VW Polo: Fourth report

If you love our Polo’s bold Savannah Yellow finish as much as I do, I’m afraid you’ll need to break out the brushes and paint pots. You see, late last year VW quietly dropped the shade from its colour charts, so you’ll have to indulge in a spot of DIY if you want your new Polo to look the same as ours.

It turns out the head-turning finish hasn’t been very popular, with less than 0.2 per cent of all Polo buyers forking out an extra £225 for it last year – that’s a grand total of just 80 cars. I can well believe that figure; since our VW arrived last June, I’ve only seen one other example in the same eye-catching colour.

Why are people put off this shade? A recent global study by data analyst Kaggle could have the answer. As we reported in Issue 1,205, it found yellow cars are among the most troublesome on the road – with 14 per cent of all vehicles finished in this colour hiding some sort of costly mechanical fault. Only cars painted gold or purple suffer from more problems, according to the research.

Happily, our Polo appears to have been spared any sort of colour curse. In more than 10,000 miles of motoring, it hasn’t missed a beat. In fact, the gutsy turbocharged 1.2-litre engine feels as though it’s getting stronger with every extra mile, pulling smoothly and sweetly from idle all the way to the red line.

What’s more, the fuel economy has continued to improve, with the car now returning a diesel-rivalling 43.9mpg. And there are certainly no question marks over the VW’s build quality.

Despite being used as hard-working family transport, the car’s cabin feels every bit as solid as it did when it left the factory. There are no squeaks or rattles, and nothing has fallen off. In fact, the interior is so well finished, you often have to remind yourself you’re in a humble supermini and not something much more expensive. High-grade materials, precise switchgear and an excellent driving position all help create a classy and upmarket atmosphere.

No matter what exotic cars I’ve been driving on road tests, it’s always a pleasure to climb back behind the wheel of the VW. And while it’s not as fun to drive on a twisting back road as a Ford Fiesta, it’s a more refined and comfortable choice in day-to-day use.

Yet what really shines through is the Polo’s attention to detail. The large glass area makes it easy to place the car on the road or in a parking space, while the standard folding armrest between the front seats helps take the strain out of long motorway drives. Another neat feature is the excellent interior lighting. With five separate lamps in the roof, plus a pair of front footwell lights, loading and unloading my 21-month-old daughter on dark winter evenings has never been easier.

The only option I’d be tempted to add is the £315 Sensor Pack, which includes rear parking sensors and cruise control. The latter would be really useful, as it would allow you to fully exploit the impressively refined Polo’s excellent long-distance cruising credentials.

But I wouldn’t change anything else – and certainly not the colour, as the bright yellow paintjob helps the otherwise rather dull VW stand out from the crowd. And the exclusivity the finish adds is the icing on the cake for me.

Extra Info

“Sorry, James, but I’m not a fan of the colour. I do like the big car refinement on long trips, though, while the quality on offer inside is a real plus, too.”
Owen Mildenhall, Senior road tester

“The Polo is a great small car. It looks slick, is perfect for my daily commute and is sure to keep its value when it’s time for me to trade it in.”
bluequake, via www.autoexpress.co.uk