New Polo GTi at Frankfurt, and more “electrifying” news from Volkswagen

 

By Stuart Johnston

 

Volkswagen had already showed its new Polo, the sixth generation in the series, a good few weeks before the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. So it was left to the new GTi version to make a splash on the Polo-front, amidst all the other new models and concept cars at the Volkswagen stand.

New-gen Polo on its way, and built in SA

The good news is that Volkswagen South Africa will be launching the new-generation Polo in 2018, and in fact the plant at Uitenhage is already beginning to phase in production of the new Polo, as VWSA is one of the major assemblers – and exporters - of Polo for world markets.

Interestingly, it is likely that the current Polo will stay on in production as a replacement for the Polo Vivo. Sources close to VWSA at Frankfurt said that the current Vivo would be phased out, primarily because the build-time on the Vivo (effectively a two-generation-old Polo) is considerably longer than the fifth-generation Polo.

Evolutionary new look

The 2018 model-year Polo is very evolutionary in design, which is not surprising as this has always been a VW policy. But the car is more cutting edge in looks, and is very much a scaled-down Golf in appearance.

The new Polo is longer, wider and has a longer wheelbase, too. At 4,053mm, it’s 81mm longer than the fifth-gen car. An extra 69mm of width frees up passenger elbow space, and a wheelbase that is 94mm longer will obviously ease legroom at the rear. Boot space is now a very respectable 351 litres - up from 280 litres in the fifth-generation Polo.

The new design has much more crispness in terms of sharp styling lines. The front end features C-shaped LED daytime running lights that are standard across the range, while the rear end has a more solid, edgy look.

The GTi models shown at Frankfurt included the distinctive plaid-check seat covers known as the “Clark” look. These have a very old-English look, and are seen as typifying the GTi appeal in Germany. It will be interesting  to see if VWSA applies this to our GTi interiors when the GTi version is launched in South Africa, presumably later on in the new Polo’s life-cycle.

Power

As for power for the GTi, we can look forward to 147 kW, which is the same power output that graced the Golf GTi a few generations ago, but in a lighter body.

Upcoming VW I.D. CROZZ

Also at the show, Volkswagen CEO Dr Herbert Diess announced that by 2025 the Volkswagen brand will offer a total of 23 all-electric models world-wide. In line with this thinking, VW showed the updated I.D. CROZZ,  a four-door electric concept car. The car, a crossover between an SUV and a coupé, was shown without B-pillars to enable the wide, swing-and-sliding doors to be opened wide to allow the loading of all sorts of large, recreational objects. The I.D. CROZZ employs two powerful electric motors and is said to have a range of up to 500 km between battery charges.

VW says that the I.D. Crozz will go into production in 2020! To get the juices flowing even faster  regards the trend to electric vehicles, VW also showed the updated concept  version of the original Hippie Kombi, an all-electric  MPV known as the I.D. Buzz, which recently debuted in beach-orientated California. At Frankfurt it was shown complete with surf boards on the roof-racks!