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The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini-sized car manufactured by Volkswagen of Germany. It is sold mainly in Europe, but available in most export markets. It is most widely seen as a hatchback but there have also been saloon and so-called coupé and wagon variants.
[] History
There have been four separate series of the Polo, designated Mark I to Mark IV. Each generation was facelifted mid way through its production, with the updated versions known by an addition of the letter F to the model number, e.g. Mark IIF.
The body style has been varied through the life of the car, but the most widely available form has always been a hatchback; indeed the Mark I saloon was branded as a Volkswagen Derby.
Volkwagen's products are not the same in all territories and a number of different models have been sold under the Polo name. For example the Volkswagen Polo Playa hatchback sold in Southern Africa in the late 1990s was a rebadged SEAT Ibiza which was quite different to the Mk III Polo sold in Europe at the same time. The current saloon is only available in China, Latin America and South Africa and other Southern Africa countries.
[] Position in the Volkswagen range
On its introduction in 1975, the Polo was Volkswagen's second front wheel drive hatchback model, fitting into the range beneath the Golf, which had been launched the previous year. It remained the smallest model in the Vokswagen range until 1998, when the Volkswagen Lupo was introduced. The Polo is still Volkswagen's second smallest model, larger than the Fox and smaller than the Golf. (In North America, the Golf – now sold there as the Rabbit – is the smallest Volkswagen available, the Polo never having been sold in this territory.)
Over the generations, as with many other long-lived car brands, the Polo's size has increased, and the latest incarnation of the Polo is actually larger than the original Golf Mark I.
The current version is mechanically very similar to the SEAT Ibiza and Škoda Fabia, being based on a standard VW Group chassis used for a large number of models.
[] Performance versions and motorsport
Volkswagen pioneered the so-called hot hatch genre of high performance hatchbacks with the Golf GTI in 1975, and has produced a number of performance versions of the Polo. The first of these was the Polo GT version of the Mark IF.
The Mark II and IIF were available as supercharged G40 models. The GT G40 with its 1.3L 85 kW / 115 hp could reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.1 secs from standstill and had maximum speed of 196 km/h (122 mph) it was used by Volkswagen to set a number of world endurance speed records, such as the 1300 cc class records for speed over 24 hours and speed over a distance of 5000 km.
The fastest version of the Mark III on the UK market was the 16-valve model, with 100 PS. A 120PS / 88kW GTI model was also produced, but only in a limited edition in Germany, and this was the first time the GTI label had been used for a Polo. A GTI version of the Mark IIIF Polo, with a 125hp / 92kW 1.6 engine, was also produced.
In 2004 Volkswagen Individual, a specialist division of Volkswagen, produced a limited number of (Mark IV Polo) Club Sports with a 1.8T 180hp/132kW engine. Available only in Germany, this was based on the one-make racing series Polo Cup Racer hatchback. The Club Sport came with a roll cage inside the vehicle and Recaro racing seats as standard.
A GTI version of the current (Mark IVF) was launched in 2006. This features styling similar to that of the contemporary Golf GTI and a 20V, turbocharged 1.8l engine with 150bhp. It has a 0-60 mph time of 8.2 seconds and a top speed of 134mph.
Volkswagen Individual have also engineered an even faster Polo called the Polo GTI Cup Edition, available with the same 1.8T engine abeit with 180hp/130kW its claimed 0-100km/h (0-62mph) is 7.5sec & a claimed top speed of 225km/h.
Volkswagen Racing in South Africa rallyed a four wheel drive Mark IVF Polo which shared some components with its sister World Rally Championship (WRC) Skoda Fabia; the S2000 has a 2.0L 191 kW/260 hp engine.
Mark IV Polos have been entered into the Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC).
There have been a number of one make race series for the Polo, starting with the Volkswagen Polo G40 Cup for MkII and MkIIF G40 versions. The current Polo Cup championship for 105 bhp cars is a support race at rounds of the DTM touring car championship.
[] Related models
The first Polo was effectively a rebadged version of the Audi 50, which was discontinued in 1978 as Audi concentrated on larger luxury models. The Mark I and Mark II versions of the Polo were then standalone models in the Volkswagen range.
With the expansion of the Volkswagen group in the 1990s SEAT and Skoda were aqquired, and the platform used for the Polo was shared with other models.
The Mark III Polo shared its platform with the Mark 2 SEAT Ibiza. The Ibiza was actually launched before the Polo, and shared essentially all its mechanicals, the dashboard and other interior components, although there were no body panels shared between the two cars. The saloon and estate versions of the Mark III Polo were actually re-badged SEAT Cordoba models, and had no body panels in common with the Polo hatchback. The SEAT Inca and Volkswagen Caddy vans were also based on this model. The Volkswagen Lupo and SEAT Arosa were also based on a shortened version of the Mark III Polo platform.
