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Posts Tagged ‘Volkswagen’

The Volkswagen Polo is one of the elder statesmen of the Supermini market; remaining stoic in its refusal to disappear from forecourts across the land. After over 30 years on our roads, the Polo is still seen on every high street the length and breadth of the country. It’s available in hatchback, coupé and estate variants so everyone is catered for. However, as Bob Dylan once perceptively announced, the times they are a’ changing. With so many young pretenders snapping at Polo’s well-trodden heels, how is it going to remain a petrol head favourite?

No longer the baby of the Volkswagen fleet (following the introduction of the Lupo in 1998 and then the Fox in 2004), the Polo now sits in a slightly odd position in between the entry level model and the higher spec Golf. New drivers will opt for the lower end models, whilst the more adventurous will jump straight to the Golf. It would appear to the untrained eye that Volkswagen are putting the squeeze on their own product. Are VW struggling to find a suitable niche for the Polo?

Let’s take a look at the competition. The sporty-looking Seat Ibiza skips into view like a Spanish waiter with itchy under-garments, the Vauxhall Corsa stalks nearby like a Huntsman Spider and the ever-present Ford Fiesta reinvents itself more than Madonna does. That goes without mentioning the Fiats, the Toyotas and the Hondas, all of which are turning heads and gaining notoriety within the Supermini circles. To stay afloat the Polo will have to keep well ahead of the curve.

In a purely aesthetic sense, the Polo doesn’t disappoint. The evolved looks cannot hide the treasured Volkswagen lineage, the curvy body updated to keep up with the Joneses whilst remaining distinctly ‘VW’. In relative terms the Polo is akin to an aging aunty with a keen desire to look 17 again; perhaps a nip here and tuck there and she’ll nearly be there… nearly. But would you want to be seen with her? Well, as a matter of fact, yes you would…if she was a Polo…which she’s not…but you understand what I mean…sort of. The point is that the Polo has retained the understated good looks and style that have maintained its popularity since its 1975 inception. The favourite chunky, boxy body has been smoothed out for modern taste, but is still unmistakably the ‘Volkswagen Look’.

Performance-wise the Polo is never going to reinvent the wheel, but no present or prospective Polo owners would expect it to. The whole Volkswagen shtick is reliability, sturdiness and a bit of oomph occasionally. The Polo E’s punchy engine is extremely responsive for a base model and is backed by excellent handling and an intuitive suspension system that will iron out the bumpiest of city streets or pot-hole ridden country roads.

The tired old cliché of efficient German engineering will be trotted out here, but there isn’t a single nuance of frivolity to be found on the whole car; everything is functional, because if it wasn’t it wouldn’t be on the car. A simple/basic concept has been applied to the designing of the Polo, ensuring that quality takes a huge precedent over quantity. Apply this logic to German beers if you will; never the tastiest of beverages and often more expensive than the other beers, but you always seem to get drunker quicker if you choose the Bavarian way. That, my friends, is efficiency.

The real feather in the Polo’s cap is the way it has effortlessly straddled and conquered the most pressing social issues of the day. The Polo’s extremely low running costs combat the current economic burial pit we find ourselves in, whilst remaining kind to the environment with impressively low Co2 emissions. So whether you’re a financially doomed merchant banker or a earth-loving hippy, you’re unlikely to be annoyed by seeing this car on the road.

The future looks uncertain for the VW Polo; the competition is mounting like a hungry pack of wolves, but for the time being it remains near the top of the supermini pyramid in both popularity and performance stakes. Whether it stays there for much longer is another matter.

Volkswagen’s Polo. There’s something just that little bit special about it. Those clever men and women behind such iconic and era defining vehicles as the Beetle and the Golf GTi certainly have a knack for making compact cars. When the air-cooled engine of the beetle became superseded by more modern, water-cooled powerplants, and when the Golf began to grow bloated and put on weight with each successive iteration, the engineers at VW found themselves once again with a supermini-shaped hole and without a supermini-shaped peg to plug it with.

Cue the Polo. Legend has it, marketing chiefs at Volkswagen chose the name ‘Polo’ because, like ‘Golf’, it is a sport widely associated with a social upper-class; and while the original Mk1 Polo may have looked up rather than lived up to those lofty connotations, I can happily inform you that the opposite is in fact true of the current model.

