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By
EWAN KENNEDY
13 March 2006
Volkswagen's Polo in its latest format is
receiving a lot more attention in Australia than previous Polo models.
The chief reason is that is has grown up and is now as big as previous
generation VW Golfs. So much so that Australian visitors to Europe are
often surprised to find that Volkswagen also builds a smaller model than
the Polo. Called the Lupo it’s a tiny machine well suited to the cut
and thrust of European city traffic.
Additionally, the Polo range in
Australia has been greatly expanded and now includes an economical
turbo-diesel, the subject of this week’s road test. Many
European makers are selling diesel engines in large numbers on
their home markets and have recently extended that sales thrust to
the Australian scene. Our fuel is far cheaper than that in Europe
but the sudden price rises of mid-2005 have caused many Aussie
buyers to reconsider their needs in cars.
The Polo TDI turbo-diesel is priced
at only $22,990, making it the lowest cost diesel car you can buy.
Fuel consumption is officially rated at just 5.0 litres per
hundred kilometres on a combined city/country driving cycle. We
found this a bit optimistic in real driving conditions, during our
test period, consumption averaged 6.5 litres per hundred
kilometres overall, with the consumption generally sitting around
the 4.5 to 5.0 litre mark in motorway running.
Before rushing out to buy a diesel
car, bear in mind that you pay quite a bit more to purchase it,
and in Australia diesel fuel is much more expensive than petrol.
It will take a long time to recoup your initial outlay.
Resale values on diesel cars were
once a little suspect, but these days there are so many diesels in
the market that this situation is changing rapidly. Given that
diesel engines usually last even longer than petrol units we may
actually see a movement to diesels holding their values better
than petrol units. No promises though…
The engine in the Polo TDI is a
refined unit, however, it’s not as smooth or quiet as a petrol
engine and the diesel rattle at idle is fairly pronounced, more so
from outside the car than in.
Being turbocharged means there's
some lag before the engine comes on song, following that there's a
great surge in torque and the little car really gets up and shifts
from 2000rpm onwards. Its all over by about 4500rpm when the
engine first starts to lose power, then eventually hits its
limiter. 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 need to change down and row it along with the gearbox.
This is quite a spacious car with
good room for four adults if they don’t mind a little compromise
on legroom. The boot is well shaped and can carry decent loads.
This Volkswagen could be used as a family car, but is more likely
to appeal to couples on their own, or with a small child. If you
live in crowded inner-city areas the ease of parking will
certainly appeal.
Ride comfort is very good and the
Polo isn’t generally fazed by rough bush roads. Tyre noise is
less than on many other Europeans, though there are times when
coarse-chip surfaces do set up a bit of a racket.
Handling is generally good, with
less understeer than in Polo models of the past. Drive the car
well and it feels nicely balanced, with good steering precision
and plenty of feedback through the steering wheel and the seat of
the pants.
Like all Volkswagens, the Polo has
a solid feel that really appeals to Australian buyers. In this
country we’ve loved Volkswagens since the days when the Beetle
was built here and was a huge seller. That love went away for a
while due to the high cost of buying the little German cars, but
the introduction of very affordable models, the Polo range starts
at just $16,990, is seeing a rapid rise in VW sales.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
Polo Club 1.4-litre three-door hatch - $16,990
Polo Match 1.4-litre five-door hatch - $18,790
Polo TDI 1.9-litre turbo diesel five-door hatch - $22,990
Polo GTI 1.8-litre turbo three-door hatch - $26,990
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard on TDI and GTI, package option on other Club
and Match
Air Conditioning: Standard on all models
Automatic Transmission: Not offered on TDI and GTI, $2000 option
on Club, $1000 option on Match
CD Player: Standard on all models
Central Locking: Standard on all models
Cruise Control: Not offered on Club, standard on other models
Driver Airbag: Standard on all models
Passenger Airbag: Standard on all models
Front Side Airbags: Standard on GTI, package option on
other models
SPECIFICATIONS (Volkswagen Polo TDI 1.9-litre turbo diesel
five-door hatch)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.896 litres
Configuration: Transverse, four cylinders in line
Head Design: SOHC, two valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 19.0:1
Bore/Stroke: 79.5 x 95.5mm
Maximum Power: 74kW @ 4000rpm
Maximum Torque: 240Nm @ 1800-2400rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Five-speed
Automatic Transmission: Not offered
Final Drive Ratio: NA
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 3916mm
Wheelbase: 2465mm
Width: 1650mm
Height: 1467mm
Turning Circle: 10.6 metres
Kerb Mass: 1222kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 45 litres
Towing Ability: 540 kg (1200 kg with braked trailer)
MECHANICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
Front Suspension: Independent, MacPherson struts, coil springs,
anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Torsion beam, trailing arms, coil springs.
Front Brakes: Ventilated Disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 10.7 secs
Standing 400 Metres: 16.1 secs
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
City Cycle: 7.6 L/100km
Highway Cycle: 4.8 L/100km
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/100,000km
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Copyright Marque Publishing Company
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