The Mk IV Polo continued this trend of platform sharing, with the Skoda Fabia and Mark 3 SEAT Ibiza both being developed on the same platform and featuring several of the same engines.
[] Bodystyles
The first Polos were hatchbacks, with the saloon being marketed as the Volkswagen Derby.
On the arrival of the Mark II model the saloon was renamed the Volkswagen Polo Classic and the hatchback style was renamed as a coupé, the Volkswagen Polo Coupé. A new estate / station wagon shape became, unusually for an estate, the commonest model of the range in European markets. In some markets it was referred to as the Volkswagen Polo Wagon, but some reviewers at the time considered it to be shaped "like a van".
From the Mark III onwards, the range was more straightforwardly conventional, including unambiguous saloon, hatchback, and estate models.
[] Bodystyle summary
* Three door hatchback (all versions) - the Mark II and Mark IIF were available in two separate 3-door hatchback styles, one of which was badged as a coupé
* Two door saloon (Mark I, Mark IF, Mark II, Mark IIF)
* Four door saloon (Mark III, Mark IIIF)
* Five door hatchback (Mark III, Mark IIIF, MarkIV, Mark IVF)
* Five door estate (Mark III, Mark IIIF)
* Five door crossover SUV-style (2WD) hatchback (Mark IV, Mark IVF)
[] Mechanical layout
The Polo is a compact car, with a traditional transversely mounted engine and front wheel drive. Mark I Polos only came with four-cyclinder petrol engines, but for the Mark II a diesel engine was offered for the first time, although only in certain markets, others having to wait until the launch of the Mark III. The current range includes a variety of three- and four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines.
Early versions used four speed manual transmission, whilst the current car is available with either five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. The suspension system on all models uses a fully independent MacPherson strut front suspension, whilst the rear suspension uses a semi independent system with trailing arms and a torsion beam axle. Most models use disc brakes at the front and rear drum brakes, although some recent models have all round disc brakes.
[] Mark I (1975-79)
Volkswagen Polo Mk I
Mark I and Mark IF
Volkswagen Polo Mark I
Also called Volkswagen Derby
Production 1975–79 (Mark I)
1979–81 (Mark IF)
Body style 3-door hatchback
2-door saloon
The first Polo, a rebadged version of the Audi 50, was introduced in 1975 and was produced until October 1981 with over 500,000 Polos sold worldwide.
The differences between the Audi and Volkswagen models were minor, with the Polo being cheaper and much more basic. The two cars were initially sold along side each other, but the Audi 50 never sold as well, and was withdrawn in 1978. The Polo was manufactured at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg.
In 1977, the Derby saloon was released, which was simply a Polo, identical to the hatchback from the C-pillar forward, with a large boot attached (an Audi proposal, but which was never sold by them).
The Mark I Polo was available with the following engines:
* 895 cc, 4 cylinder petrol engine (hatchback only)
* 1093 cc 4 cylinder petrol engine 50 PS (37 kW)
* 1272 cc, 4 cylinder petrol engine (Polo GT, Derby sedan models, Audi 50 only)
Different levels of compression were used on each size to achieve different power outputs, and the variations are numerous, often differing depending on the country of sale, ranging from 35 to 60 PS (26 to 44 kW).
[] Mark IF (1979-81)
The Mark I Polo and Derby were facelifted in 1979 (to Mark IF) with plastic bumpers, a different front grille and a revised dashboard. The round headlights of the Derby were replaced with square ones, bringing it in to line with the similar (but larger) Golf-based Jetta saloon.
[] Mark II (1981-90)
Volkswagen Polo Mk II
Mark II and Mark IIF (86C)
Volkswagen Polo Mark II hatchback
1992 Volkswagen Polo Mark IIF
Also called Volkswagen Derby
Production 1981–90 (Mark II)
1990–94 (Mark IIF)
Body style 2-door estate
3-door hatchback
2-door saloon
A revised model (Mark II) was introduced in October 1981, with the major change being the introduction of a third body style with a steep (almost vertical) rear window, in addition to a version resembling the original Mark I shape with a diagonal rear window. These two body styles were called the Wagon (in some markets) and Coupé respectively, although in fact both were three-door hatchbacks, and in some markets the Wagon designation was not used, with that car being simply the "Volkswagen Polo" without a suffix. The sedan version was now called the Polo Classic, and the Derby name became extinct. Production was expanded to Spain in the mid 1980s following Volkswagen's takeover of SEAT.
The Mark II Polo was used extensively by Volkswagen to develop future innovations, for example supercharging in the GT G40 version. A G-supercharger would later be used on the larger and more technically challenging G60 engine used in the Golf and Corrado.
