The 2013 World Rally Championship was quite the show and yielded not only a new driver as champion, but also saw Volkswagen win the constructors championship in their debut year. Sebastien Ogier battled on snow, ice, mud, gravel, dirt and tarmac against strong competition, but he in tandem with a 2013 VW Polo R WRC triumphed. As we begin to look towards 2014, Volkswagen have a very clear message that they want to send out. They are still hungry!
The teams hunger for success is being promoted through a rather comical campaign that sees various forms of Fan food put through its paces. Rallying is a rough business and so the grub that loyal supporters bring to fuel their day of motorsport has to be just as tough. Their research has concluded that currywurst is the perfect snack to eat as the roadside whilst rally cars speed, drift and sometimes even fly past. Volkswagen are offering you the chance to win a VIP trip to the Monte Carlo rally in 2014! Watch the video below and visit their Rally the World website to register as a fan food tester. It could be you not only attending the opening rally next year, but munching on a generous helping of currywurst as you do!
Through a thick forest or the soft snow. Over gravel and through raging rivers. Pistons pound and palms sweat, the hills are alive but not with the sound of music, instead the chorus of combustion. The World Rally Championship is arguable the ultimate test of man and machine as competitors skid, slide and even fly to set the fastest times in some of the harshest environments the world has to offer. However, over the years this battle of incredible cars and nature has fallen away from the pubic eye. It is time to bring rallying back to the top of the motorsport pile and Volkswagen want you to get involved.
In their debut year, the Volkswagen rally team are well on their way to clinching the championship, quite the achievement. Join the team on their Rally the World campaign that allows you to take to the wheel of a 2013 WRC VW Polo just like Sebastien Ogier! Drift and power-slide your way to victory for the new team on a variety of surfaces including asphalt snow and gravel. Also get more involved with VW’s rally efforts with their videos documenting the teams progress as well as exclusive interviews with their star drivers. Can Volkswagen take the title in a highly competitive championship where Citroen have dominated for the past four years in a row? Check out the explosive video below for a taste of the adrenaline pumping world of the World Rally Championship.
VW’s sharp new Polo is a very well rounded car that offers high levels of refinement along with vast amounts of practicality, however, it is not the most exciting hatchback on the market. Next year the German manufacturer will enter the WRC and to celebrate this they are launching the fastest Polo ever.
Dubbed the Polo R WRC, we first saw this car in concept guise earlier this year and the good news not a lot has changed in order to make it production ready. Sporting VW’s WRC livery this 2.0 litre turbocharged Polo can get from 0-62MPH in 6.4 seconds and go onto a top speed of 151MPH. Power is rated at 217BHP with 258lbft of torque for company. Being at heart a VW Polo, the WRC will still get you a respectable 38MPG.
The VW Polo R WRC will cost €33,900 but there is no word on whether it will come to the UK.
Nobody likes being second best. No matter what our mothers told us when we were younger, “you almost won” is no consolation for missing out on your time at the top. VW may dominate the motor industry by owning giants such as Audi, Lamborghini, and Bugatti, but in the small hatchback sector the Polo has always played second fiddle to Ford’s Fiesta. “No more” say the Germans as they go all out with this new generation Polo.
Looks pretty sharp doesn’t it? Our test cars metallic black paint does well to emphasise the much more aggressive design characteristics. The well defined shape garnished with bold lines gives this Polo a look of importance that was absent from previous generations. As the vast majority of car purchases are made mainly on how the machine looks, this one should do well as it ditches its once bland appearance. The pleasant architecture is carried over to the interior bringing with it some nicely sculpted surfaces as well as well defined areas of the center console. Every button and knob not only looks and feels premium but they all bring a sense of purpose to the cockpit. Too many cars today have meaningless symbols scattered like lost scrabble tiles all over the place, but here everything has been logically placed and perfected. That is really what the Polo must take as its most competitive element. Whilst the Fiesta and rivals are cheaper and have other merits, this German hatchback could pass as a small saloon thanks to its high levels of refinement. Seating is supportive with some rather functional headrests. I mention these specifically as driving the Polo is so effortless that you will find yourself leaning back much more often. In the rear section headroom is generous but the space for passengers legs was distinctly average. Boot space is again average for the class but does include a false floor to store fragile or precious items underneath.
