Car Advice

2008 Volkswagen Polo

By Alborz Fallah |

Volkswagen Australia has updated the popular Polo range with the introduction of a 6-speed automatic gearbox for the 1.4-litre Polo Club.

2008 Volkswagen Polo

The new gearbox raises the automatic Polo Club’s price tag by $500 to $19,490, while the entry price for the range (Polo Club 5-speed manual) remains unchanged at $16,990.

The two extra gears increase power by 4Kw (59kW) and 4Nm (130Nm) over the previous model, giving the new Polo Club a 0-100km/h time of 14.3 seconds, a whole second faster than the previous 4-speed auto.

2008 Volkswagen Polo

The new power figures for the autos now equal that of the manuals, although manual owners will be proud to know their beloved Polo is 2.1 seconds faster to a 100km/h.

Meanwhile the 1.4-litre 4-speed automatic Polo Match has been discontinued with the new Match variants only sporting the 1.6-litre engine.

The entry model 5-speed manual Polo Club is still left without Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), but Volkswagen has equipped all 6-speed auto 1.4 and 1.6-litre models with ABS as standard.

As for fuel economy, the manual uses 6.4L/100km while the new 6-speed auto gets away with 7.3L/100km, an improvement of 0.3L/100km.

The 2008 Volkswagen Polo model range includes:

  • Club 3 door Manual 5-speed 1.4i – $16,990
  • Club 3 door Auto 6-speed 1.4i – $19,490
  • Match 5 door Manual 5-speed 1.6i – $19,990
  • Match 5 door Auto 6-speed 1.6i – $22,790
  • TDI 5 door Manual 5-speed 1.9DT – $22,990
  • GTI 3 door Manual 5-speed 1.8T – $26,990

 
  • Steve

    Sounds like more fun to me. While looking for a new car I test drove the Polo TDI for shits and giggles. What I didn’t realise before driving it was that I would be giggling all the way around the test drive.

    This is a great, fun car to drive. It was the only car that put a smile on my dial.

    It wasn’t the fastest, it didn’t handle the best. But it is such a good little car.

    Steve

  • http://Austin Andre

    Three weeks ago we bought a brand new polo 1.6 Auto. the car sounds like a diesel when accillerating between 2000 and 3000 rpm and there is a vibration present you can feel through the whole car they can’t get rid of. They even tried to realign the gearbox and put 4 new rims and tyres on it. Anyone know what to do? thanks

  • golfschwein

    Oh dear, Andre. If it’s the same unit as in the Golf, it should run like a sewing machine. A doped sewing machine, but a sewing machine all the same. Does the dealer agree it’s on the gruff side?

  • http://Austin Andre

    Hi Golfschwein,

    Been to the dealer, in fact the car is there now. They have given us a loan car (polo) and this one sounds even worse, any idea what it is??? it sounds like a Diesel,,….

  • Golfschwein

    Sounds icky, Andre…no idea, sorry!

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  • john

    I own a polo 1.4 trendline model 2008, my cd player is locked on SAFE mode after it was repaired. I have the code but dont know the process, pls can someone help

  • Rene Naude

    Please explain to me what the difference between the Polo 1.4i and the Polo 1.4 Trendline is or are they one car?

  • Fenno

    John,
    Leave your ignition on “accessories” for about two hours (that should reset your radio to accept the code you have) and then enter the code. If that doesnt work you will need to visit a dealer to have the radio removed and hooked up to the online system to receive a new code.