The parents have arrived. With two three-door, compact 4x4s parked in our garage, the Polo Sedan was called up for duty. We put it to the test…
It’s 08:43, I’ve just arrived home (no, not from a late night out; those days are long gone, fortunately). The reason for my early morning trip? Gas. Following jumping out of bed (admittedly, later than I should have), I made myself presentable (by quick-early-morning-gas-run standards), grabbed our 3 kg Cadac cylinder, then the key fob to the Polo Sedan I had on test, loaded the latter into the — spacious; I could sit comfortably behind the driver’s seat when (manually) tuned to my preferred position — rear passenger footwell, and headed to the Engen fuel station a couple of minutes’ drive away.
Fortunately, this time, they had gas. A little smirk from another customer looking at the blue cylinder I was holding (he was carrying bright orange, 9 kg item), made me realise it’s maybe time to acquire a larger one. Of course, this made sense, as it won’t require so many trips to refill ours. In this case, bigger did seems better.
So, with the test car dropped off and full cylinder of gas now attached to the Cadac gas heater we, like arguably thousands of other South Africans, bought on special at Game the previous week, I sat down in front of my desk, next to the heater’s amber-coloured, glowing panels, opened the lid of my laptop and, with the Polo Sedan still fresh in my mind, started typing, trying to complete writing before I get drowsy from the heat.
The test period comprised five days, which, fortunately, included the weekend my girlfriend’s parents came to visit us. I say “fortunately”, because, were it not for the Polo Sedan, the four of us would have been a tad cramped in the cars we had available to us — our Jimnys and her parents’ three-door Mitsubishi Pajero. So I offered we take the Volkswagen. It’s sufficiently spacious for four adults and more economical at the fuel pumps. Considering we spent all weekend exploring the Mother City, the around-7.1 L/100 km the 1.6-litre petrol engine sipped wasn’t bad (VW claims 6.2 L/100 km for the manual variant, tested here). However, fuel consumption improved during a stint travelling on the highway. Our figure should allow for an average range of 634 km. However, match what’s claimed, and you’d be able to travel 726 km before the 45-litre tank needs a top up.
The exterior dimensions translates to a capacious cabin. For comparison, the new Polo Sedan is more than 50 mm taller and almost 500 mm longer than its hatchback sibling, thus translating to increased fore and aft headroom, while the latter measurement provided additional knee-room and, of course, more boot space (521 vs 351 litres). In addition, the increased ground clearance (179 vs the hatch’s 106 mm) made it more comfortable (for my lower back, at least) to climb in and out.
The soft, cloth seats added comfort. I would have preferred darker trim, however. When picking up the press car, there were already stains of some sort on the beige-coloured pews. Curiously, on VW SA’s configurator, the Polo Sedan features grey upholstery.
Continuing with comfort, the ride felt supple, with the suspension arrangement and 16-inch alloys, wrapped in 205/55-size rubber, of the (top-spec) Life soaking up the few imperfections on Cape Town’s otherwise well-kempt roads with aplomb.
There was, however, one, let’s say, issue that impeded on the otherwise comfortable experience. The Polo Sedan’s (hard plastic) interior fit and finish doesn’t feel as solidly constructed as that of its hatchback sibling. A couple of creaks became present when driving over unavoidable road scars. The windscreen-wiper stalk also made a curious, plasticky click.
Another gripe I had with the cabin was the controls of the automatic air-conditioning system … and the manner in which audio volume has to be adjusted on the 10-inch, touch-enabled infotainment display. Starting with the former, the climate is adjusted via capacitive controls. I think physical items would have been more user-friendly. To adjust the volume, you first have to press a speaker-looking icon on the screen, after which you have to drag a dot to increase/decrease volume. Fortunately, an analogue button on the leather-wrapped multifunction steering wheel can be used for adjusting how loud you want your tunes to be.
It’s worth noting that all of the above-mentioned convenience features — including many others, such as wireless smartphone charging and App-Connect, a reverse-view camera, supplemented by rear park distance sensors, and cruise control — are included as standard with Life level of specification. Automatic headlamps are also present, as are daytime-running lights. Safety items include two airbags, Isofix, stability control and a space-saver spare wheel for added peace of mind. With Cape Town having so many steep inclines, hill-start assist would have been a welcome addition to the package.
Five exterior colour options are available, each at no additional cost. The colour palette comprises white, Carbon Steel Grey metallic, Rising Blue metallic, Wild Cherry Red metallic, and Reflex Silver metallic. Our press unit was dressed in the latter.
As mentioned, this was the manual derivative. The five-speed cog swapper shifted seamlessly between gears. (Life grade can also be had with a six-speed self-shifter. This model’s claimed fuel consumption is 6.5 L/100 km.) The four-cylinder petrol engine produces 81 kW and 152 Nm of torque (available from 3 850 r/min), which were sufficient for travelling at the national limit.
The verdict
3.5/5
If I had to choose between the Polo hatch and Sedan, I’d take the former, with the reason being that, bar the ever-so-often visits from the ‘rents, I’m one part of a two-person household. However, were you two more, the sedan derivative would, to no surprise, be the model of choice. Here, like a larger gas cylinder, bigger is better. It offers ample seating space for four adults (you’d manage to squeeze in a fifth on the rear bench, where there’s a duo of anchorages for kids’ seats), the boot is capacious, and there’s a generous amount of standard convenience features. The manual Polo Sedan Life is now priced at R369 900, which includes a three-year/120 000 km warranty and a service plan of the same duration and 45 000 km.