I don’t mean to imply that the new Polo has suddenly appeared, well-built and sophisticated, after so many years of mediocrity within an oversaturated market. Rather, the car before us today is the product of those many years devoted to refining the original car.

That’s not to say that it’s been an entirely plush ride either: the engineers from Wolfsburg seemingly ignored some of basic principles of automotive design and construction when they built their third sub-compact car, however today’s Polo stands testament to both the successes the marque has enjoyed, and also to those failings suffered over the course of its lifetime. From the woeful build quality of the cars first off the production line, to the exhilaration of the record-breaking, supercharged MkII G40 variant; the current car really does feel like it has learned from every lesson.

My first ever experience of driving a car was in a first-generation Polo. I drove figure-eights in a good friends field and in spite of the fact that under my command the universal joint on the steering column failed, we remain friends to this day. Even with my youthful exuberance, I found it hard to find merit in the car. Most people, when asked to recall their first driving experience, talk of the liberty and exhilaration of the experience. I on the other hand, am more likely to mention the cramped interior or the sluggish 1100cc engine. Bear in mind these are the observations of a fifteen year old!

But each time the Polo had a makeover or a revision, the same Volkswagen engineers that had fumbled the ball during the car’s initial production, found ways to make up for their miscalculations. And they kinda over compensated…

The MkII G40 I mentioned earlier displaced just 1300cc but generated 115bhp. It reached 62mph in an impressive 8.1 seconds and could achieve a top speed of 122mph. Since the G40, Polo’s have been quick.

The MkIIIF had an entirely galvanised body and chassis mated with an over-engineered electrics and engine management system. I once installed aftermarket door speakers in a modern Japanese supermini, and the door cards were made of pressed plastic and behind them the door panel itself was made of what appeared to be wafer-thin tin. I did the same to my Polo GTi manufactured in the same year, and the corresponding door card was made out of a super-dense fibreboard with a plastic and fabric external covering and a medium-density foam internal filling to act as a sound dampener. Since the MkIII, Polo’s have been reliable and well built.

And now we’re on the MkIV, which is in fact approaching the end of its production cycle. With the next model scheduled to debut at the Geneva motor show later on this year, I wonder what we’ll say its contribution to the Polo legacy has been. Will we say ‘since the MkIV, Polo’s have been economical and environmentally responsible? The Polo BlueMotion would have it so. With a 1.4l diesel engine which returns up to 72mpg while outputting just 99 grams of CO2, it’s certainly possible.

One thing is for sure though, right now, with a new version on the horizon, there are some exceptional deals to be had throughout the current Polo range. From humble beginnings, the current Polo has evolved into a sophisticated and distinguished car.

Half way through the Polo Cup India 2010, Sailesh Bolisetti emerged as the leader in the Championship standings. The 22 year old driver from Vizag displayed some spectacular skills and learnings in all the races so far, both on the street track in Pune and the race track in Coimbatore, earning him Championship leader position with 188 points after 3 rounds of the Polo Cup.

The 3rd round of the Polo Cup India 2010 at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore was witness to two thrilling races on Sunday. Sailesh Bolisetti, the young lad from Vizag, won the 1st race and placed 2nd in the 2nd race of Round 3 of the Polo Cup India 2010. Sailesh was also the winner of both the races of the inaugural race on May 30 in Pune. After a minor setback in Round 2 of the Polo Cup, Sailesh Bolisetti is back with a bang, displaying some impressive driving skills and a clear understanding of his Race Volkswagen Polo and the Coimbatore race track.

Chennai driver, Vishnu Prasad, drove hard this weekend, to clinch a 2nd place on the podium after race 1 of Round 3, and has managed to retain his No 2 position in the overall standings with a total of 163 points, just 25 points behind Sailesh.

Winning the Race 2 of Round 3, the 17-year old, Kolhapur racer, Parth Ghorpade has driven his way into the top 3 with total of 151 points. The young racer is close on the heels with of 2nd placed Chennai racer, Vishnu Prasad, just 12 points behind him. Parth did equally well in the Round 2 of the Polo Cup, placing 3rd in the Race 2 of Round 2 in Coimbatore.

