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52 TOPCAR.CO.ZA|January 2016Road test: VWPolo 1.0TSI BluemotionAires’ alloys. Underbody cladding, loweredsuspension and low rolling resistance tyresare the less obvious mods.The magic withinIt’s all regular Polo inside: soft-touchdashboard, restra ined metallic brightwork(much of it real), and solid build integrity.No surpri ses there. What is unexpected isthe reasonably high level of standardequipment. Highlights include electricwindows, air-con, cruise co ntro l, 5-inchcolour touchscreen infotainment systemwith CD/SD/USB input and Bl uetoothconnectivity , heated electric mirrors, flat tyreindi cator, hill hold, daylight running la mps,static cornering lights, four airbags andelectronic stability contro l. The list ofoptions is n’t that long so as not to negativelyaffect the car’s ke rb weight. So you can’torder one with a sunroof, but you canupgrade to bi-xenons, climate controland amarginal ly fancier, 5.8in touchscreen setupwith a proximity sensor that seems toirritate morethan excite. A sign that fullgesture controlis a next-gen Polo certainty?Drivers get a lovely leather-coveredmultifun ction steering wheel, a centralarmrest and a chair that doesn’t ratchetdown low enough, perhaps due to thepres ence of drawers beneath th e front seat s.A minor gripe in an otherwise superb B-segment environment.Driver-friendly fireBut even the success of that high-qualitymini-Golf cabin pales when compared to theBluemotion’s knockout of a 999cc three-cyli nder motor. The outputs are decent butnot eye-popping at 70kW and 160Nmhowever, as with all VW’s turbos, it’s thedrivea bility that makes you a believer. Youget the full wedge of to rque from 1500rpmwhich manifests as effortless cruising andrewarding tractability regardless of gear.About the only critic ism is in town theengine’s thrum can be intr usive shor n as it isof the Up’s naturally aspira ted aural zing.But then the Up will soon be trailing as ouracceleration tests proved – 0-100kph in theBluemotion takes 10.1 seconds with a topspeed just north of 190kph.So it ro lls well but can it really deliver onthe fuel-sipping promise? After all, itsturbodiesel pred ecessor set the barprettyhigh in those pesky combined cycle lab testswith its figure of 3.4ℓ/1 00km. The new``````petrol-fuelled car records 4.2 – not ba dconsidering the current, non-Bluemotion1.4TDI only manages an official 4.1. As everthough it’s real-world figures that matter.And it is here where the 1.0TSI really shines.Over the entire two week test periodincluding our performance runs, theBluemotion used 5.5ℓ/100km. Howdoesthat stack up? Breaking into the high si xes isproving elusive in our gingerly driven0.9-litr e turbocharged Clio lo ng-t ermer.There is scope for improvement though, as onlonger stretches of freeway, a sixth forwardcog wouldn’t go amiss. Despite this, bettering700km on a tank looks like child’s play.``````About turnAcceptable aesthetics, high ca bin quality,feisty but frugal triple – it’s a great car, butthere are some provisos. Throw itinto acorner and those low rolling resistance185/60 R15 tyres lack bite on initialturn-in.It’s by no means an understeering mess, just