The Volkswagen Polo has been one of SA’s success stories for many years, more specifically the Volkswagen Polo Vivo model lineup.
There is however a Polo model you don’t see as often on our roads which is the Polo Classic (Polo Sedan)
I sampled one a few days ago and let me tell you I was impressed
The styling reminds me of the Volkswagen Jetta 6 which was a pretty good looking car, some might disagree. The interior styling is on par with Volkswagens latest design language.
The interior has a solid feel to it, but there is an abundance of hard plastics. The plastics are textured in such a way that it does not feel cheap. Seating is comfortable with loads of leg room in the front and at the back. The fact that it is a sedan also makes for additional luggage capacity over the Polo Hatch derivatives, the boot capacity comes in at 521 litres which is massive.
The drive is compliant and solid, but performance is not on the menu. The 1.6 naturally aspirated petrol engine performs well for what it is, but when you are used to even the small petrol turbo engines you might be disappointed. However, if you compare the performance to a similarly equipped small sedan like a Hyundai Accent, the Polo would outperform it.
The naturally aspirated 1.6 Petrol produces 81kW and 152Nm
Fuel Consumption is a respectable 6.2 litres per 100km on the combined driving cycle.
The target market for the Polo Classic is a bit difficult to pinpoint. I would suppose if one loves sedans it would make sense, but the market is flooded with SUV’s in all shapes and sizes. An SUV just makes a bit more sense if you consider the raised ride height and residual values over a sedan.
Overall, it’s a great contender in the compact sedan segment but for the price most would likely go the SUV route.
Pricing stars of at around R340,700 for the Polo Sedan and goes up to R369,900 for the Polo Sedan Life both manual transmissions and R391,200 for the range topping Life Tiptronic (Auto)
The Sedan gets 16inch steel wheels, LED Headlights, Power adjustable Mirrors, PDC, Multi Functional Steering Wheel and Mobile phone interface
The Life variant in addition gets 16inch alloys, Rear Camera, Keyless Entry, Cruise Control, 10inch Multi Media Radio, Wireless Charging and Climate Control
All models get a 3 Year / 120,000km Warranty
12 Year Anti Corrosion Warranty
3 Year / 45,000km Service Plan
With 15,000km service intervals
By MurrayOnCars for CHANGECARS
