.

This is the last of its kind. A limited-edition example of a genuine real-world classic. Exclusive enough that by the time you read this they’ll probably all be sold. And yet, at a price which matches the heritage. A real people’s exclusive.

No, I’m not being paid to write VW PR gumpf, but I’ve been driving the Mk1 all week now and it actually manages to live up to the hype. And it should make hardcore South African petrolheads sad to see it go.

The thing is, yes it has no ABS, airbags, ESP, power steering, or even aircon (really the biggest shame of the lot). Instead it cuts straight to the essence of the car. There are four attractive wheels, a tin box for sitting in, another wheel for steering the whole lot and then three pedals and a stick for deciding how fast you want it all to go.

And to this basic home recipe is added some deeply tantalising spice for the Mk1. Part-leather seats, complete with red stitching just like in an old CTI. There’s central locking, even if it is of the dinosaur variety, each door whirring loudly into its locked position a good four seconds after the original command  to do so is sent. A chunky three-spoke leather wheel with solitary airbag (take that safety moaners!). Even sporty aluminium pedals, and an aluminium-look bezel on the dials themselves.

My kids were probably most delighted, having never seen anything like them before, at the manual-winding windows, but there is still more quite exciting stuff to this limited edition. There’s a grumbly, rough, old-school 1.6-litre injected motor up front, propelling a chassis sitting 10mm lower than “regular” Citi models. A pair of fruity (if dainty) tailpipes which rasp aggressively at every opportunity. And then there’s the exterior.

It’s subtle to be sure. You’d never notice the ride-height drop without a very trained eye, but the blue-to-black paintjob and the distinctive chrome/silver flashes are unmistakable. That is if you haven’t already spotted the little silver Citi silhouette on the fenders and hatch lid itself.

Which, sadly, means you’re never going to have people sauntering up to you in parking lots and going “Hey, is that a Mk1 then?” Most are likely to think some youngster with a can of silver spraypaint but halfway decent taste has sorted it out on his own. Which is sad, because you’d really like to respond to these imaginary onlookers in-the-know “Yes, it is, and it really is that brilliant.”

Girls aren’t going to appreciate it too much either. The lack of power-steering, compared to the finger-twirling steering wheels of today’s city-car, makes for shockingly heavyweight parking manoeuvres for such a little car, while the absence of aircon in place of a basic fan/heater arrangement will likely make this dark tin box a pretty close environment in our SA summer. Then there are the brakes. About an inch and a half of completely dead travel at the top of the pedal action does not inspire confidence if yours in any way wavers.

No, this is a lads car. It stinks when you start it up in the morning, and the engine clatters noisily and unevenly when cold. The gearbox takes some warming of its oils before it gets exactly smooth either. Sadly, the brakes don’t ever “come to temperature”, so to speak. And then you need some beefy forearms to muscle it out onto the road so that you can set about working it all up to temp.

Once you have though, it is such a sweet little car. It hammers home the fact that beneath all of this, is the chassis which gave birth to the hot hatch genre. A design a few decades old perhaps, but an example which is brand-new and fighting fit. If this were thirty years ago, you’d have been the king of the road in one of these.

The four-pot motor is constantly gnashing its teeth, and offers up plenty of useable muscle all the way through its rev range. Yes, it sounds rather thrashed a lot of the time, but that’s part of the charm really. And the chassis isn’t in any way filtered, diluted, or restrained. Just the interface between the raw, primal forces being exerted on the vehicle by the drive, to the driver. A direct, hard line.

It is just a huge amount of fun. Yes, it absolutely feels the dinosaur it is, but it’s a lovable one. Like the ones from kid’s cartoons more than the one from Spielberg’s murdered movie series.

And the “new” looks even mean that you glance admiringly back over your shoulder when you do park and walk away, even if no-one else really does. It’s a special feeling which a numbered plaque on the dash reminds you of every moment you’re inside it. And there is quite literally no other car on the market for R120K that even comes close to giving you that. None.

That price allows the indomitable Citi to exit, stage left, as gracefully as it arrived. The Mk1 epitomises the entire model range, basic ingredients, huge heart, massive fun, for not a lot of money. VW could have gotten greedy with these last 1000 models, deigning them to be for collectors only, but instead have priced them to sell to the people who made this dinosaur so great for so long. It’s a triumph. And a tribute. On wheels.