Commercial pilot, Karthik Shankar, after an incredible Round 2 of the Polo Cup, tried hard to sustain his success but finished 6th & 10th in the two rcaes. The young racer still stands a bright chance to bounce back in the coming races with 146 points. Sahil Shelar rounds of the top 5 with a total of 140 points.

Next race will be at Irungattukottai Race Track, Chennai on 25th and 26th of September, 2010. Spectators can look forward to a thrilling race because of the close championship standings. Please find below the latest Championship standings after Round 2 of Polo Cup India 2010, as well as the podium results from the 2 races:

Volkswagen Polo is the impressive car and it is available in both versions petrol as well as diesel. The diesel engine of Volkswagen Polo comes within the three variants with the capacity of 1.2 L. this diesel variants is the very economical on the roads and offer the great mileage of 16kmpl in the city and 20kmpl on the highway.

Volkswagen Polo is available in two petrol engines of 1.2L and comes with the 5 Speed Manual Transmissions.  It is a very fuel efficient and provides the mileage of 12 kmpl in the city and 16.5kmpl on the highway. The some Volkswagen Polo variants present in the Indian market are

Volkswagen Polo Petrol Trend line 1.2L Features: it is the base variant of Volkswagen Polo and comes with the all basic features like AC, Central Locking, Power Steering, Front Power Widows, Halogen Headlamps, Chrome Finished Gear Shift Knob and Interior Door Handles etc. This Volkswagen Polo Price in Delhi is around 4, 44,734.

Volkswagen Polo Petrol Comfort line 1.2L Features: This variant is equipped with few additional features like Metallic Pearl Effect Paint, Body Colored ORVMs, 60/40 Split Folding Rear Seat, Luggage Compartment Cover/Parcel Tray, Front and Rear Power Windows, Height Adjustable Driver’s Seat, etc. This Volkswagen Polo Price in Delhi is around Rs. 4, 95,949.

Volkswagen Polo Petrol High line 1.2L Features: it is the more advanced variant and accompanied with the features like 15inch Alloy Wheels, Chrome Interior Trims, Livon Upholstery and Fabric Door Trim, ABS, Dual Front Airbags, Front & Rear Fog Lamps, Rear Wiper and Defogger, Multifunctional Display, Door Open Warning, etc. This Volkswagen Polo Price in Delhi is around Rs. 5, 85,916.

Volkswagen Polo Diesel Trend line 1.2L Features: It is the standard diesel variant and has almost similar features like Volkswagen Polo Petrol Trend line 1.2L offers. This Volkswagen Polo Price in Delhi is 5, 49,163 around. Volkswagen Polo Diesel Highline 1.2L Features: It is the top end model and offers the same features like Volkswagen Polo Petrol High line 1.2L This Volkswagen Polo Price in Delhi is around Rs. 6, 86,270.

Volkswagen Polo Petrol Highline 1.6L Features:  This is the sports version of Volkswagen Polo which is accompanied with the high capacity of engine and delivers the great performance. Other features of the car are just similar to the Volkswagen Polo Petrol Highline. This Volkswagen Polo Price in Delhi is around Rs. 6, 16,000.

These are the estimated on-road prices of Volkswagen Polo, to confirm the price visit to the online car stores.

Unlike Maruti or Chevy, Volkswagen is not a well known car maker in India. Before the polo, it has smaller presence in the Indian market. To be honest, many Indian customers don’t know Skoda and Audi are part of Volkswagen group (thanks to clear branding). Yet, Polo is house hold name in India. The roadblocks and extensive PR activity has done wonders for Polo and Volkswagen. Volkswagen has crafted the branding exercise exceptionally now its the time to actually perform. Volkswagen has finally launched the Polo in India. The most hyped car and the car which has won ECOTY (European Car Of The Year) is here. We check out how polo fares in the Indian context Test Drive From Mumbai to Pune Via Amby Valley

Styling Polo is simply pleasing! the segment buyers cannot take the decisions on their own, it should be a collective one. The car should be acceptable to all the family members. Sure, with its neat styling Polo would please all. The blend of modern and conservative lines makes the polo very attractive. For the Indian version, Volkswagen has added lotsa chrome – in the front grille and the headlamps. Design The sharp edged headlamps and the prominent grille gives the polo a sporty profile. The side is characterized by taut lines. Volkswagen design team is said to have insisted on having alloy wheels on all variants. Even the base end variant – Polo comfortline (in the picture) comes with aloy wheels. At the rear, the VW logo stands out, even from a distance you can spot-on the polo. Sadly,the tail lamps reminds me of old Maruti Zen.