In motion the 1.4 litre motor pulls well delivering good levels of performance around town. Coming out of junctions it may be a little slow to respond, thanks to not having the most responsive throttle peddle, but to the casual driver it isn’t anything major. The steering is also well balanced for the urban environment and provides a rather neat little turning circle. At idle the engine is near silent and often provoked comments such as “is it turned on” from many of my friends. The gearbox deserves particular admiration as it is so silky smooth that you can literally swap a cog with your little finger. Pair that with its light clutch and you find yourself with a fantastic car for commuting. The whole driving element of this machine is extremely polished and with good levels of grip it never leaves you feeling that the car is anything less than capable. On motorways this refinement is bliss as journeys of a few hours are effortlessly completed and soothed from a passengers perspective thanks to a sound system of high quality.
However, as with everything, you can unearth a few undesirables with the Polo when you get nitpicking. The steering wheel isn’t the most comfortable object to hold in your hands for lengthy periods of time. Its hard plastic surface feels a little abrasive for my liking and that is a shame as everything else is of such a high standard. As I said the steering is well balanced for the urban environment, but at motorway speeds it can feel a little vague. I guess this is the trade off that Volkswagen made in order for the little car more suited to an urban environment. My only other gripe with car is with its onboard computer continuously telling me what gear I should be in. One of the joys of owning a manual car is being able to make a decision as to what gear you want by yourself. The system isn’t intrusive but the arrow on the dashboard telling me to change up in order to save fuel became a pet hate. But really these aren’t deal breaking issues and the Polo can still stand tall and proclaim itself as one of the best all round hatchbacks on sale today.
Our model as tested cost £13,600 which isn’t all that much more expensive than a similarly specified Ford Fiesta, the gap certainly is much more narrow that what it has been in the past. So does the Polo surpass the master of this class? It really is very close but where Fiesta loses out on interior fit and finish, it does make up for in its enthusiasm on country roads. The VW Polo is a very fine car and does such a good job of being a dependable machine that you would be pleased to own.
Amidst all the excitement of the 2012 London Olympic games you might have forgotten about your pride and joy. It’s still there, go on look. After all the celebrations of gold for your home nation it may have been sat out there for a while as you raised a glass or two. So it’s rather dirty thanks to tree sap, insects, and baked on dirt. If you live in the UK summer has only just arrived and what used to be the shiniest thing in your street isn’t gleaming in the sun. So here it is… Inside Lane’s guide to returning your car to top form.
If you are anything like me when you wash your car, no matter what it is, you want it to literally look like it has arrived fresh from the showroom. That isn’t me conjuring up imagery in your head for the sake of it, it is possible. I had a 13 year old Vauxhall Corsa at one point, and with a bit of dedication you could swear it was 1999 all over again. Firstly set aside some time, don’t bother rushing because you have something else to do, the end result will just look crap. I would say about and hour for the exterior if you want it immaculate and half an hour for the interior.
For a kickoff you are going to need the right tools. The vast majority of people just use a bucket and sponge with a dash of washing up liquid in the water. WRONG! Firstly the sponge can actually do more harm to your paint than good. On a molecular level what happens is that the sponge simply moves the dirt around on the surface of the car in vain hope that when it is rinsed it will just go away. Also with the sponge moving the dirt around on the paint quite often leads to little scratches that are hard to get rid of. Washing up liquid is very good at blasting the dirt from your car, after all it made short work of the pots and pans last night, but the truth is that it is just too harsh and leaves no shine. So now you know that everything you thought you knew is useless what should you do? Well, here is your shopping list and it is all about microfibers. These tiny little guys lift the dirt off the paint as opposed to simply moving it about, so first up is a microfiber mitt. These are great as you can really get into the hard to reach areas of the car. Better yet get one with a netted surface on the palm as they are perfect for removing insects also. A microfiber towel is invaluable for drying the car. I use Zip Wax in the water as it does a good job of removing dirt whilst saving you the extra job of waxing the car after. Finally a sponge, yes I know I said sponges are evil but this is for the tyres and so it needs to be fairly abrasive. Lastly some alloy cleaner to get rid of that nasty break dust and some tyre dressing to make that rubber look brand new. All this should cost you no more than £20 and of corse you can use it all many times over.