We will also probably never see it’s like again. Cheap cars are now emaciated, jokey, Pikachu cars with sewing-machine engines and chassis’ of jelly. Neither heart, nor soul. Mere innocuous transport. Nowadays you’ve got to pay more handsomely for any fun or charm whatsoever.

But sadly, our loss doesn’t mean it isn’t time for the Citi to leave us. It is unquestionably a car of yesterday. But like say a Nissan 1400 bakkie, it’s a true people’s hero. Affordable, adorable, reliable, dependable, and utterly loveable to enthusiasts everywhere.

And the Mk1, the last of a great line, ends the production with a flourish.

Russell Bennett

Liked

Character. In spades.

Fruity exhaust note.

Subtle silver/chrome bling

Disliked

The end of an era

All the safety moaners who had a hand in killing it.

Drive Vitals : Citi Mk I

Engine Four-cylinder petrol

Induction Natural

Capacity 1595cc

Power 74 kW @ 5400rpm

Torque 140 Nm @ 4400rpm

Kerb weight 858 kg

Driven wheels Front

0-100km/h 9.7 Seconds

Price R113 500

[View with PicLens]

12►

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Not an extravagant design, but good looking nonetheless

VW’s Golf with a distended boot is no more, shocking I know considering its over 9 million units sales success. Okay, that’s a bit of a half truth, VW haven’t killed their Jetta, but it will no longer be based on Golf underpinnings. The new Jetta is well and truly its own car now, which is nice and all, but an odd decision from VW considering that we live in an age of platform sharing. And the Golf VI platform is a good one, so to ditch it is unusual.

As evidenced by the Jetta’s strong U.S sales, and the Yanks being the biggest market in the world of course, VW seem to have placed a big emphasis on U.S tastes in the new Jetta. And if there’s one things Americans like, barring war naturally, it’s German engineering. So VW are offering U.S customers a choice of four finely engineered, advanced and efficient motors. Three of the four engines are petrol variants, with power starting at 85kW. Power ramps up nicely in the other two petrol motors; a 2.5L motor making 125kW is next on the list with the range being topped off with VW’s ubiquitous 147kW 2.0L TSI. The diesel, if we must speak of such things, is also a 2.0L, turbocharged too as is standard on diesel nowadays. The 2.0 TDI features common rail injection, but can only just make it over the 100kW mark with 103kW. Torque is more impressive however at 320Nm.

Europe will be getting six engine options, but as is the trend in Europe, the engines will tend more towards lower capacity and more forced induction. In total there are four petrol options, and two diesels. At the bottom of the petrol pile is a 1.2 TSI, with 77kW, and then two 1.4 TSI’s. The 1.4 TSI’s produce 90kW and 118kW’s, and once again the 2.0 TSI completes the petrol lineup with 147kW. Similarly, the top diesel is the same as the American diesel, a 2.0 TDI, but in addition to the 2.0L 103kW motor there will also be a 1.6 TDI option of 77kW power. Further to Europe’s obsession with all things ‘green’, two of these Jetta motor’s feature VW’s BlueMotion package. The 1.2 TSI and 1.6 TDI both receive the technology package which includes start-stop and battery regenerative systems. This makes the 1.2 petrol good for a claimed 5.3L/100km fuel economy and the diesel even better at 4.1L/100km.

The new Jetta is bigger than it has ever been, with a wheelbase longer than previous Golf based Jetta’s, which results in the happy consequence of a more spacious cabin and improved rear legroom. The overall design has been given a workover as well, with VW’s new family design language showing though well. And that’s about it, not really anything that new or interesting, except for the entirely new platform that is.

Hey, what do you know, the German’s finally made it to Moscow. And they’re only 69 years later than expected, but I guess better late than never. If you didn’t quite catch that, well, no one can blame you for sleeping through high school history, so we’ll let it slide. Anyway, VW has unveiled the saloon variant of the Polo, in Moscow of all places. It is made in Russia, and even developed for Russians apparently, so I guess unveiling it in the frozen wasteland makes sense.

