The Volkswagen Polo first rolled off the production line in 1975, so it will have its 40th birthday next year. Since its launch over 14 million have been sold worldwide, with 721,000 sold last year. It is produced in seven plants around the world. Cars destined for the UK are built at Volkswagen’s factories in Pamplona, Spain and Uitenhage in South Africa. We asked Volkswagen which versions of the Polo are built where and the answer was that all versions are built in both plants. Therefore you could have two identical cars, same engine, same specification, same colour and they could have been assembled in either plant.

The new Polo has a redesigned bumper and a larger lower air intake. Some models get LED day running lights and are unmistakeable from a distance.The rear bumper emphasises a wider stance by having a wider cut-out for the number plate. The rear reflectors are now embedded in the bumper and the rear lights have been redesigned, so all-in-all not a lot to distinguish it from the current model.On the face of it the “new” Polo has not really changed very much. If you squint when you look at it you could easily miss the changes; Volkswagen tends to go for subtlety with their facelifts.

If you go under the bonnet, which most people don’t do, you will find a whole range of new, cleaner engines that are all EU6 emissions compliant. These new lower CO2 engines have efficiency gains of up to 21% over the old units. There are 3 different capacity petrol engines from a 1.0 to 1.4 with 5 different powers that range from 60ps up to 150ps.  There is just one capacity of diesel engine on offer, a 1.4, although there are two power outputs, either 75ps or 90ps. The all-important CO2 ranges from 88g/km for the diesel 75ps and goes up to 110g/km for both the 1.4 and 1.2 110ps petrol units.    

We drove the Polo from Munich in Germany, down through the forests, small pretty villages, past the mountains and alongside the splendid lakes. It’s a very attractive part of the world and so scenic. We tried most of engines and while they were all great, the one that really shone was the 1.0 litre 75ps, so quick, efficient and quiet. It was quite remarkable for such a small engine, in this size of car. It went up the hills with relative ease (and there are some fairly steep hills in Bavaria) and it cruised comfortably on the Autobahns at 130kph.

Models available in the UK are: S, S with Air Con, SE, SE Design, SEL and Blue GT. Customers in mainland Europe will also be offered the CrossPolo, which has a slightly raised ride height, roof rails, black bumpers and black plastic mouldings on the wheel arches and the lower part of the doors. It does look good and different from the standard Polo, but for some unknown reason Volkswagen UK has decided not to bring it into this country, they could well be missing an opportunity.

The new Polo has new and interesting features that are not normally offered on this size of car. The technology has been handed down from its larger relatives, such as the Passat and Golf. Everything new always starts with the most expensive cars and gradually filters down to the smaller ones, and this is exactly what has happened with Volkswagen. Everything is Modular and it is just the size that needs adapting.

The new offerings on the Polo include: adaptive cruise control, touchscreen with proximity sensors, hill hold, automatic post-collision braking system, driver alert system, front assist and city emergency braking and new Infotainment systems including “MirrorLink” which connects smart phones directly to the cars systems. It was all very complicated, but we tried it out and proved it worked. Mind you, many of these features are available at additional cost, not standard with the car.

The Polo is well put together, high quality throughout, and you really cannot fault it, but it is after all a Volkswagen.

Prices start from £11,100.00 OTR and go up to £19,715.00. My choice would be the SE 5 door 1.0 75ps which costs £13,590.00 OTR, and has CO2 of 108g/km and combined fuel consumption of 58.9mpg.  

First deliveries start in the UK from July.

Martin Ward, Manufacturer Relationship Manager