Engine Two three potters – 1.2L petrol and 1.2L diesel are the engine options for the Volkswagen Polo. 1.2L gasoline is the same unit which powers the Skoda Fabia and it produces 75PS of peak power at 5400rpm and 110Nm of peak torque at 3750rpm. The oil burner which displaces 1200cc develops an identical of 75Ps of max powere at 4200rpm but a higher 180Nm of peak torque at 2000rpm. The diesel unit is a toned down version of Fabia’s unit to avail the small car excise duty. Both the engines are coupled with 5-speed manual transmission. The volkswagen team has said an automatic variant of Polo is on the cards. Performance and Fuel Efficiency We test driven the Polo diesel much longer than the Polo petrol. But that’s not the only reason i’m inclined to Polo diesel than petrol. The 1.2L diesel is responsive and has enough grunt throughout the power range. As typical of any modern diesels, the turbo kicks-in only after 1800rpm and engine comes to life only thereafter. But it has strong midrange and more surprisingly impressive top end too. We managed to hit a maximum speed of 160kmph. Polo petrol Coming to the Polo petrol, 1.2L barely manages to pull the polo. You have work between third and fourth gears to overtake a truck.

There is not much room for spirited driving. Also it is not that refined as one would expect from a Volkswagen. As per Arai, the fuel efficiency of Polo petrol is 17.2kmpl and the mileage figure for polo diesel is yet to be revealed. Suspession and Tyres Our test drive polo runs on larger 185/60 R15 tyres which is standard for top end Polo highline variant. Polo trendline and comfortline sports 175/60 R14 tubeless radials. The disc brakes at the front and drum at the rear are standard. The lower variants which lacks ABS tend to lock-up under heavy braking but stopping distance is impressive.

Handling The hairpin curves on the way to Lonavala could be the best place to test the handling characteristics of Polo. Like the punto, the polo chassis runs on much powerful engines in Europe. It caters the 1.2L with ease. But the electrical power steering is lighter which is a boon in tight traffic conditions and parking, but even at high speeds it fails to gain weight. Polo is nimble and sporty. The enthusiasm of polo driver cannot be stopped by the spiral roads. Polo moves with confidence and the handling is just about perfect. Only the best handling machines like Fiat Punto and Maruti Swift pose a challenge here. Volkswagen Polo

Some things on Planet Earth just seem to exude a natural kind of effortless class and effervescence; I, however, am not one of them. Every morning I wake up looking like a bag of chips, get out of bed and trip over my slippers. It turns out that I am as elegant as a severely injured Water Buffalo and about as presentable as one. I know on some authority, that I am not the only human being who feels this way, in fact I would say about three quarters of the Western world are similarly inflicted by the ‘Morning Effect’. What I and people of my ilk require, is to encase ourselves in something that makes us look and feel better; a kind of shell of pure cool and class. Please join me in saying a big “thank you” to Volkswagen for inventing the Polo then.
The legacy of the VW Polo’s popularity is essentially threefold; you have the reliable engineering, affordable running costs and then there is the ‘cool factor’. A few years ago the cool factor would have been the only thing a large portion of consumers would have considered when buying a car, but the global economic climate has altered that irrevocably. Now the buying public are squeezing every penny and ensuring they get the maximum amount of quality for the minimum amount of expenditure. This is where a car like the Polo really begins to stand out from the crowd.
The Supermini market is saturated with all kinds of manufacturers, all vying to create the vehicle that will dominate in a lucrative sense as well as winning over the hearts and minds of the critics. Like every competition in life; some succeed and some fail. During the VW Polo’s 30 year existence it has changed aesthetically as well as mechanically, but has retained that seemingly effortless class that is still associated with the brand. Ask yourself this; how has it managed to achieve this?
Let me put this dilemma to you in another way. During the 1970′s your average man could be seen walking down any high street, adorned in an luminous polyester shirt, corduroy flares and a waistcoat decorated with a pattern that could have easily belonged on your great grandmother’s bedroom curtains. At the time, this man would have been considered ‘cool’, as he would clearly be hitting the wave of the (albeit hideous) fashion zeitgeist. In the present day, this man would be labelled a fool and castigated roundly by everyone in his periphery. He may even be sectioned under the Mental Health Act. The crux of my point is that fads and trends very rarely age well. The VW Polo has maintained its popularity by evolving with the times, whilst maintaining that traditional standard of immense reliability and cost-effective motoring.
Whilst driving the VW Polo, I felt liberated. Not to the point where I would remove my clothing and dance in a field with a gaggle of maidens in a drum circle, but slightly removed from the humdrum of my existence. I felt, to put it rather bluntly, better about being me. I felt swathe, sophisticated and considerably cooler than I did as I fell out of bed that very morning. My identity had been adopted, adapted and improved by the metallic shell of moving parts I was sat in. It was around this time I had my epiphany of sorts.
Never before had I bought into the myths and pratfalls of fashion. I have always been perfectly happy staying well away from trends, as they have absolutely nothing to do with a man like me, but just for a brief moment I knew how those who are constantly chasing fashion feel. The knowledge that you are slightly more ‘on the button’ than the majority of those around you is a huge spirit-lifter and one that can easily give birth to a terrible superiority complex. Those who work in the fashion industry can often seem horribly conceited and self-absorbed (and I’m sure virtually all of them are) but I would highly recommend stepping into the world of stylish superiority every once in a while and for me, that is as achievable as driving a Volkswagen Polo.