The Russian Polo saloon is only available with one engine, fortunately for the reds it’s the right one, the 1.6L 77kW petrol motor. There are however two whole gearbox options if you simply can’t bear having an identical car to the chop next to you, a five speed manual or six speed auto. The automatic is a Tiptronic box, a first in Russia in this class, which is surprising, for a nations first Tiptronic to be in a Polo that is.

So it is just a Polo, but what makes this particular Polo variant interesting is the localisation efforts made by VW. For starters, a wide sample of Russia’s varying fuel quality was examined and tested, thus ensuring that no matter where you are in vast Russia, your Polo’s motor will keep turning without corroding away. There was extensive climate testing done, and even the suspension design takes into account Russia’s many terrible roads. The paint too is more durable, not sure how one makes paint durable, but they’ve found a way.

So if you really, really want one, consider emigrating to Russia instead of Australia. Just be warned, it gets ridiculously cold there, as the German’s well know.

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An orange VW, strange indeed

I’ll be honest, despite trying my best not to like this new CrossPolo, I can’t help myself. The current generation Polo is excellent and even though this is a perturbation of the Polo, I still want one for a road test. As long as it’s the 1600 petrol, that I think is best in its class with the Polo, I’ll be happy. The new CrossPolo, the second model of the new generation Polo to be launched in South Africa, will no doubt not sell anywhere near as well as the Polo proper, but is nevertheless a very important vehicle for VWSA.

The CrossPolo’s significance for VWSA in particular stems from the fact that VWSA is the sole manufacturer and exporter of the CrossPolo worldwide, making it a rather big deal for the company. VWSA plan to churn out roughly 12000 CrossPolo’s in windy Uitenhage this year, which for a single vehicle is significant in SA. Most important of all though, you can get it in orange, which doesn’t work at all on most cars but goes down well with the CrossPolo. When I was at the VW Uitenhage factory in PE, I saw one CrossPolo in the bright and distinctive orange parked amongst hordes of far more bland and conservatively coloured VW’s of all sorts, and it well and truly stood out, in a good way.

In a thoroughly clinical German fashion, the CrossPolo only comes in two engine trims, a petrol and a diesel, both 1600. And both produce identical power, albeit at different rpm’s, with the diesel naturally peaking at a lower rpm. The fabulous 1.6 petrol, producing 77kW@5259rpm is a very well balanced motor, providing decent power and good torque of 155Nm@3500rpm whilst still returning exceptionally good fuel economy. What sets this motor apart from its competition in terms of fuel economy is that the combined cycle manufacturer figure of 6.6L/100km may not be the best out there, but fuel economy doesn’t degrade nearly as quickly when driven vigorously. If you dawdle about at low revs, there are cars that’ll drink less fuel, but build revs and they fall away with the Polo’s and thus CrossPolo’s 1.6 maintaining its impressive figures.

The turbodiesel 1.6 as already mentioned also produces 77kW, but it does have a torque advantage with 250Nm@1500-2500rpm. This apparently takes it from 0-100km/h slightly quicker, whilst still offering superior fuel economy with combined cycle figures of 4.3L/100km. You have to pay your money though for this alleged superior performance, with standard equipment levels the same between the two vehicles, the petrol will enter the market at a shade under 200k and the diesel just under 225k. Just get the petrol, you’ll live a happier life.

Of course the CrossPolo’s not just about the engines. The whole point of this sort of crossover vehicle is that you get an affordable and efficient small car, that still has the makings of at least a somewhat practical family car. And the CrossPolo does seem to have these bases more or less covered; there’s a 952L capacity boot with rear seats folded down, roof racks to, I guess put stuff on, and even some very light off-road capabilities. Although the off-roading capabilities could turn out to be completely non-existent, because the only real off-road features are extended plastic body sills to protect the body proper from damage.

As always however, one will have to wait and see just what damage the VW options list does to the seemingly aggressive pricetag. It does have nice 17 inch ‘Budapest style’ (not sure what that means exactly) five spoke rims, which could very well distract potential buyers long enough for them to ignore the slightly infamous VW options list. That, and it being orange could do the trick as well.

