Volkswagen Polo Sedan – Small Body, Big Heart

• Mark MusutuA few weeks ago, I boarded a commuter shuttle sporting a VW badge for a four hour journey.

In a sentence, I can describe the ride as one that literally sliced through the air like an arrow.

I could not help but smile half the time as I savoured the ride. A stranger would probably have thought that I am out of my mind, but for us enthusiasts, such moments are blissful; a time to connect with the manufacturers and their thoughts.

Thanks to that journey and many more previous encounters with VWs and certainly not foregoing the visible progress VW has made in the last decade, I know what to expect from the VW boys.

What can one expect from a conglomerate that owns Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Porsche, Lamborghini, Skoda, Ducati, VW, VW Trucks, Scania and Man.

The new Polo is not as tame-looking as the old one, especially on a good set of rims. Though it has simple lines and curves, its name suggests simplicity and modesty (as the Polo game is).

The Polo sedan is not merely a stretched Polo because if that was the case, it would be some awkwardly shaped thing. It’s rather a car designed from scratch, from a clean sheet and this justifies its great ergonomics, functionality and style.

The Polo is basically designed to be a small Golf and rides on this legacy. The hard work was already done decades ago by the Golf and it simply inherits its graces and looks.

After all, the VW Golf is the most successful hatchback of all time.

From opening the door alone, you can feel that VW spirit as it pops open and shuts to aid you. As I got comfortable, I saw plenty storage spaces for gadgets. It works well for a person like me who carries around a host of gadgets such as cameras, chargers, etc.

I was greeted by its interior black theme with a few aluminum traces, almost like in the Golf.

For a small car, its spaciousness amazed me. As a six-footer, I run away at the sight of a small car as I have had experiences where I have been crammed in the back seat of some way-too-small cars.

The Polo is a class above in terms of space. It’s as spacious as a Toyota Corolla. Moving to the rear from the driver’s seat, I didn’t even have to make a single adjustment and I fit in well with some extra space.

At this point, I got the full picture of the VW Polos architecture – the cockpit is large and very ergonomic as well as the most influential in its structuring; it was then given a short hood and boot to qualify it as a small car and sedan, very clever of VW and it measures a total of 2 552 mm on its wheel base, 82mm more than the Polo.

Otherwise, the car measures in at 4 384mm long, 1 699mm wide and 1 466mm tall.

The sound is a mini version of the Golf’s infotainment: Easy, inspired by ancient two-band radios (two knobs, some buttons and a display, which used to be a dial before digital displays). It is very plain and simple in appearance but awesome in application.

Igniting the engine, I loved the growl I heard, as the almost innocent looking Polo turned into a something from the cat family expressing a capacity to make prey of anything else other than its kind and also exposing its sporting nature.

It was as if I had crossed a line, leaving all innocence behind.

I took the Polo on a test drive through some interesting roads in Windhoek: Uphill, down hill, winding, curves, etc. Windhoek has many.

The acceleration is top notch. The car has true sporting intent. It takes off 0 to 100 km/h in about 10 seconds and is generally quiet until it hits about 120 km/h and runs to a limit of about 190 km/h.

Inside the engine bay is a 1,4 litre MPI (multi-point injection) power plant that puts out 63 kw. This power is channeled via a five-speed manual.

Handling is safe, solid, firm and none of its peers possess the stability and road-holding-ability; very Golf-like once again. Experts say VW has the best suspension systems on the market and this is evident in the Polo Sedan.

Without a doubt, the Polo is packed with more than meets the eye and has one foot in its segment and another in the segment above.

It’s the most mature in its class and the least it will do is impress, but more often than that, it will amaze, especially if you expect less of it.

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