Yesterday, members of the media were flown in to Langkawi (in typical VW flair) for the launch of the new Volkswagen Polo Sedan. Priced at RM99,888 (OTR excluding insurance and roadtax) it is admittedly just a smidgen under RM100k, but remains as the most affordable Volkswagen yet and will no doubt compete fiercely against its Japanese rivals.
Let's quickly go through the numbers under the bonnet: 1.6L naturally aspirated engine, good for 105PS/153Nm. This powerplant is mated to a 6-speed Tiptronic automatic box. Zerotohundred dispatched in a claimed 12.3 seconds, with a top speed of 183km/h. Fair numbers for an engine this size, but nothing that seems too exciting. Combined fuel consumption is said to be 6.5litres/100km; this at least was impressive.
View the car from the front and you see the Polo's familiar 'face'. There's a fair amount of chrome - front grille, air-dam, fog lamp surrounds and trunk. There's also height adjustable halogen headlights and green tinted heat absorbing glass. As standard, you also get 15-inch alloys (spare is a 14-inch steel wheel). Six exterior shades are offered - the ever popular Candy White, Flash Red, Terra Beige, Shadow Blue, Reflex Silver and Deep Black.
The chrome theme continues on the inside with the interior chrome package (light switches, AC vents, steering wheel accent, handbrake lever knob, gearshift). Seats are upholstered in 'Merlin' fabric while steering wheel, gearshift knob, handbrake lever, gearshift boot are wrapped in leather. The instrument cluster displays speedometer, tachometer, trip odometer, and digital clock. In-car entertainment comes in the form of a radio with CD-MP3/WMA player, with four speakers.
Safety is and has always been a priority to Volkswagen, and this is echoed within the Polo Sedan. Four airbags (driver, front passenger, side airbags) comes as standard. You also get the usual acronyms - ABS (anti-lock braking system), EBD (electronic brake-pressure distribution) as well as pinch-guard safety for all four one-touch power windows.
The VW Polo Sedan will be sold as CBU (from India) and is currently offered in select markets only - India, South Africa, China, Russia, Malaysia. At time of writing, there are no plans to CKD the Polo Sedan but, as we found out during the press conference, VGM might consider the option depending on market demand.
What do you think of the Polo Sedan? Let us know your thoughts in via comments below!
You can view all the pictures from the launch here.
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