Volkswagen’s Polo. There’s something just that little bit special about it. Those clever men and women behind such iconic and era defining vehicles as the Beetle and the Golf GTi certainly have a knack for making compact cars. When the air-cooled engine of the beetle became superseded by more modern, water-cooled powerplants, and when the Golf began to grow bloated and put on weight with each successive iteration, the engineers at VW found themselves once again with a supermini-shaped hole and without a supermini-shaped peg to plug it with.
Cue the Polo. Legend has it, marketing chiefs at Volkswagen chose the name ‘Polo’ because, like ‘Golf’, it is a sport widely associated with a social upper-class; and while the original Mk1 Polo may have looked up rather than lived up to those lofty connotations, I can happily inform you that the opposite is in fact true of the current model.
I don’t mean to imply that the new Polo has suddenly appeared, well-built and sophisticated, after so many years of mediocrity within an oversaturated market. Rather, the car before us today is the product of those many years devoted to refining the original car.
That’s not to say that it’s been an entirely plush ride either: the engineers from Wolfsburg seemingly ignored some of basic principles of automotive design and construction when they built their third sub-compact car, however today’s Polo stands testament to both the successes the marque has enjoyed, and also to those failings suffered over the course of its lifetime. From the woeful build quality of the cars first off the production line, to the exhilaration of the record-breaking, supercharged MkII G40 variant; the current car really does feel like it has learned from every lesson.
My first ever experience of driving a car was in a first-generation Polo. I drove figure-eights in a good friends field and in spite of the fact that under my command the universal joint on the steering column failed, we remain friends to this day. Even with my youthful exuberance, I found it hard to find merit in the car. Most people, when asked to recall their first driving experience, talk of the liberty and exhilaration of the experience. I on the other hand, am more likely to mention the cramped interior or the sluggish 1100cc engine. Bear in mind these are the observations of a fifteen year old!
But each time the Polo had a makeover or a revision, the same Volkswagen engineers that had fumbled the ball during the car’s initial production, found ways to make up for their miscalculations. And they kinda over compensated…
The MkII G40 I mentioned earlier displaced just 1300cc but generated 115bhp. It reached 62mph in an impressive 8.1 seconds and could achieve a top speed of 122mph. Since the G40, Polo’s have been quick.
The MkIIIF had an entirely galvanised body and chassis mated with an over-engineered electrics and engine management system. I once installed aftermarket door speakers in a modern Japanese supermini, and the door cards were made of pressed plastic and behind them the door panel itself was made of what appeared to be wafer-thin tin. I did the same to my Polo GTi manufactured in the same year, and the corresponding door card was made out of a super-dense fibreboard with a plastic and fabric external covering and a medium-density foam internal filling to act as a sound dampener. Since the MkIII, Polo’s have been reliable and well built.
And now we’re on the MkIV, which is in fact approaching the end of its production cycle. With the next model scheduled to debut at the Geneva motor show later on this year, I wonder what we’ll say its contribution to the Polo legacy has been. Will we say ‘since the MkIV, Polo’s have been economical and environmentally responsible? The Polo BlueMotion would have it so. With a 1.4l diesel engine which returns up to 72mpg while outputting just 99 grams of CO2, it’s certainly possible.
One thing is for sure though, right now, with a new version on the horizon, there are some exceptional deals to be had throughout the current Polo range. From humble beginnings, the current Polo has evolved into a sophisticated and distinguished car.

