Volkswagen overhauls Polo range ahead of new model

VOLKSWAGEN Australia has overhauled its non-performance Polo range with two run-out specials ahead of the sixth-generation model’s local debut in March next year.

The Trendline and Comfortline variants have been superseded by the Urban and Urban+ respectively, with more kit added to the revised light hatch as a point of difference.

The Urban includes $1500 worth of additional features, while maintaining the outgoing Trendline’s driveaway pricing of $16,990 for the six-speed manual gearbox and $19,490 for the seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Standard equipment now extends to 15-inch Tosca alloy wheels, multi-function display, illuminated vanity mirrors and Urban badging, as well as a leather steering wheel, park brake and gear shift knob.

Stepping up the Urban+ costs either $19,990 for the manual or $22,490 for the DSG (both driveaway), with $3000 worth of bonus kit included over the exiting Comfortline.

Features added include 16-inch Portago rims, front foglights, automatic headlights, dark tinted windows, driver fatigue detection, rain-sensing wipers and Urban+ badging.

Inside, Alcantara-trimmed heated front sports seats, climate control, auto-dimming rearview mirror, front foot-well lighting and chrome/silver trim highlights feature.

An $1800 Driver Assistance package is available exclusively with the Urban+ and further adds autonomous emergency braking (AEB), front and rear parking sensors, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control and satellite navigation.

Both variants are motivated by the same 1.2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, with the Urban punching out 66kW of power and 160Nm of torque, while the Urban+ produces 81kW/175Nm.

Metallic and pearlescent paint colours attract a $500 cost each, with Flash Red from the Polo GTI now added to the range of hues.

The next-gen Polo was revealed in June this year, with the new model growing considerably in size to the point that it nearly matches the dimensions of the fourth-gen Golf.

The new line-up will once again be topped by the performance-orientated GTI, which upgrades its turbo-petrol four to a larger 2.0-litre unit that pumps out 147kW, matching the output of the fifth-gen Golf GTI.

Polo sales have declined this year as the current-gen model approaches the end of its lifecycle, with 3316 examples finding homes to the end of June. This represents an 18.4 per cent decrease over the 4066 figure it achieved during the same period last year.

Volkswagen places fifth in the light car-segment behind the Hyundai Accent (8223), Mazda2 (6479), Toyota Yaris (6114) and Honda Jazz (4004) in the first six months of 2017, but is ahead of the Kia Rio (3294), Suzuki Swift (2475), Holden Barina (1593), Ford Fiesta (880) and Renault Clio (770).

2017 Volkswagen Polo driveaway pricing

Urban	$16,990
Urban (a)	$19,490
Urban+	$19,990
Urban+ (a)	$22,490