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By
EWAN KENNEDY
16 April 2007
When we heard that the little VW Polo turbo-diesel had taken out the
prize for Australia's Best Small car as judged by the motoring
associations we booked ourselves into one for test. Something that we
certainly didn’t regret because our recent week in one has reminded us
just how much German car you can buy for a pretty reasonable $22,990.
That may not sound as cheap as the lowest cost cars from Asia,
but Polo is aimed at a different class of buyer and, amongst other
things, carries the security of a four-star rating in European
NCAP testing.
These days the Volkswagen Polo can be used as a family car if
the kids are in their pre-teen years. That’s because it’s now
as big as previous generation VW Golfs. Luggage space is more
likely to be the limiting factor than rear-seat space, but it’s
better than average for this class and there's always the choice
of folding down the seats’ backrests if you aren't carrying the
full complement of passengers.
The front seats are pretty large for a car of this size and
support reasonably well. Some may find them on the hard side,
others are happy with the feel.
The engine in the Polo TDI is a refined unit in the manner of
the latest generation common-rail diesel powerplants. It’s not
as smooth or refined as a petrol engine and the diesel clatter at
idle is fairly pronounced, particularly from outside the car.
Being turbocharged means there's some lag before the engine
comes on song, following that there's a strong surge in torque and
the Polo really gets up and shifts from 2000 revs onwards. Its all
over by about 4500 rpm as the redline approaches. If you’re
driving the Polo gently it’s happy to hold onto high gears at
low revs, but if you want sporty performance you will need to work
at the gearbox.
Consumption of diesel by the Polo during our test period
averaged 6.5 litres per hundred kilometres overall. Fuel usage was
about 4.5 to 5.0 litres in motorway and light-duty country
running. But climbed significantly to seven to eight litres per
hundred in suburban use.
Ride comfort is very good and the Polo isn’t troubled by
rough outback roads. Tyre noise is less than on many other
Europeans, though there are times when coarse-chip surfaces do
create quite a lot of unpleasant sound.
Handling is generally good. Drive the car correctly and it
feels nicely balanced, with good steering precision and plenty of
feedback through the steering wheel and the seat of the pants.
Understeer is there at the limit and is aggravated by the extra
mass of the diesel engine, so this little VW really isn’t a
sporting model. If the driver tends to be on the harsh side the
understeer seems to be really enhanced.
Like all Volkswagens, the Polo has a solid feel that really
appeals and signals the likelihood of long life with few, if any
problems. Materials show some signs of having been chosen to keep
costs down but keep in mind that this car does sit well down in
the price list of the prestigious German car marque. Build quality
is high, though not quite to the very high standards seen on
fully-imported Japanese cars in this class.
If you live in an area where parking is tight and you need a
sensible car that’s economical to run the Volkswagen Polo should
certainly sit on your list of possible choices.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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