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It always amazes me how efficient the Germans are. While settling in to see Grand Designs the other day, I saw an entire house built in a Bavarian factory, shipped to England and built in three days, all error-free and of course to a premium finish. It’s the same story with the sport, I bet Michael Schumacher could return to the Formula One paddock, shake Lewis Hamilton’s hand before demolishing him on the track, without breaking a sweat.
German cars are no different and a perfect microcosm of this can be found with a look at the Volkswagen Polo. Surprisingly, this car has been with us for 33 years and is as popular today as the first model in 1975, which sold more than 500,000 units worldwide in just six years. Originally a rebranded Audi 50, the Polo was sold alongside its Audi counterpart, but was cheaper to buy. Unsurprisingly, the Polo outsold its identical twin and Audi halted production of the 50.
Encouraged by its success, a raised-face Polo appeared in 1979, with subtle styling changes to align the Baby Polo with the existing Jetta Saloon design (this included square headlights on the high-end ‘Derby’ derivative). VW intended this to act as a stopgap solution until the Mk II Polo arrived in 1981.
It’s fair to say that Porsche is often criticized for having a lazy design studio – the 911 has, after all, looked nearly identical for 40 years, but Volkswagen made quite a punch by clinching the title in 1981. The Mk II Polo was essentially identical to its predecessor, although crucially what it lacked in styling originality, it more than made up for in build quality and reliability. While its main rivals the Renault 5, Fiat Uno and Austin Metro have long gone to the big junkyard in the sky, the Mk II Polo is still found in abundance on the roads of Britain.
Built until 1994, the Mk II also allowed Volkswagen to pioneer new technology, notably a G-supercharged engine that would later become the basis for the one found in the Corrado and Golf. As with the Mk I, the second-generation Polo received a subtle facelift in 1990 for the last four years of production. Despite the new headlights and bumpers, it still bore an almost identical resemblance to the original 1975 model. One notable feature, however, was the introduction of a removable cassette / stereo unit, allowing for increased safety and was a hit with buyers and is now obsolete with all car audio units.
1994 finally saw a significant update to the Polo. Available in 3-door and 5-door hatchback versions, the car sat on a new chassis shared in part with the SEAT Ibiza (VW also owns SEAT) and the Polo’s older brother, the Golf. There were eight different engines available, the largest option so far in the Polo range and a more contemporary styling was also offered. The turn of the millennium saw mandatory facelift with 70% of the components being changed, although this was not externally visible. The car certainly continued the tradition of being better built and having a more luxurious feel than its rivals and it sold well. It also won several awards, including Best ‘Supermini’ from Top Gear, Auto Express, and Which? in the late nineties.
The Mk IV Polo was launched in 2002 and built on the heritage of its predecessors. Sharing once again a platform with the SEAT Ibiza and additionally the Skoda Fabia, the appearance of the Polo changed dramatically, with quad headlights similar to the smaller Lupo featured in the new design. No fewer than 11 different engine options were available, each with different trim levels to complement. Despite the initial promise, the Mk IV did not sell as well as previous Polo Shirts and performed poorly in many customer satisfaction surveys, including high-profile ones such as those conducted by Top Gear.
With this in mind, the Mk IV was redesigned in 2005 and is the model found on the roads today. Subtle exterior changes were made to make the car again share the design flair of others in the Volkswagen range, particularly the Passat, and the interior components were redesigned in light of previous reviews. The latest model is the Polo Bluemotion, specifically designed to be more environmentally friendly, by reducing vehicle weight, electronic equipment and engine emissions.
Reliability and value for money continue to be the standout features of the Polo, although there is no doubt that the latest model is a very stylish-looking vehicle. The best way to sum up this car is to steal the phrase from the German company itself: “small but tough.”