Review: VW Polo SE 1.2 litre TSI 90PS

This came home to me the other day when I uncovered some old paperwork from 1995. That was when I bought my first new car – a Land Rover Discovery – for what was then a major investment of around £22,000. It had the standard equipment of the time like electric windows and a radio, but that was about it. Driver and passenger airbags were a £950 option, air conditioning was an extra £2,000, anti-lock braking would have set me back another £1,000 and an onboard computer for fuel range, mpg and outside temperature simply wasn’t available.

All of these and very much more are pretty well part of the standard specification of all current cars with a price tag of more than £10,000. The point was hammered home at the launch of the latest version of one of the world’s best-selling compact cars, the VW Polo.

Next year sees the model’s 40th birthday, and when it first appeared in 1975 it offered basic mobility. The first UK models arrived in February 1976 and, for £1,798 (around £14,000 now), the entry-level N version came with rubber floormats and a single-speed fan. The wipers had only two settings – on or off. A passenger door mirror was an optional extra.

Fast forward to 2014 and the base S model of the sixth generation of the Polo is only just over £11,000 – around £3,000 cheaper in real terms – and comes crammed with equipment. Airbags are, of course, a standard fitting but there’s also electronic stability control, hill hold and post-collision braking to reduce the chance of a second impact after an accident. There’s a six-speaker audio system, a five-inch colour touchscreen, memory card reader, DAB radio, Bluetooth, height adjustable driver’s seat, illuminated vanity mirrors, and you get two door mirrors. Air conditioning is a £720 option.

Move up to the SE version of the roadtest car and there are 15-inch alloys, those door mirrors are electrically adjusted, there’s leather trim on the gearlever, handbrake and multi-function steering wheel, trip computer, air conditioning and the touchscreen is one and a half inches bigger, and all for around the same price, in real terms, as the 40-year-old which came with very little.

The new Polo is VW’s second best-selling model after the Golf in the UK, with getting on for 43,000 taking to our roads every year. I predict existing owners will love what’s been done to the latest version and I suspect many new owners will be attracted from other makes in this sector.

The overall shape is pretty much the same classic style and it’s clearly the Golf’s little brother but it doesn’t feel small inside. On the outside, there’s a redesigned front end with a larger and lower air intake which makes it look wider, and there are brand new LED dual headlights which are whiter and more similar to daylight than xenons, making it less straining on the eyes at dawn, dusk or at night. The car feels well-built and refined on the road and I really liked the 1.2-litre engine which was certainly capable in a range of demanding conditions around Bavaria and the lower levels of the Austrian Alps.

Most UK buyers are expected to go for the basic 1.0-litre version when deliveries start in July. But it’s on economy and emissions that VW have concentrated their  efforts as part of their strong environmental commitment. One of the new Polos, the TDI Bluemotion, has claimed economy of 83 mpg and emissions of only 88 g/kms which is about the lowest available on any production car.

One model we won’t see here is the CrossPolo, a beefed-up version – in appearance at least – with underbody protection panels on the front and rear bumpers, black covers on the wheel arches, sills and doors and a raised ride height to give it something of an offroader look. At the moment, it’ll only be available in mainland  Europe – unless, as the man from VW said, British drivers say they want it. I think a fair number may do just that.

VITAL STATS

PRICE £14,210

PERFORMANCE Max speed 107 mph; 0-62 mph 14 secs

ECONOMY 60 mpg

CO2EMISSIONS 107g/km