Volkswagen Polo
The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car produced by the German car manufacturer Volkswagen since 1975. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, and estate variants throughout its production run. As of 2018, six separate generations of the Polo had been produced, usually identified by a "Series" or "Mark" number.
Some generations were facelifted midway through production, with the updated versions known unofficially by an addition of the letter F to the mark number, e.g., Mk2F. Some members of the automotive press and some enthusiasts consider the facelifts to be separate models, so have used the unofficial designations Polo Mk1 to Mk7 for previous generations. Each Polo model is also identified by a two- or three-character Volkswagen Group Typ number. Official VW Polo history describes Mark I to Mark IV using either Roman numerals or Arabic numerals, with facelifted variants known as "Phase II" models. The body style has been varied through the life of the car, originally as a hatchback, which derived from the Audi 50. A saloon version was marketed as the Volkswagen Derby.
Volkswagen vehicles built on different platforms have carried the Polo nameplate. For example, the Volkswagen Polo Playa hatchback sold in Southern Africa in the late 1990s was a rebadged SEAT Ibiza, which has a different body shell from the Polo Mk3 sold in Europe at the same time. Starting in 1982, Volkswagen sold the Polo in Japan initially through an agreement with Japanese dealership Yanase that specializes in European and North American vehicles. Of all Volkswagens imported into Japan, only the Polo and the Golf, complied with Japanese government dimension regulations until the introduction of the VW Up! in 2012.
Related models
The first Polo was a rebadged version of the Audi 50 hatchback launched in August 1974. The Audi 50 was discontinued in 1978, as Audi concentrated on larger luxury models. The Mk1 and Mk2 versions of the Polo were then standalone models in the Volkswagen range.With the expansion of the Volkswagen Group: Audi, SEAT, and Škoda were acquired, and the platform used for the Polo was shared with other models.
The Polo shared its platform with the SEAT Ibiza Mk2. The Ibiza was actually launched before the Polo Mk3 and shared essentially all its mechanicals, the dashboard, and other interior components, although no body panels were shared between the two cars. The saloon and estate versions of the Polo Mk3 were actually rebadged SEAT Córdoba models and had no body panels in common with the Polo hatchback. The SEAT Inca and Volkswagen Caddy vans were also based on this model. The Volkswagen Lupo and SEAT Arosa were also based on a shortened version of the Polo Mk3 platform.
The Polo Mk4 continued this trend of platform sharing, with the SEAT Ibiza Mk3 and Škoda Fabia Mk1 and Mk2 both being developed on the same platform and featuring several of the same engines.
The 2009 Polo Mk5 is developed on the latest platform, known as the PQ25, the same platform used in the SEAT Ibiza Mk4 that was launched in 2008 and the Audi A1.
Body styles
The first Polos were hatchbacks, with the saloon being marketed as the Volkswagen Derby.With the release of the Polo Mk2, the saloon was renamed the Volkswagen Polo Classic' and the "conventional"-styled hatchback was renamed as a coupé, the Volkswagen Polo Coupé. Unusually, the third body that was actually marketed as the Volkswagen Polo Hatchback was closer in concept to a small estate, albeit with exactly the same wheelbase and floor pan as the coupé instead of the saloon. This latter version, also known as the squareback, amongst other nicknames, was the most popular in virtually every country where the Polo was sold. Despite the differences in silhouette and target market segment, all body types were two- or three-door only.
From the Polo Mk3 onwards, the range was more straightforwardly conventional, including unambiguous "saloon", "hatchback", and "estate" models, with only the hatchback offering both five-door and slightly shorter three-door models, the others being four or five-door only and increasing in length from hatch to saloon to estate.
Summary
- Three-door hatchback – the Mk2 and Mk2F were available in two separate three-door hatchback styles, one of which was badged as a coupé.
- Two-door saloon
- Four-door saloon
- Five-door hatchback
- Five-door estate
- Five-door crossover SUV-style hatchback
Mechanical layout
Early versions used a four-speed manual transmission, whilst the current car is available with either six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic transmission. The suspension system on all models uses a fully independent MacPherson strut front suspension, and a twist-beam rear suspension. Most models use disc brakes at the front and rear drum brakes, although some recent models have all-round disc brakes.
First generation (86; 1975)
The first-generation Polo, a rebadged version of the Audi 50, was introduced in 1975 and was produced until October 1981. It was also called the Volkswagen Derby. By 1979, 500,000 Polos were produced worldwide. It shared the internal designation Typ 86 with the Audi 50.The differences between the Audi and Volkswagen models were minor, with the Polo being cheaper and much more basic. The two cars were initially sold alongside each other, but the Audi 50 never sold as well, and was withdrawn in 1978. The Polo was manufactured at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg.
