PoloDriver

We are pleased to announce that PoloDriver.com has received a highly commended prize at the 2014 Guild of Motoring Writers’ Awards. The awards recognise the Guild members’ work but the prizes also encourage new motoring writers, and it was for the Breakthrough Blogger of the Year sponsored by Motoring Research that PoloDriver.com was entered.

Richard Gooding started the Polo enthusiast website five years ago, from the ashes of the VW Polo Register, the UK’s first and longest-running club-level organisation for Volkswagen’s small car. A former editor of the club’s newsletter, Richard has been writing for over 20 years for both the local and national specialist press and has been in editorial job roles for the past 15 years. He is currently writing a history book for Crowood Press on the Porsche 914.

‘Richard’s work made the decision really tough for us as his extensive and professionally-created site is an excellent example of publishing,’ said Motoring Research managing director Richard Aucock. ‘For this reason, we’re going to work with Richard and try to develop a work experience and exposure package with him too; we’d love to give him a platform to showcase and develop his own abilities as a motoring journalist,’ he continued.

Richard Gooding commented: ‘After a dedicated five years starting and promoting PoloDriver.com, it’s truly an honour for it to be recognised by the motor industry. From covering mainly UK-based Polo news, the content has grown alongside the car’s global career to include stories from around the world as well as regular coverage of the Polo’s participation in many motorsport arenas.

‘I’d like to take this opportunity to thank PoloDriver.com’s loyal readers, social media followers, as well as its contributors, who make the site what it is. It makes all the hurried lunchtime posts and more developed features worth the effort. It still aims to be the one-stop-shop for all things Polo, and while that may be some time off, I think we’re getting there!’

PoloDriver.com is delighted to report that contributor John Redfern took the top honour in the same category with his own website, engagesportmode.com.

Continue Reading

Too busy to trawl PoloDriver.com for stories that interest you? We just might have the answer. In addition to the app-style website on mobile devices and our Mac-only desktop widget, there’s also the busy PoloDriver Twitter feed.

Constantly refreshed with the headlines from the website the moment the stories go live, there are also short message updates and retweets of other websites’ Polo-related stories. Unique content not found on the main website can be found on the stream, too.

Our Facebook page also features unique content, so check back there from time to time to see what’s tickling our fancy. Whether it be Polos, Volkswagens, or just cars in general, there’s no reason to miss a PoloDriver update (especially the busy motorsport threads). Catch up with the latest from us whichever way you like!

Continue Reading

There are many ways to catch up with the latest from PoloDriver. In addition to the app-style website on mobile devices and desktop widget, there’s also the busy PoloDriver Twitter feed. Constantly refreshed with headlines from the website, there are also short message updates, retweets of other websites’ Polo-related stories and unique content not found on our main website. Our Facebook page also features unique content, too, so check back there from time to time to see what’s tickling our fancy. There’s no reason to miss a PoloDriver update (especially the busy World Rally Championship streams) – catch up with the latest from us whichever way you want!

Continue Reading

Continue Reading

Fresh from day of driving the latest Volkswagens last Wednesday, here is our first drive report of the 2011 Polo GTI. We tested both three and five-door versions, and can report that the 178bhp performance Polo is a real firecracker and a lot of fun. Yes, it costs £18,795 (which is twice as much as our Polo GT Coupé did in 1994), but as a cut-price Golf GTI, it’s an enticing proposition. See how we got on driving around the leafy lanes of Berkshire by clicking on the magazine graphic below, or if you can’t see the preview, visit this link. The fifth of our special digital ‘mini-magazines’, check out the PoloDriver bookshelf for our previous four titles. The first issue features mini-tests of the current Polo range in general, while the third is an account of our first drives of the SEL 1.2 TSI and 1.2 BlueMotion TDI.

[issuu layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml showflipbtn=true documentid=110608201521-06576cc25b00427bbf6a372b1a11fb9b docname=polodriver_2011_volkswagen_polo_gti_first_drive username=polodriver loadinginfotext=PoloDriver.com%20first%20drive%3A%202011%20Volkswagen%20Polo%20GTI showhtmllink=true tag=autos width=600 height=400 unit=px]

Continue Reading