Freedom of the CITI

By Stuart Johnston

For those of us who were charging around the streets of South Africa in the mid-1980s, there is something hugely satisfying about hopping into the Volkswagen Polo Citi Vivo. You can order a Citi Vivo in any colour you like as long as it’s in red, yellow or blue, and there’s a story attached to that.

The Citi Vivo pays homage to one of the most amazing success stories in the history of the South African motor industry, the Citi Golf. When that car appeared in late 1984, it was effectively the Mk I Golf tarted up in bright brash colours, but essentially no different from the car that VWSA had launched here in 1978 to replace the first-generation Beetle.

A colour scheme that is nearly 90 years-old!

Red, yellow, blue. That was the bold step that VWSA took back then, in offering the first-gen Golf to continue in production alongside the recently-launched Golf II, and instead  of  touting the old car as a drab entry-level model, they restyled a few low-cost items, and offered it for sale in just these three in-your-face colours. The story goes that  ad-person Jenni Button, who later became a Cape Town fashion designer, was instrumental in this, along with  VW’s ad agency main creative  man Mel Miller. Mel had the three-colour idea, but Jenni  devised a high-style ad campaign that took inspiration from the 1930 painting of Dutch master Piet Mondrian, entitled “Composition with red, blue and yellow”.

The Citi Cult

What VWSA managed to do was to create a cheap cult car that appealed equally to the young and not-so-young. No-one at the time could have predicted that the Citi Golf would not only continue in production for a quarter of a century, but that it would be one of South Africa’s top-selling models of all time, with 377 000 cars built in Uitenhage. You still see them every day, although to spot one in the original red, yellow or blue you usually have to drive to outlying dorpies, where people tend to trade their cars every couple of decades, rather than years.

The Polo Vivo, launched to replace the Citi Golf in 2010, has pretty much repeated that success story. In essence it’s a previous-generation Polo, and like the Citi Golf, it has already been revitalised in the past couple of years with a couple of minor (low-cost) updates.  There’ve  been  some special models that include names like “Street”,” Eclipse”, “GT” and “Maxx”,  the latter being a larger version of the Vivo.

Vivo picks up on the Citi Vibe

The latest in these special models was launched a few months ago. The VW Polo Citi Vivo that we had for test was a blue version, and like the rest of the planned 2 000 production run of this special model, it is based on the basic 12.4i Conceptline derivative.  This means it comes in pretty low on the Vivo pricing list. The Polo Citi Vivo 1.4i  costs R178 800, just R5 000 more than the Conceptline Vivo, the entry-level model.

And while we are talking price: optional items that you might want to consider are electric window lifts at the front for just R1 300, and cruise control at R1 400.

Old School

Personally, I love the old-school feel of the standard Vivo. The Citi items (apart from the  body paint scheme) consist of white wing mirrors, door and tailgate handles in white, and Citi striping and logos. Ahh, and most importantly, the 15-inch alloy wheels are also painted in white, just like the original steel wheels were on the old Citi Golfs! These alloys are of a really chunky design, and give the Citi Vivo a purposeful, solid look.

One of the pleasures about buying a low-spec entry model, yet with such a strong heritage, is that the  interior may be rather ordinary, but this is also one of its strengths. No hunting about on menus here for simple functions such as air-flow distribution! You simply dial in some knobs to the appropriate setting, and changing them on the move is far safer than taking your eyes off the road to squint at a touchscreen!

On the move

The steering wheel is fully adjustable for reach, which means most people will be able to get comfortable, and the upholstery, although largely indistinguishable from other Vivo models, is durable-looking, if a little drab. The steering is perhaps a bit overpowered, but the basic chassis of this car is very well-sorted. it should be after well over a decade of building them, remember, as this is based on the previous-gen Polo.  Handling is stable both at highway speeds and through the twisties, even though the grip levels remain fairly modest by hot-hatch standards.

The strong-suit of the Polo Vivo in 1.4i-guise is that its engine has a good spread of torque besides the maximum amount of twist being just 132 Nm at 3 500 rpm. The ratios chosen in the five-speed gearbox mean top gear highway hauling most of the way, even though you’ll be revving a little harder than a car fitted with a six-speed ‘box. In this league of car, with modest non-turbo power, driving a five-speeder is more relaxing than a six-speeder, where one can often only use the 6th on the highway, on the level, or on downhills!

Performance in numbers

Acceleration is not bad for a 1,-4 non-turbo, partly due to the fact that the Vivo only weighs just over 1 000  kg, and because it is not overburdened with electric motors for power-driven comfort items.  Thus it will break the 13-second barrier in the 0-100 km/h spring and top out at 175 km/h, which is fine for a little ‘citi’-car!

Being non-turbo and of small-capacity - as far as the engine is concerned, you’ll easily be able to achieve an overall consumption in the 7,5-litre/100 km range, and better if you really work at it and do a lot of gentle open road cruising.

On a practical level, there is space for five at a squeeze and the boot is reasonable at around 260 litres, and also houses a full-size spare.

Best seller

The Polo Vivo has been South Africa’s best-selling passenger car virtually since launch, and regularly averages sales of between 2 000 and 2 200 a month, even in this market which is currently feeling the pinch. To date, since  2010, sales are fast approaching the 240 000 level. At this rate, total sales in South Africa of the Polo Vivo are set to  exceed those of the iconic first-generation VW Beetle and even threaten the VWSA  record by the Citi Golf, which stands at 377 000 units, over a period of 25 years. Given that Polo Vivos are so prolific, there is even more reason why you might consider the Citi version of the Vivo, especially as production of these red, yellow and blue cars will be limited to 2 000 units.

How long will the Vivo live on?

The next-gen Polo is due for introduction in Europe soon, and is slated for launch here “sometime in 2018”. So, will this mean calling time out on the Polo Vivo, which will then be two-generations older than the new model Polo? My guess is no way, José! If the Citi Golf formula for success is anything to go by, and with the Vivo outselling every other car, why change a winning formula?