The manufacturer let it be known that Bertone had been involved in the styling of the Polo and its Audi sibling, although the car was essentially an in-house Audi design, with the Italian design studio's contribution restricted to the circular extractor vent cover at the base of the C pillar, and the small "flick-up" at the rear end of the waistline.
In 1977, the Derby saloon was released, which was simply a Polo, identical to the hatchback from the C-pillar forward, with a large boot attached.
The Mark 1 Polo and Derby were facelifted in 1979 with plastic bumpers, a different front grille, and a revised dashboard. The round headlights of the Derby were replaced with square ones, bringing it in line with the similar Golf-based Jetta saloon.
Second generation (86C; 1981)
The Polo Mk2 was introduced in October 1981, with the major change being the introduction of a third body style with a steep rear window, in addition to a version resembling the original Mk1 shape with a diagonal rear window. The original body style was simply called the Volkswagen Polo without a suffix in most markets while the more traditional design was typically marketed as the Polo Coupé - although in fact, both were three-door hatchbacks. In some markets, the steilheck design was designated a Wagon. The saloon version received the name Volkswagen Derby, although it later became the Polo Sedan. Production was expanded to Spain in the mid-1980s following Volkswagen's takeover of SEAT. By 1983, the one-millionth Polo was produced. The second million were produced by 1986.The Polo competed in the supermini sector with its new rivals such as the Austin Metro and Ford Fiesta, and it was one of the largest superminis in production at this time, meaning that it was close to larger cars, including the Ford Escort in terms of size, space, and price. Within two years of its launch, however, it was faced with competition from a wave of new rivals, particularly the Fiat Uno and Peugeot 205.
The Polo Mk2 was used extensively by Volkswagen to develop future innovations, for example supercharging with a 40-mm G-Lader supercharger in the GT G40 version. A 60-mm G-Lader would later be used on the larger and more technically challenging G60 engine used in the Golf and Corrado.
A fuel-efficient two-cylinder diesel was prototyped in the mid-1980s with a G40 supercharger to overcome its small capacity, although this did not enter production. A high fuel-efficiency model that did make production was the petrol-engined Formel E, introduced at the launch in 1981 with a 1.1-litre engine and from 1983 with a 1.3-litre engine, overdrive top-gear ratio and an early stop-start ignition system, which would cut the engine when idle for more than two seconds to save fuel whilst temporarily stopped in traffic, and restart the engine on moving the gear lever to the left in neutral.
Similar systems were later used on the Volkswagen Golf Mk3 and various systems from other car manufacturers.
It was a popular import in the UK, competing with the likes of the Peugeot 205, Fiat Uno, and Nissan Micra. While of an outdated design, its reliability and build quality were among the best to be found on a small car of this era. In the years since then, it went on to achieve a higher survival rate than many of its competitors.
However, some engines were only available on certain markets. For example, the British market never received any diesel-engined versions of the Polo, though the diesel engine was already available on many similar cars by the end of the 1980s, namely the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Nova, and Peugeot 205.
Facelift (1990–1994)
The Mark II Facelift was a far-reaching facelift of the MkII, including a reskin of the bodywork, launched in the autumn of 1990. The new look had square headlights, enlarged and reshaped taillights, bigger bumpers, and a new interior. The three different body styles were maintained. Under the skin, the car received modifications to the chassis, suspension, and brakes, as well as the cosmetic differences. The new Polo retained the previous four-cylinder engines, but now as well as the carburetted 1.0-litre, a fuel-injected model was available with single-point injection, and all engines came with a catalytic converter as standard to combat tightening European emissions regulations. The saloon was only produced in Spain, and production ceased in 1992 due to disappointing sales.At the time of launch of the Mark IIF Polo, the highest-performance model was the Polo GT. This featured a multipoint fuel-injected version of the 1272-cc engine, and a top speed more than 100 mph. This produced and had a quoted top speed of. Times for 0–60 stood at 11.1 seconds. The defining features of the GT include red piping in the bumpers, black overhead cloth, a tachometer, and a red "GT" badge in the grille. This was succeeded by the launch of the G40 in May 1991, displacing the GT as the most powerful Polo at the time, with a top speed around 120 mph – rivalling the likes of the Ford Fiesta XR2i, Peugeot 205 GTI, and Renault Clio 16v.
Soon after the launch of the Mark IIF, another sporting model was added to the range — a new version of the supercharged G40, now as a full production model in all markets rather than the limited batch of Mark II G40s. As with the previous model, Volkswagen Motorsport modified G40 Cup cars were sold for racing in a one-make series, the Volkswagen Polo G40 Cup. Features that define the G40 from other Polo models at the time include a bee-sting aerial, BBS cross-spoke alloy wheels, Le Mans interior trim, and front and rear red "G40" badges.