The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
R-Line Polo’s sporty looks
Volkswagen’s Polo GTI sits at the top of the manufacturer’s second-smallest hatchback range, bringing with it plenty of performance and a good degree of charm, too.
But what if you want the looks of the GTI, but not the hike in insurance costs or increased trips to the fuel pump?
Enter the Polo R-Line. It’s got the stylish appearance of the performance Polo, but underneath the bonnet resides a turbocharged 1.0-litre engine in place of the GTI’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder.
Underpinning this latest generation Polo is Volkswagen Group’s latest MQB platform that allows it to offer far more space than its proportions suggest.
It’s no small car anymore – however, anyone used to previous generation Polos would likely be surprised by just how much the little Volkswagen has grown.
But that means it feels like a far bigger, and therefore a more refined car to drive. Of course, all this does come at a price. You may need a sit down, but this is a £25,000 Polo – quite the sum for what is still meant to be a relatively “entry-level” hatchback.
As mentioned, this particular Polo uses a 1.0-litre turbocharged threecylinder engine with 113bhp and 230Nm of torque. It’s good for a 0-60mph time of 9.3 seconds, and flat out it’ll hit 124mph. Power is sent, in our test car’s case, through a seven-speed DSG automatic to the front wheels.
Given its small capacity, good economy figures are not surprising – Volkswagen claims 57.6mpg combined, while emissions are set at 110g/km CO2.
The overreaching feeling with the Polo is simply how refined it is to drive. Much like the Audi A1, the Polo feels just as at home travelling at motorway speeds as it does darting about town.
Rear seat legroom is decent enough, and there’s plenty of headroom to be found as well. When it comes to boot space, the Polo does even better thanks to its 351-litre load area – bigger, even, than the larger Ford Focus.
It has an impressive price tag, but the Polo R-Line is an impressive car.