PoloDriver

Rich Gooding’s 2001 Polo GTI has had an eventful couple of months. First, new boots and a health check, then a change in regular usage. Are the now noticeable rattles a sign of protest?

Life for Y464 GHJ has just got calmer, or tougher, depending on how you look at it. I’ve just taken a new magazine designer full-time job, and, if you’re a glass half-empty person, you’d say that the more regular use the car will get is a bad thing. But, if you’re a glass half-full kind of being, then the fewer miles it will do on more regular trips will be a good thing. I’d like to think that I’m the latter, but the more regular use does worry ever so slightly. Still, the miles will be much fewer each day: 50 daily miles in total to my new office, compared to 170 miles per day when I was heading to Bauer Media in Peterborough.

So, as you can see from the pictures, the new daily, five-times-a-week commute will probably mean me spending more intimate time with Messrs Bucket, Sponge and Shampoo. And I have noticed, the Polo takes a lot more scrubbing when it’s dirty, even if it doesn’t look that dirty. One thing I will have to look for in the near future is rattles. Y464 seems to have become infested with the things, coming from the nearside front air vent, the dashboard, and, most annoyingly, the passenger seat area. It’s this last one which is the most frustrating, because, a) I can’t see where it’s coming from, and b) it’s quite a loud plastic-on-another-material-type noise. And honestly, it’s really quite literally driving me nuts.

I thought it may have been down the two new tyres I’ve had fitted in the intervening two months since the last report (the old fronts were shifted to the rear). But, no, I don’t think it’s that simple. They’ve had time to bed in a little now in any case. While the wheels were off and the tyres removed, I had the one wheel which was kerbed refurbished, so once again, I have a ‘clean’ set with no damage. Let’s hope it stays that way. Otherwise, nothing else to report. The gearbox is the least enjoyable part of the car, as sometimes it’s just downright reluctant to do what you want it to, which suggests a bush kit, or something maybe a little more major. Like I said, glass half-empty, or glass half-full…

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The one millionth fifth-generation Polo 6R has been produced in Volkswagen’s factory in Pamplona, Spain and has landed in Sydney, Australia to be united with its owner Allan Anonat (seen receiving the car from Dealer Principal Darryl Pribut). The five-door Candy White Polo GTI (with panoramic roof, xenon headlamps, daytime running lights and 17” ‘Detroit’ polished alloy wheels) left Spain in July and arrived in Port Kembla, New South Wales this month. The fifth-generation Polo was introduced in 2009 and has been a success in Australia, winning a host of major awards from motoring magazines and websites.

[Source: vwwatercooled.org.au]

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Here’s 68 seconds of fun for a Friday. Founded in 2009 by Adnan Ebrahim, motoring website carthrottle.com aims to ‘make car discovery fun again,’ and bills itself as a site with ‘funky fresh news, reviews and videos with a sprinkling of celebrity.’ Its content is certainly fun, as this Polo GTI video which was posted earlier this week shows. A spoof take on the famous 1987 Volkswagen ‘Casino’ ad, it ends with the tag line ‘Guys. Try It’, alluding to the German car makers famed hot hatch brand. Very nicely shot and very tongue in cheek, it stars one of Volkswagen UK’s press cars, and is one of the funniest pieces of film we’ve seen this week (Ice Dude notwithstanding). Find all of carthrottle.com’s videos here.

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Shanghai-Volkswagen has launched the Polo GTI onto the Chinese car market, but all is not what it seems. Externally identical as the European model which develops 178bhp/132kW, the Chinese version of the performance hatchback makes do with 131bhp/96kW. Still equipped with a seven-speed DSG gearbox, the pared-down Chinese car uses an older 1.4-litre turbocharged ‘TSI’ engine to propel it. Critics are vary of the expensive price, too: 158.900 Yuan, which equates to approximately US$25,000 or £15,500.

Debuting at the Chengdu Auto Show on 19 September, the Chinese-spec Polo GTI is manufactured by joint-venture company Shanghai-Volkswagen, and certain reports state that the European engine would have been too costly to import, as the car is made locally. It will only be available with five doors, and has a 0-62mph time of 9 seconds, as opposed to the European car’s 6.9 seconds. It also misses out equipment highlights such as 17-inch wheels (smaller 16-inch rims will be fitted), LED daytime running lights, xenon headlights and headlight washers, multifunction steering wheel as well as cruise control.

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Volkswagen Switzerland has announced the Polo GTI Carbon Edition, a very limited edition model, which will only be available on the Swiss market. Essentially a Polo GTI with some added visual punch, only 100 examples will be sold.

The most striking external additions are the distinctive 17-inch, 10-spoke ‘Serron’ polished alloy wheels with black inserts, the ‘GTI Carbon Edition’ honeycomb door decals, and yes, you’ve guessed it, lots of carbon fibre-look trim. The door mirrors are covered in it, as are the B-pillars, which also bear the car’s number in the production run.

The interior features carbon-look trim from the official Volkswagen Accessories catalogue on the radio and air-conditioning surrounds, while standard Polo GTI equipment such as four electric windows and a media-in multimedia socket with USB adapter cable stays.

Four colours – Candy White, Flash Red, Deep Black Pearl Effect and Oryx White Pearl Effect – make up the Polo GTI Carbon Edition’s palette, and while it may be no more than a visually-decorated special, it’s bound to go down well with Swiss Polo fans. The price? €26,430. Deliveries and orders start in October.

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