The new Polo – the PoloDriver.com
all-you-need-to-know guide
On 29 January, PoloDriver.com was privileged to attend the press presentation of the new Polo, a revised and refreshed version of the fifth-generation 6R model.
Unveiled at the home of Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, the new model may appear the same as the outgoing car, but has many technological features and innovations under the skin.
With many driver assistance systems first pioneered on the larger Golf, the new Polo is the safest and most technologically advanced in the model’s 39-year history. It’s also an important car for Volkswagen.
The second best-selling model in its range, Volkswagen UK sold over 42,000 examples in 2013.
The new Polo arrives in the spring, after a world debut at the Geneva motor show in March, with a UK on-sale date of July 2014.
Order books open in April, and with prices expected to be the same as the outgoing car, expect a base-model Polo S to start at around £11,000, but be better equipped for the money.
UK trim levels are expected to be S, SE (forecast to be the most popular version), and SEL as upon introduction of the soon-to-be-discontinued car, with BlueMotion, R-Line and GTI models to follow before the end of the year.
The biggest change for the UK is the switch of the BlueMotion to petrol power with the arrival of a new 1.0-litre 89bhp TSI engine, capable of 68.9mpg.
Optional driver aids include Adaptive Cruise Control, a driver alert system, City Emergency Braking, Sport Select adaptable damper suspension, and Front Assist ambient traffic monitoring system.
All new Polos will be fitted with the Automatic Post-Collision Braking System as standard, while new touchscreen infotainment displays feature in the revised interior. There’s also a new steering wheel, instruments and fabrics.
Full LED headlights are also an option on certain models.
Make no mistake, it’s a thorough going-over. While the exterior hints at the mildest Polo ‘facelift’ in history, the engineering innovations suggest otherwise. In fact, so thorough are the changes, we’ve created a new section of pages for the new car.
Individual pages pinpoint the major aspects of the refresh: exterior, interior, engines, and technology, as well as giving the key facts about the new model. Finally there’s an image gallery, displaying all the new pictures of the incoming car.
Head here for a section overview – focusing primarily on UK models (with the full UK press release) – and click on the menu drop-down links on the ‘Polo 6R (F)’ tab above to visit an individual section page in our all-you-need-to-know guide.
