- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
1.2T, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
77kW, 175Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (95) 5.5L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Manual
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
5/5 star (2010)
Volkswagen Polo 77TSI
IF THE Golf is the overachieving son in the Volkswagen brood, meet the problem child.
The German car-maker's Polo has struggled to attract buyers in the local city car segment. VW has sold 14,000 Polos during the past decade but, to put that into perspective, both Toyota and Hyundai last year sold nearly 20,000 units each of their rival models - the Yaris and Getz respectively.
A fifth-generation Polo, however, has arrived during a purple patch of both product and sales form for VW, and the company is confident of at least doubling the car's volume.
The new model has grown in size to break the four-metre-long mark - and come within 10 millimetres of the 1990s Mk III Golf.
A three-tier range kicks off with an entry-level three-door (built in Spain) simply called the Trendline. The two five-door models (built in South Africa) - the 77TSI and 66TDI - follow a naming system applied to other VWs such as the Golf.
Our first road test of the new Polo focuses on the 77TSI that VW says will account for most sales.