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Polo: A Car on a New Whole

The Polo is a compact car introduced in 1975 by Volkswagen. It is sold in hatchback, sedan, coupe and estate body styles. It is Volkswagen's second front wheel drive hatchback model and remained the smallest model in the Volkswagen range until 1998, when the Volkswagen Lupo was introduced. At present, the Polo is Volkswagen's second smallest model. The Volkswagen Polo has been awarded the “European car of the Year 2010”.

Over the generations, Polo's size has increased and the latest incarnation of it is actually much larger than that of the original Golf MarkI.

As of 2009, there has been five separate generations of the Polo, usually identified by a “Series” or “Mark” number. Some generations were facelifted mid way through production. Each model of Polo 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.

Polo Mark I

The first-generation Polo, a rebadged version of the Audi 50, was introduced in 1975 and was produced until October 1981. 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 VW models were minor, with the Polo being cheaper and much more basic. The two cars were initially sold alongside each other.

The Mark I Polo was available in three petrol engines options, 895 cc, 1093 cc and 1272 cc engines. Different levels of compression were used on each size to achieve different power outputs.

The Mark I Polo had a facelift in 1979. Sometimes referred to as the Mark IF, the facelifted model featured plastic bumpers, a different front grille and a revised dashboard. The round headlights were replaced with square ones.

Polo Mark II

The Polo Mark II 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 Mark I shape with a diagonal rear window. These two body styles were called the Wagon and Coupe respectively, although in fact both were three-door hatchbacks. The sedan version is now called the Polo Classic. By 1983, the millionth Polo was produced. The second million were produced by 1986.

A high fuel efficiency model which did make production was the Formel E, introduced in 1983.

The Mark II came with seven engine versions. The petrol engine options were 1093 cc, 1272 cc, 1043 cc, 1272 cc with fuel injection and equipped with a catalytic converter GT and supercharged 1272 cc. It also came in two diesel engines, namely, 1.3 L and 1.4 L.

The Mark II Facelift, also referred as the Mark IIF, saw square headlights, enlarged and reshaped tail-lights, bigger bumpers and a new interior with dashboard and door trim. As well as the cosmetic differences, under the skin the car received modifications to the chassis, suspension and brakes. A clever feature on this version of the Polo was a stereo/cassette player unit which could be completely removed. This feature caught on well with buyers, who were able to remove it from the car as a security measure. The Mark II Facelift model continued form 1990 to 1994.

Polo Mark III

The Mark III Polo or Typ 6N appeared in 1994. It was a completely new model on a new chassis and available as 3 and 5-door hatchback versions. The Polo Mark III came with new rear and front bumpers and headlights. It came with nine petrol engines with various power outputs and a 1.9 L diesel engine. The facelifted Mark III Phase II or Typ 6N2 was revealed in 2000. The Mark III Polo won many awards.

The Volkswagen Polo Playa was a model for the South African market from 1996 until 2002.

Polo Mark IV

Unveiled in September 2001, the Polo Mark IV or Typ 9N model was put on sale in early 2002. It shares its platform with the SEAT Ibiza Mk3, Skoda Fabia Mk1 and Skoda Fabia Mk2. The car was available in 1.2 L, 1.4L, 1.9L and 2.0L engines in eleven variants out of which seven are in petrol and four in diesel.

The fourth generation of the Volkswagen Polo also saw a crossover SUV version of the Polo with “off-road” styling, named Polo Fun, Polo Dune in the UK. A sedan version, called Polo Classic, was produced in Brazil, South Africa and China and exported to the rest of Latin America and to Australia. A mini SUV-styled CrossPolo version of the Mark IVF was also produced as a successor to the Polo Fun.

In 2005, the Mark IV was face-lifted with new Volkswagen Passat-style one piece headlights and tail lights and a different hatch. This facelifted model is officially known as the Mark IV Phase II or Typ 9N3 and sometime referred to as the Mark IVF It is available in seven different trim levels, ranging from the basic Polo E model to the Polo GTI.

Polo Mark V

Volkswagen launched the fifth generation Polo also called the Typ 6R at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2009.The new Polo follows styling cues from the Golf VI.

The Polo Mark V is 36 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 litres to 280 litres of storage space with 952 litres with the seats folded down. The car is 7.5% lighter than its predecessor. The Polo has thorax airbags and has been awarded a five-star EuroNCAP crash impact rating. The Polo Mark V comes with 1.2 L petrol and diesel engines, 1.4L petrol, 1.6 L diesel engine with three different outputs.

GTI and BlueMotion versions of the Polo are speculated to go into production in 2010.

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