Volkswagen Polo Mk4

The Volkswagen Polo Mk4 is the fourth generation of the Volkswagen Polo that has been sold by the German automaker Volkswagen from early 2002 to 2009 in most countries. It is still being manufactured in South Africa, where it is sold as the Polo Vivo. The MK4 replaced the Volkswagen Polo Mk3 in the supermini class. The Polo Vivo replaced the Citi Golf.

History

Launched in September 2001, the fourth generation Polo (internal designation Typ 9N) was made available in early 2002. In keeping with VW's aim of floor pan sharing it shares its platform with the SEAT Ibiza 6L, SEAT Córdoba 6L and Škoda Fabia Mk1. The car is all new, and bears more structural resemblance to the 6K than the 6N, outwardly the most recognizable change is the quad round headlights similar to the Volkswagen Lupo. At a length of 3,900 mm (153.5 in), it is larger than the first generation of its larger sibling, the 3,820 mm (150.4 in) Volkswagen Golf Mk1.

The car was available with several petrol and diesel engines: a 1.2 L three-cylinder petrol engine with 55 PS (40 kW; 54 hp) or 64 PS (47 kW; 63 hp) (depending on the number of valves per cylinder, two or four) and a 16-valve 1.4 L 4-cylinder with 75 PS (55 kW; 74 hp) or 100 PS (74 kW; 99 hp) petrol engine, the last one on the 16V-badged model. Both turbocharged and unturbocharged diesel engines were available such as the 4 cylinder 1.9L SDI (Suction Diesel Injection) which also offered 64 PS (47 kW; 63 hp) but with 125 N•m (92 lb•ft) of torque, slightly more than some petrol powered units. As well as the unturbocharged SDI engine, newer TDI PD turbodiesel units were also available, these being a 1.9 L with 100 PS (74 kW; 99 hp) and a three-cylinder 1.4 L model (the 1.9 with one cylinder less) with 75 PS (55 kW; 74 hp). A sporty 1.9 TDI PD model, named Polo GT, was launched in 2004, with 130 PS (96 kW; 128 hp).

Sales in the UK were disappointing, and in 2005 it finished in the bottom 10 of the Top Gear survey - in the supermini sector, only the Fiat Punto was more disappointing to own.

Volkswagen Racing part of VW Motorsport rallied a Polo S1600 in the 2003 JWRC winning the Turkish round, the Super 1600 developed 165 kW (224 PS; 221 hp) to its front wheels.

Release in North America

In January 2009, Volkswagen Group of America CEO Stefan Jacoby announced that the Polo will finally reach North America to join the vehicle lineup as a true entry-level car below the Rabbit. Volkswagen fans in the United States and Canada have been clamoring for the Polo to be added to the North American VW lineup for years. It is uncertain whether North America will receive the previous generation Polo or the current generation version, which is set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2009. It is anticipated that the Polo will be built at Volkswagen's plant in Puebla, Mexico to help keep the price of the vehicle low.^[1]

Polo Vivo

On 11 March 2010, Volkswagen South Africa announced that the Mk 4 Polo is being re-released as the Polo Vivo to replace the Citi Golf.^[2] The VW plant in Uitenhage near Port Elizabeth is the largest in all of Africa.^[3]

Models and specifications

The model range includes the norm for current VW's from the Comfortline to the Trendline and Highline, whilst featuring an extense list of extras that had now become norm in mid-sized small cars. Items such as ABS, power steering, front and side air bags and front and rear head restraints were standard on all models and ESP, brake assistance, air conditioning, satellite navigation etc. were optional on higher spec models.

There was also a mini SUV version of the Polo with off-road styling named Polo Fun (Polo Dune in the UK, Polo Soho in Spain), but despite its appearance the car was never available with four-wheel drive. Volkswagen has revealed that the Mk5 Polo Fun/Polo Dune/CrossPolo will have 4MOTION.^[4] A sedan version, called Polo Classic, is produced in Brazil, South Africa and China and exported to the rest of Latin America and Australia. With the introduction of the Polo Classic saloon in the Australian market in 2004, the Chinese version, has the distinction of being the first Chinese-built car to be produced in right hand drive.

Dimensions:

• Length: 3,897 mm (153.4 in)
• Width: 1,650 mm (65.0 in)
• Height: 1,465 mm (57.7 in)
• Wheelbase: 2,460 mm (96.9 in)

Volkswagen Polo Saloon

Compared to the Polo hatchback, the saloon model is completely re-styled from the B-pillar rearwards. The window line has a slight upward incline and the roof features Volkswagen’s trademark curves and the concise styling of the C-pillar provides aspects that are actually reminiscent of a coupe. At the rear, the large horizontally divided rear lights and sculptured panels complete a design that is classically Volkswagen.

