Engine choice
The simplicity and value at the heart of the Fox’s appeal was carried over when it came to engines, with just two petrol options on offer throughout its production life. For entry-level models that meant a single-cam 1.2-litre threecylinder motor carried over from the bigger VW Polo, with slightly meagre outputs of 54bhp and 80lb/ft of torque. At least it got a balancer shaft for smoothness, but outright performance was glacial, with almost 18 seconds needed to get from 0-62mph. With combined economy of 46.3mpg and CO2 emissions rated at 146g/km, it was reasonably clean and frugal, but a kerb weight that exceeded the city car norm – it was heftier than both the Lupo and Toyota Aygo – clearly didn’t help.
If you wanted more pep you’d have been wise to choose the four-cylinder 1.4-litre engine that managed 74bhp and an additional 12lb/ft of torque. Sharing the alloy head/ iron block construction of the smaller unit but with fourvalves per cylinder and a DOHC layout, it meant the Fox could crack 100mph and get to 62mph in 13 seconds, while offering 41.5mpg combined economy and 163g/km of CO2.
Not much changed during production, although both models became slightly more economical and cleaner over the years (see Specifications for later figures), and from December 2010 it featured a 1.2-litre engine boosted to 59bhp and that was now Euro 5 compliant.