Nobody could possibly think of this as the most exciting car in the recently revised Polo range, but Volkswagen believes it will be the most popular, and I can see why.Under the bonnet lies a 59bhp one-litre three-cylinder petrol engine brought over the up! city car to replace a similarly unpowerful 1.2-litre unit. Part of its appeal is that it has good fuel economy and CO2 figures of 60.1mpg and 106g/km, and although there are diesel Polos that do outstandingly better they don't sell to anything like the same extent, as is generally the case with superminis.The engine is very quiet, and it performs quite adequately in town and in gentle country motoring. Getting up to motorway speeds takes a fair old while, and you can forget about taking advantage of sudden but brief overtaking opportunities, but if your driving style is never urgent you won't have any complaints.In this form, the Polo is also very easy to drive, with an admirably smooth steering action and a light but precise feel to the other major controls. The only matters of concern are the limited rear visibility (hardly uncommon in cars of this class) and the fact that the driver's seat doesn't slide quite far enough back for the comfort of very tall drivers.Practicality isn't all it might be either. A luggage volume of 280 litres isn't bad, but rival cars, including several from elsewhere in the VW Group, offer more, and it's intriguing that the much smaller up! falls short in this respect by less than 30 litres.On the whole, though, this is an enchanting little car, and in SE specification it's also nicely equipped. All Polos already come with Bluetooth phone connectivity, DAB digital radio and the ability to have portable music players plugged in to them, and in addition the SEs have alloy wheels, air-conditioning, all-round electric windows, heated door mirrors, a 6.5" colour media touchscreen, a multifunction computer, remote central locking, various styling upgrades and leather trim for the steering wheel, gearknob and handbrake.Even with all this, the list price of £13,065 might put some people off. Still, Polos have been well established as premium superminis for many years, and if you want a lower-budget alternative there are plenty on the market, though none of them have the same appeal as the little Volkswagen. Engine 999cc, 3 cylinders Power 59bhp Transmission 5-speed manual Fuel/CO2 60.1 / 106g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 16.5 seconds Top speed 100mph Price £13,065 Details correct at publication date
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