You will need two buckets of water, one with Zip Wax and the other just water. BOTH SHOULD BE HOT. Park the car in a cool shaded area to avoid the water drying too quickly and leaving watermarks on the body. Start by rinsing down the car with a hose just to loosen up the dirt. Next grab your buckets and microfiber mitt to get going. First use the Zip Wax, then rinse with the plain water to get the dirt off of it before going back into the wax bucket. Your strokes on the car should be firm but smooth. No little circles, it potentially scratches the paint. Follow the body lines of the car and you will be done in no time. Rinse the whole car down with a hose once done within 30 minutes of beginning for the best results. Now take your microfiber towel and begin drying the paint. This bit is a little tedious so I would advise putting on some music or something to keep you amused. Again follow the body lines and no circle. Keep folding the towel so that a dry part of it is always touching the paint. The friction should dry the rest of the towel as you go. Spot an imperfection? Find a damp part of the towel, firmly rub until the blemish fades into the paint, and then return to using the dry areas. The paint should now be spotless with natural light reflecting off of it in a uniform manor. Moving to the tyres where with a damp abrasive sponge you should carefully apply the tyre dressing. Scrub it in hard but don’t use too much as in the case less is more. The alloy treatment should be applied as the bottle suggests. That is the exterior of your car completely done. The interior is easy as all they tend to need is a hoover, some plastic and leather polish. With a little bit of extra attention to detail the inside should look and smell new.
So there you have it folks! With a little bit of extra knowledge your car will never have looked cleaner.
There were rumors that VW may enter Formula One when new rules come into force to downsize the V8’s to V6. The most concrete thing we ever got out of the Germans was that “it is being considered.” Alas the dream died and the Germans changed their focus to the WRC. 2013 will see VW campaign a Polo after years of preparation and using Skoda as a guinea pig. Celebrating its entrance VW is previewing a special edition.
This is the Polo WRC Street and garnished with a rally inspired livery, it looks rather impressive. Under the bonnet is a 217BHP 2.0 litre engine that rather interestingly has more power than the Golf GTI. We are big fans of those 14 spoke alloys and the interior, with its overly bolstered seats, ticks yet another box. The bodywork also gets some rally inspired tweaks with that spoiler and the odd air intake here and there.
Hatchbacks. We love them in the UK! Practical, economical and avalible in almost any flavor of your choosing. You might even fancy a fast one that keeps both the wife and you happy. Seat’s Ibiza is the companies best selling car and now, fresh for 2012, there is a new Spaniard in town.
Well, we say Spaniard… Really what we have here is a very well priced VW Polo. This is no bad thing as the German engineering under the bodywork has been tried, tested and proven to be bullet proof. Boasting an even more involving drive, the new car with its rather devilishly handsome appearance and wide range of engines makes the new Seat Ibiza something we are keen to have a go in ourselves.
Rallying is one of the most demanding sports on the planet. Covering hundreds of miles per hour on treacherous terrain dodging trees and any other inanimate objects. One thing about it is for sure, you must have balls of steel to compete in it. The WRC over the past few years has seen a decline in entrants leaving things a bit baron. However a resurgence is on its way as many new team take a leap into the ruff an tumble. VW follow Mini and Skoda into the fray.
The Germans have been mooted to be entering the sport for many years but today confirmation of a works Polo competitor was announced. The car will begin testing later this year and will be competing in the 2013 season. At least three years of participation has been funded. The Polo is to be powered by a 1.6 litre TSI engine producing 300BHP. Other details on the car itself at the moment are few and far between but VW are confident that it will be just as competitive as the Golf in the 1980’s.