A fuel efficient 2-cylinder diesel was prototyped in the mid 1980s with a G40 supercharger to overcome its small capacity, although this did not make it to production. A high fuel efficiency model which did make production was the Formel E (E for Economy), introduced in 1983. This used a high compression 1272 cc engine, taller gear ratios and an early stop-start ignition system (called "SSA") which would cut the engine when idle for more than two seconds to save fuel whilst temporarily stopped in traffic, and re-start the engine on moving the gear lever to the left in neutral. Similar systems were later used on the Mark III Golf and various systems from other car manufacturers.
The Mark II was available with the following engines:
* 1093 cc 4 cylinder petrol engine (1981-83)
* 1272 cc 4 cylinder petrol engine. (1981-)
* 1043 cc 4 cylinder petrol engine (1983-)
* 1272 cc 4 cylinder petrol engine with fuel injection and equipped with a catalytic converter. (1983-)
* 1272 cc 4 cylinder supercharged petrol engine with 113 PS (83 kW) (GT G40 version 1987 only)
* 1.3 L 4 cylinder diesel engine (1986-)
* 1.4 L 4 cylinder diesel engine (1990-)
[] Mark IIF (1990-94)
A facelift in 1990 (to Mark IIF) saw square headlights, bigger bumpers and a new interior (dashboard and door trim). The three different body styles were maintained. As well as the cosmetic differences, under the skin the car received modifications to the chassis, suspension and brakes. The new Polo still had the 4-cylinder engine but now as well as the carburetor 1.0 L, a fuel injection model was available with single-point injection and all engines came standard with a catalytic converter to combat tightening European laws on car emissions. The saloon was only produced in Spain, and production of it ceased in 1992.
At the time of launch of the Mark IIF Polo, the highest performance model was the Polo GT. This featured a multi-point fuel injected version of the 1272cc engine. This produced 75bhp and had a quoted top speed of 107mph. 0-60 figures from stand still stood at 11.1 seconds. Defining features of the GT include red piping in the bumpers, black overhead cloth, a rev counter and a red "GT" badge in the grille. This was succeeded by the launch of the G40 in May 1991, displacing the GT as the most powerful Polo at the time.
Soon after the launch of the Mark IIF, another sporting model was added to the range — a new version of the supercharged G40, now as a full production model in all markets rather than the limited batch of Mark II G40s. As with the previous model, Volkswagen Motorsport modified G40 Cup cars were sold for racing in a one-make series, the Volkswagen Polo G40 Cup. Features that define the G40 from other Polo models at the time (on top of the GT) include a bee-sting aerial, BBS cross-spoke alloy wheels and front and rear red "G40" badges.
[] Mk III (1994-2000)
Volkswagen Polo Mk III
Mark III (6N) and Mark IIIF (6N2)
1996 Volkswagen Polo Mark IIIF
Production 1994–2000(Mark III)
2000–02(Mark IIIF)
Body style 3-door hatchback
5-door hatchback
4-door saloon
4-door estate
Platform FF 6N
The Mark III Polo "6N" appeared in 1994, and was a completely new model (on a new chassis), available as 3- and 5-door hatchback versions. It shared its platform with the SEAT Ibiza Mark II. This platform actually used the floorpan of the Volkswagen Golf Mark III (a multitude of mechanical parts and all of the suspension components were interchangeable among the three models). Although the dashboard and a number of mechanical components, including engines, were shared with the Ibiza, outwardly the two cars were different, with no shared body panels.
The saloon and estate versions of the Mark III were essentially rebadged SEAT Cordobas, which were launched a year earlier. They were referred to internally by Volkswagen as "6KV", and shared body panels with the SEAT model rather than the Polo hatchback models, with some cosmstic alterations such as new rear and front bumpers and headlights. The Volkswagen Caddy 9K van also shares the same platform and front-end styling as the 6KV models.
The Volkswagen Lupo and SEAT Arosa city cars were based on a shortened version of the 6N platform, and shared many components.
The car was available with the following engines:
* 1043 cc 4 cylinder petrol engine 45 PS (33 kW) (1995-97)
* 1272 cc 4 cylinder petrol engine 55 PS (40 kW)(1995-96)
* 1.6 L 4 cylinder petrol engine.
* 1.4 L 4 cylinder petrol engine (1996-)
* 999 cc 4 cylinder petrol engine 50 PS (37 kW) - all-new aluminium block multi-point injection (1997-)
* 1.6 L 4 cylinder petrol engine 100 PS (74 kW) (6K saloon and estate models only)
* 1.6 L 4 cylinder petrol engine 75 PS (55 kW) (6K saloon and estate models only)
* 1.9 L 4 cylinder diesel engine 64 PS (47 kW) (6K saloon and estate models only)
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