Overall, the Polo Classic is 28 centimetres longer than the hatchback version. Consequently with the rear seatback in place, the Polo Classic offers 461 litres of boot capacity (211 litres more than the hatchback siblings and with the rear seats folded down, 1127 litres of storage capacity is available.

Under the bonnet is Volkswagen’s 1.6-litre multi-valve engine that delivers 100 hp (75 kW) of power at 5500 rpm and peak torque of 140 N•m (100 lb•ft) at 3250 rpm. Transmission is a five-speed manual.

Standard features including dual front and side airbags, semi-automatic air conditioning, CD player, ABS brakes and remote central locking with engine immobiliser.^[5]]

2005 facelift (Typ 9N3)

In 2005, the Typ 9N was facelifted to create the Mk4F, with new headlights, taillights and a different hatch, which resemble other recent models in Volkswagen's lineup. The Typ 9N3 was designed by Walter de'Silva and comes in six different trims, ranging from the basic 'E' model to the 'GTI'. Like its predecessor, the standard models uses the same engine range from the 1.2 L 55 PS (40 kW) 3-cylinder engine to the 100 PS (74 kW; 99 hp) TDI engine.

Volkswagen also announced the successor of the Polo Fun mini MPV, now called "CrossPolo", still missing four-wheel drive.

Dimensions:

• Length: 3,926 mm (154.6 in)
• Width: 1,650 mm (65.0 in)
• Height: 1,465 mm (57.7 in)
• Wheelbase: 2,460 mm (96.9 in)

Polo GTI

With the introduction of the Polo Mk4, the Polo GTI Mk3 was discontinued and was given no direct replacement. It was not until late 2005 that the Polo GTI was reintroduced. It was unveiled on October 21, 2005 at the Australian International Motor Show. It featured a 20-valve turbocharged 1.8-litre 150 PS (110 kW; 148 hp) petrol engine which had been used in models such as the Golf GTI Mk4 and the VW Passat Mk5.

Its styling bears some resemblance to the Mk5 Golf GTI, with a blacked out central "scoop" in the bumper surrounding the honeycomb grille. In this new model the xenon headlights and fully digital climate control are options, unlike the Polo GTI Mk3 which feaured them as standard. Although faster than the previous model, the Polo GTI Mk4 is less powerful than the top versions of the Opel Corsa, BMW MINI and its stablemate SEAT Ibiza, most of which come with engines with a maximum output above 180 PS (132 kW; 178 hp). This led Volkswagen to quickly beef up the Polo further to create the Polo GTI Cup Edition, which was tuned to around 180 PS (132 kW; 178 hp) and featured more aggressive styling.

Other versions

In 2006, VW released the Polo BlueMotion which has a fuel consumption of 3.9 L/100 km (72 mpg_-imp; 60 mpg_-US) and the Polo GTI Cup Edition with 132 kW (179 PS; 177 hp) , which sprinted to 0-100 km (0-62 mph) in 7.5 seconds.

VW Racing in South Africa rallied a Super 2000 Polo, which shared some components with its sister World Rally Car Škoda Fabia. Its 2.0-litre engine delivered a maximum output of 191 kW (260 PS; 256 hp) .

See also

• Volkswagen Polo for an overview of all models
• Volkswagen Polo Mk1
• Volkswagen Polo Mk2
• Volkswagen Polo Mk3
• Volkswagen Polo Mk5

References

1. ^ http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/16/confirmed-vw-polo-coming-to-the-u-s/ CONFIRMED: VW Polo coming to the U.S., Retrieved 1-Feb-09
2. ^ http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/vwsa-launches-polo-vivo-as-citigolf-replacement-2010-03-11
3. ^ http://www.vw.co.za/about/vwsa/
4. ^ Next generation CrossPolo to get 4MOTION
5. ^ [1]

External links

• Volkswagen UK's Polo Site
• Volkswagen Australia's Polo Site
• Polo Mark IV/IVF review - Parkers
• Polo Mark VF review - What Car
• Volkswagen Launches Polo Classic Sedan

Categories: Volkswagen vehicles | Subcompact cars | Front wheel drive vehicles | Hatchbacks | Vehicles introduced in 2001 | 2000s automobiles