2010 Polo Van
‘Polo Van – never has a small car been so great.’ So goes the marketing slogan on the Danish Volkswagen website. There hasn’t been a proper small commercial-type Polo Van since the model based on the Series 2 from the mid-1980s. With metal panels in the hatchback body where the rear windows would usually be fitted, the first Polo Van was a stripped-out special, complete with wooden rear deck and bulkhead just behind the front two seats. Trimmed similarly to a basic Polo Fox, it was a Volkswagen approved and made city commercial vehicle, ideal for scooting through urban landscapes.
If memory serves us right (and it might not, so please let us know if in fact we don’t remember correctly), Volkswagen revisited the Polo Van idea in the mid-1990s when certain markets sold a Series 3 halfway house version with minimal alterations and glass side windows as per the standard passenger model. It didn’t come to the UK, but must have done well enough for the German giant to even contemplate thinking about a similar variant based on the somewhat more luxurious Series 5, launched last year.
Which is exactly what we have here. Now, our Danish translation isn’t the best, but from what we can work out, the new for 2010 Polo Van is similar to the Series 3 version in concept and has been designed for nipping through city streets, just like that Series 2 of 20 plus years ago. But unlike that mini-commercial, the new version looks like, according to VW, an ‘attractive car’, sharing the same sharp-creased, smart-looking body as the Series 5 passenger car.
There are both three and five-door versions should you want a ‘coupé look’ or practicality, but both have a 132 x 124cm flat, carpet-lined load area, no rear seats, a quarter-height bulkhead behind the front seats and 1.4 cubic metres of carrying space. As a concession to style, a chromed roll-over-style hoop sits behind the driver’s seat to protect the occupant from unsuspecting flying loads that might head their way should they tackle a corner too quickly.
The pan-European trim designations of Trendline, Comfortline and Highline make up the three versions available, while a range of four petrol engines (including 1.2-litre 59bhp, 1.2 104bhp TSI and 1.4 85bhp units) and five diesels (including 1.6-litre 75bhp and 105bhp) power the Volkswagen’s latest small commercial incarnation. The company also states that it’s not only engines and carrying capacity that makes the 2010 Polo Van a safe choice. Being based on the award-winning passenger car version of the fifth-generation supermini, the Polo Van also gets a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. For more details on the 2010 Polo Van, visit Volkswagen’s Danish website.
