VW Polo Vivo is still a solid choice

ROAD TEST: Volkswagen Polo Vivo 1.6 Comfortline

Johannesburg - VWSA spelled it out rather nicely in that “Forever Young” TV advert many years ago; the one with the four elderly chaps prowling the streets “gangsta style” in a CitiGolf.

The local division has a knack for making its extended-production cars look and feel younger than they really are and with the Golf 1 and CitiGolf’s collective 31-year production run now fading in the rear-view mirror, the Polo Vivo has become the latest canvas for VWSA’s product-pimping itch.

First “relaunched” in March 2010 as a mildly facelifted and discounted version of the previous Polo, the Vivo has surged ahead on the sales charts to become South Africa’s favourite passenger car. Over 150 000 have found homes to date and there’s no sign of its popularity letting up as last month saw a record 4263 sales, although that was also likely due to pent-up demand for the recently upgraded model featured here.

While the Citi worked just great as a car for students and those starting out, the Polo Vivo is a far more modern and mature package that has true mass appeal in today’s context and these attributes more than make up for the fact that it’s taken a few steps up the price ladder, with the range setting you back between R142 700 and R180 900.

I say “modern” with some caution as the fourth-generation Polo that it’s based on was launched almost exactly 13 years ago at the Frankfurt Motor Show. So has VWSA managed to keep it feeling “forever young”?

It’s not exactly a spring chicken in design terms, yet this Polo is still rather easy-on-the-eye and the recent freshening does make a small but notable difference.

LIGHT FRESHENING

The devil is in the detail here, with new inner decorations for the headlights matching up to a chrome strip that runs along the new grille. The redesign hit list also included the side mirrors and alloy wheels, but VW resisted updating those tired old taillights, which would have been a cost-effective way of freshening up the rear end.

Volkswagen took a similarly subtle approach to sprucing up the cabin, where the headline news is a new instrument cluster and gear shift lever.

We sampled the 1.6 Comfortline, which packs all the basic “comfort” gadgets like remote central locking, front electric windows, aircon and a six-speaker CD/MP3 sound system with USB and SD card sockets. Our test unit even came with leather seats, which is a R7 500 option, and it did feel a little strange sitting on some elegantly stitched cow skin while having to manually adjust the side mirrors.

At least a height-adjustable driver’s seat has been added to the ergonomic mix although with everything being so well laid out and with the steering column providing a generous range of adjustment for both height and reach, I managed to get cosy behind the wheel without even cranking it up or down. Adding to the comfort factor, the footwell is spacious and the short-throw gearlever slices its way around smoothly.

QUALITY FEEL

The dash design is getting a little stale and at best you could describe it as neat, user-friendly and well-finished. The upper dash panels are slush-moulded for a soft feel and the overall touchy-feely quality effect is better than on many modern small hatchbacks, yet the myriad covered up buttons – and patched-over cup holder holes – cheapen the effect a bit. The Vivo’s every bit as practical as you’d expect a modern B-segment hatch to be, and offers a reasonable amount of leg and head room for rear passengers as well as a decent-enough 270-litre boot.

On the open road, the Polo Vivo feels like a mixture of old and new. It’s painless to operate and the suspension soaks up tattered tar well enough to give you a comfy ride.

A BIT NOISY

Sadly, it’s a not a completely refined experience – when you hit the accelerator pedal you hear more engine noise than you feel acceleration. It is relatively noisy by modern standards and even reminded me of some of the last-edition CitiGolfs. It might suit you if a more sporty aural experience is what gets you going, but I’d imagine that the average buyer would rather have the soundtrack coming from the speakers.

It can be a bit annoying on the freeway too and the gearing hardly helps things as the rev needle closes in on the 3 500rpm mark just north of 120km/h.

The 1.6-litre 16-valve petrol motor is rated at 77kW and 155Nm and the resulting performance is rather effortless. It makes the grade and will pass the reasonable engine test in Car Court but your friends will never hear you say “feel this acceleration”.

VERDICT

The Polo Vivo is hardly a cheap option anymore and the 1.6 Comfortline’s R171 500 price tag falls just R20 000 shy of the new Polo 1.2 TSI, yet it still offers good performance among the many weaklings in that price bracket and those looking further down the ladder have plenty of cheaper 1.4-litre Polo Vivo options to choose from.

Either way, this VW is still a rather solid choice and as a further bonus it’s also locally made and relatively affordable to run. -Star Motoring

FACTS

Volkswagen Polo Vivo hatch 1.6 Comfortline

Engine: 1.6-litre, four-cylinder petrol

Gearbox: Five-speed manual

Power: 77kW @ 5200rpm

Torque: 155Nm @ 3500rpm

0-100km/h (claimed): 10.6 seconds

Top speed (claimed): 187km/h

Consumption (claimed): 6.6 litres per 100km

Price: R171 500

Warranty: Three-year/120 000km