The Volkswagen Polo is not particularly fun to drive, or exciting for the eye. But it delivers German quality in a small package. It's amazing to think that this hatchback has been with us for 40 years, almost as long as the Golf. Yet that's what we are celebrating today.
Volkswagen has decided to celebrate this even with a limited-edition version of the car called the Polo Original. 1,000 will be built, and we think it looks discrete but special.
The most distinctive feature is the fact that it's been painted in a color called Honey Orange Metallic. This is not a new color, but it's only been seen on the Caddy and the Cross Polo before.
All models come with body-colored mirror caps, tinted taillights and "Original" badges that will probably look weird in 2025. Also included are 16-inch Portago alloy wheels, LED headlights, and a gloss black radiator grille.
Inside, the driver is treated to automatic climate control, a reversing camera and the Front Assist with City Emergency Braking. A bit like the GTI, the seats have leather sides and orange plaid upholstery.
Prices in Germany start at a hefty €19,950, and that's before you chose one of the more expensive engine-gearbox configurations (TDI with DSG is particularly bad).
We can't believe that the Polo was launched in 1975, 40 years ago. Does that make it middle-aged and bat or wise and experienced? All we know is that they've sold 14 million units in all sorts of body styles: 3-door hatch, 2-door saloon, 4-door saloon, 5-door hatch, estate, and crossover.
The current model, Type 6R, is arguably the most successful. It was named European Car of the Year in 2010 and subsequently sold the most units. The 5th generation model is 44 mm longer and 32 mm wider and sits 13 mm lower to the road than the previous generation Polo. Boot capacity is increased by 10 liters to 280 liters.
The Type 6R has also had a very wide range of engines. For example, the original 1.4 and 1.6 were replaced by 1.2-liter TSI turbo units, while both the 1.2 and 1.6 TDI diesels were swapped for a 1.4 TDI. Unless we're mistaken, the Polo was also the first VW fitted with cylinder deactivation. We're talking about the 140 hp (later 150 hp) Polo BlueGT.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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