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The new Volkswagen Polo is being readied for a February introduction to the New Zealand market.
It’s the next phase in a Polo evolution that began when the original was launched in 1975 and has seen 14 million units sold worldwide.
This sixth generation boasts an increase of 81mm in overall length and 94mm in the wheelbase, and is 69mm wider. There’s also a 25 per cent increase in boot capacity from 280 litres to 351 litres.
Details of the New Zealand lineup have yet to be confirmed.
Europe has nine Euro- 6 compliant engines for the Polo, ranging from a base model
1.0- litre unit with 48kW to the new
1.5- litre TSI EVO with 110kW output and fuel- saving cylinder deactivation ( ACT) technology.
The Polo GTI that will follow gains a performance boost with a
2.0- litre TSI unit developing
147kW and in Europe there are two
1.6 TDI diesel engines offering outputs of 59kW and 70kW — both equipped with an SCR catalytic converter.
All Polo engine variants come equipped with a stop- start system and a regenerative braking mode as standard.
“The new Polo personifies what Volkswagen is all about; world class engineering and technology that is accessible to the people,” said Tom Ruddenklau, general manager of Volkswagen New Zealand.
“The new Polo is a technological marvel and benefits from the significant R& D investments Volkswagen has placed into its older siblings, the Golf, Tiguan, Passat and Touareg.
“It possesses world- class features and safety normally found in cars twice its price.
“Weare fortunate to have many thousands of customers, many on their second or third Polo and it is great to be able to offer these loyal customers something quite special with the new Polo.”
The technology content includes a state- of- the- art driver assistance and comfort systems.
Those new to Polo include Front Assist with City Emergency Braking, Pedestrian monitoring and Blind Spot monitoring detection.
Such technology is usually reserved for higher class models such as the Golf or Passat.
The Polo will be the first Volkswagen model to feature a new generation of the optional Active Info Display. It has also been given the latest generation of infotainment systems controlled from an 8.0- inch glass covered touchscreen.
And for music lovers the Polo “Beats” variant comes with a powerful 300- watt sound system with eight channel amplifiers, six loudspeakers and a subwoofer to optimise sound quality. Polo “Beats” also includes unique design detailing.
With the imminent arrival of the new model, the current generation Polo is available at special run- out pricing with the 1.2 TSI Comfortline manual priced from $ 20,990 and the 1.2 TSI Comfortline auto from $ 23,990.