PoloDriver

The latest version of the Polo BlueMotion is set to compete in the first RAC Future Car Challenge on Saturday 6 November. The RAC Future Car Challenge follows a route from Madeira Drive in Brighton to Pall Mall in London, during which the participating vehicles are measured for the energy they use. The winner is the vehicle found to have used the least energy on the 57-mile route. The first cars competing will depart from Brighton at 08:30 before making a brief stop at Central Sussex College in Crawley en route to the finish in Central London. Selected vehicles will then be on display in Regent Street from 12:45 to 16:00.

The 91g/km Polo BlueMotion will be joined by another super fuel-efficient production Volkswagen, the 99g/km Golf BlueMotion. Both use a series of aerodynamic and mechanical changes to maximise the efficiency of their refined common-rail TDI diesel engines. In the case of the Polo BlueMotion this results in combined economy of 80.7 mpg. Based on this figure, the Polo BlueMotion would complete the 57-mile run from Brighton to London using just 3.21 litres of  diesel (0.70 gallons) costing a total of £3.78 based on today’s average fuel prices.

Joining the trio and leading Volkswagen’s charge in in the event, the Golf blue-e-motion prototype will be making its debut in the UK. An electric vehicle developing 114bhp and 199lbs ft of torque through an electric motor which is powered by a series of lithium-ion batteries with a total capacity of 26.5 kilowatt hours, the Golf blue-e-motion can accelerate to 62mph in 11.8 seconds and also serves as an indication of the future direction of Volkswagen’s electric vehicle programme with the first production model planned to go on sale in 2013.

Continue Reading

The Polo BlueMotion has been named runner up in the ‘best overall MPG’ category in this month’s 2010 ALD Automotive/Total ECO 10 MPG Marathon. With a combination of engineering, technology and careful driving, the Polo BlueMotion demonstrated impressive economy, and along with a Golf GTI, provided success for Volkswagen. Driven by Andrew Andersz and Alyson Marlow, the latest version of the eco-minded Polo (and the same press car we tested a couple of months back) posted a figure of 89.22mpg, a statistic 8.52% higher than its claimed economy number. The GTI meanwhile secured the ‘best percentage improvement’ title, returning over 55.63mpg (beating its manufacturer combined figure of 38.2% by 45.62%).

The Polo BlueMotion has a three-cylinder 1.2-litre 74bhp common rail diesel engine and a raft of economy measures including aerodynamic and gearing modifications, a Stop/Start system, low rolling resistance tyres and battery regeneration. The winner of the ‘best overall MPG’ category was the SMART Fortwo. Only six of the 35 vehicles which took part in this year’s event achieved more than 80mpg, of which the Polo BlueMotion was one. The ALD Automotive/Total ECO 10 MPG Marathon covers 400 miles over two days and takes in a testing combination of A and B roads, as well as the motorways of Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Continue Reading

While the first deliveries of the new Polo GTI are imminent, there are other less obvious models in the fifth-generation Polo range that deserve a look if you’re not after the 178bhp performance version. Topping the mainstream range is the 1.2-litre 104bhp TSI. An out and out roadburner it might not be, but it is swift, comfortable and as refined as many larger cars, but with a sporty edge. At the opposite end of the market, the latest Polo BlueMotion is powered by an economical 1.2-litre 74bhp engine and fitted with an aerodynamic body kit and a whole host of other eco-minded mods, enabling it to post a claimed 80.7mpg figure on the combined cycle. We’ve just updated our test drive report from July 2010 on these two £14,500 models; click on the magazine graphic below or click here to find out what we thought.

[issuu layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml showflipbtn=true documentid=100923143220-44507c39a6ea40b8a36cefee183f436f docname=volkswagen_polo_tsi_bluemotion_drives username=polodriver loadinginfotext=PoloDriver.com%20first%20drives%3A%202010%20Volkswagen%20Polo%20SEL%201.2%20TSI%20and%20BlueMotion%201.2%20TDI showhtmllink=true tag=vw width=600 height=400 unit=px]

Continue Reading

The latest version of the car that started the eco-car revolution, the Polo BlueMotion, has been tested along with 16 other eco-minded new cars in Auto Express’ round-up of sub-100g/km CO2 models. The UK motoring weekly has run the rule over all the road tax exempt eco contenders and spec tables include residual value forecasts, Euro NCAP crash test results and claimed economy figures. The Polo BlueMotion 1.2 TDI is compared with class rivals such as the Citroen C3 1.6 16v HDi Airdream+, Citroen DS3 DStyle 99g, Ford Fiesta Econetic 1.6 TDCi DPF, Peugeot 207 Economique 1.6 HDi, Renault Clio Extreme eco2 dCi 86 and Vauxhall Corsa S 1.3 CDTi ecoFLEX, as well as in-house sparring partner, the SEAT Ibiza SC 1.2 TDI Ecomotive. The sub-100g/km green car group test is in issue 1129 of Auto Express on sale now. Click here to read online.

Continue Reading

We’ve been busy updating our YouTube channel, PoloDriverTV. Not only are there the latest Polo TV commercials from certain global territories, but you will also find official Volkswagen footage of the fifth-generation car, including driving scenes and static footage of both the three-door and BlueMotion models. We’ve recently tested the BlueMotion, too, along with the 1.2-litre SEL TSI; click here to view our downloadable digital magazine first drive report. Head over or subscribe to PoloDriverTV to see the latest updates.

Continue Reading