badged Polo, a car with its own personality freed from the shadow of the Golf.’ At last! The only fly in the ointment appears to be the DSG-only specification. But, the magazine hints that a six-speed manual version could eventually be on the cards. Head over to evo to read the full 2010 Polo GTI review.

Numerous sources state that the 2010 Polo GTI is now available to order in the UK, and the appearance of the model on the configurator pages of Volkswagen UK’s website bear this out. With first deliveries said to be in July (a month earlier than originally thought), currently there’s no optional alcantara/leather trim, alternative alloy wheels, bi-xenon headlights or panoramic sunroof, all seen on the press demonstrators currently doing the rounds in Germany. All but the more powerful headlights aren’t mentioned in the early brochures we have either, suggesting that final specifications for the UK and Europe will follow. We do definitely know the prices, though; the 2010 Polo GTI will cost £18,275 for the three-door and £18,875 for the five-door car.

Edit, 27 May 2010: the following options are now listed on Volkswagen UK’s configurator – leather multi-function steering wheel at £110, electric glass sunroof £760 (though this is not clear as to whether it’s part of a panoramic module; it would appear so from the illustration), and bi-xenon headlights incorporating the LED daytime running lights at £720.

The Polo has been named Best Small Car in the 2010 Fleet World Honours, presented yesterday at the RAC Club in London. The Polo is currently the European Car of the Year as well as the World Car of the Year, and also holds Supermini of the Year titles from What Car? and Fleet News. The award is voted for by a number of industry professionals – including the Fleet World editorial team – and is chaired by Fleet World editor, Steve Moody.

Collecting the award, Volkswagen’s Head of Fleet Services, Vincent Kinner, said: ‘We’re delighted to receive this award. Since its launch last October the Polo has gone from strength to strength. It epitomises the Volkswagen strengths of quality, practicality, safety and value for money and this award, on top of the many others it had already received, proves its appeal to fleet managers as well as private buyers and drivers.’

Chairman of Judges, Steve Moody, said: ‘The Volkswagen Polo is a small car with a big car personality. Downsizing customers will never feel shortchanged thanks to its excellent interior space and superb build quality. Add in a strong range of engines with excellent fuel efficiency, and never has a supermini been so super.’ Head over to the fleet section of the Volkswagen website for more information on the company’s range of cars and fleet services.