The Volkswagen Polo is one of the elder statesmen of the Supermini market; remaining stoic in its refusal to disappear from forecourts across the land. After over 30 years on our roads, the Polo is still seen on every high street the length and breadth of the country. It’s available in hatchback, coupé and estate variants so everyone is catered for. However, as Bob Dylan once perceptively announced, the times they are a’ changing. With so many young pretenders snapping at Polo’s well-trodden heels, how is it going to remain a petrol head favourite?
No longer the baby of the Volkswagen fleet (following the introduction of the Lupo in 1998 and then the Fox in 2004), the Polo now sits in a slightly odd position in between the entry level model and the higher spec Golf. New drivers will opt for the lower end models, whilst the more adventurous will jump straight to the Golf. It would appear to the untrained eye that Volkswagen are putting the squeeze on their own product. Are VW struggling to find a suitable niche for the Polo?
Let’s take a look at the competition. The sporty-looking Seat Ibiza skips into view like a Spanish waiter with itchy under-garments, the Vauxhall Corsa stalks nearby like a Huntsman Spider and the ever-present Ford Fiesta reinvents itself more than Madonna does. That goes without mentioning the Fiats, the Toyotas and the Hondas, all of which are turning heads and gaining notoriety within the Supermini circles. To stay afloat the Polo will have to keep well ahead of the curve.
In a purely aesthetic sense, the Polo doesn’t disappoint. The evolved looks cannot hide the treasured Volkswagen lineage, the curvy body updated to keep up with the Joneses whilst remaining distinctly ‘VW’. In relative terms the Polo is akin to an aging aunty with a keen desire to look 17 again; perhaps a nip here and tuck there and she’ll nearly be there… nearly. But would you want to be seen with her? Well, as a matter of fact, yes you would…if she was a Polo…which she’s not…but you understand what I mean…sort of. The point is that the Polo has retained the understated good looks and style that have maintained its popularity since its 1975 inception. The favourite chunky, boxy body has been smoothed out for modern taste, but is still unmistakably the ‘Volkswagen Look’.
Performance-wise the Polo is never going to reinvent the wheel, but no present or prospective Polo owners would expect it to. The whole Volkswagen shtick is reliability, sturdiness and a bit of oomph occasionally. The Polo E’s punchy engine is extremely responsive for a base model and is backed by excellent handling and an intuitive suspension system that will iron out the bumpiest of city streets or pot-hole ridden country roads.
The tired old cliché of efficient German engineering will be trotted out here, but there isn’t a single nuance of frivolity to be found on the whole car; everything is functional, because if it wasn’t it wouldn’t be on the car. A simple/basic concept has been applied to the designing of the Polo, ensuring that quality takes a huge precedent over quantity. Apply this logic to German beers if you will; never the tastiest of beverages and often more expensive than the other beers, but you always seem to get drunker quicker if you choose the Bavarian way. That, my friends, is efficiency.
The real feather in the Polo’s cap is the way it has effortlessly straddled and conquered the most pressing social issues of the day. The Polo’s extremely low running costs combat the current economic burial pit we find ourselves in, whilst remaining kind to the environment with impressively low Co2 emissions. So whether you’re a financially doomed merchant banker or a earth-loving hippy, you’re unlikely to be annoyed by seeing this car on the road.
The future looks uncertain for the VW Polo; the competition is mounting like a hungry pack of wolves, but for the time being it remains near the top of the supermini pyramid in both popularity and performance stakes. Whether it stays there for much longer is another matter.