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Every year hordes of GTI fans descend on Worthersee in Austria to pay homage to the legendary Golf GTI. Okay, not every mark was a legend, but the current Golf VI variant is pretty special. In years gone by VW have treated the world to some fairly mad iterations of the GTI, who could forget for instance the wild W12 variant, with its huge 12 cylinder motor sitting where the back seats should’ve been. It would not go round corners, at all. And whilst the two specials this year do look good, they’re not really insane enough for our tastes here at Drive. The GTI Excessive concept looks stunning but lacks significant mechanical changes. The other GTI special was the result of collaboration between VW and Adidas, which will go on sale in Europe in June.

The Excessive concept’s add-on parts are finished in piano black gloss paint, complementing the little changes well. There is a new front splitter with altered air inlets flanking the front grill. The rear diffuser and wing have both been redesigned as well, and the exhaust pipes are now tipped with titanium. Inside the Excessive are some improved bucket seats and new brushed aluminium trim scattered about. Whilst the style package does turn the already handsome GTI into a purposeful and aggressive design, one can’t help but wonder, is it really all that excessive? I guess from the German’s, you take what you can get in terms of motoring excess.

The motor has been left untouched sadly, although a marginal power and torque boost has been achieved with the addition of free flowing and lighter exhaust system. So power might not be all that different, but the handling should be quite a bit sharper. Modified running gears, firmer springs and a wider track, along with uprated brake discs and track orientated tyre’s should result in a sharper handling GTI. Not that the standard GTI had anything wrong with its handling.

As with any concept car worth its salt, production has not been confirmed although the option is open to VW. VW could offer a retrofitted accessories pack if there is sufficient positive response to the concept, and with the Golf VII still a way off they might just do that to keep the brand tugging along until next generation.

Can you spot the difference between this an a standard GTI?

The GTI Adidas is quite cunningly a 3 door GTI, the 3 stripes of Adidas no doubt influencing that decision. The modifications to the Adidas are even more subtle than the Excessive, on the exterior there are some Adidas badges and special rims, that’s about it. Same goes for the interior, just some Adidas inspired styling really, it does look good though.

The Adidas themed GTI interior

A really nice touch at this year’s Worthersee event is the inclusion of one of South Africa’s brightest sons. One of the last thousand Citi Golf MK1’s made an appearance, making the shows motto instantly pertinent: GTI history meets GTI present and future.

[View with PicLens]

The Golf VI is one of the most capable and well rounded platforms in existence today. The chassis is responsive, and in GTI trim, the drivetrain and brilliant X-Diff is an engineering triumph. VW even has all the bases covered with regards to powerplants, from the economical entry level options, to the award winning 1.4TSI twin charged motor and then on to the 155kW 2.0L turbo in the GTI. Of course the oh so close Golf R motor is a 2.0L as well, but pushing out another 40 odd kW. VW then, with this particular platform really have something on their hands, too bad they’re intent on ruining it all.

Fortunately, we have until 2013 until VW unleash their ‘zero emissions’ all electric Golf blue e-motion on the world, along with a similar Jetta blue-emotion round the same time. In VW’s defense, it does seem like there was pressure from the German government to go the all electric route, so maybe I can forgive them in time. VW are pushing hard into the alternative propulsion market it seems, a hybrid Touareg has already been revealed, 2012 will see a hybrid Jetta followed in 2013 by hybrid Golf’s and Passat’s.

On to the engineering of the Golf itself though, its electric motor will still be found in the engine bay like it should be. The motor is good for 85kW and an impressive 270Nm of torque, but then all electric motors perform admirably in the torque stakes. The juice for this motor is powered by ignorant Greenpeace’s favourite, a lithium-ion battery, so as far as powerplant goes there isn’t too much to really separate the Golf from the crowd. Then again, that’s sort of the point of a Golf, so not all that surprising. Top speed isn’t too bad, although only when comparing it to other all-electrics, not combustion engines, 140km is the top speed which is enough for most people anyway. The electric Golf is just over 200kg heavier than a diesel Golf anyway, and with so little power it is unsurprising that top speed is low. 0-100km/h takes 11.8s if you’re interested, not that this is exactly what you’d call a dragster.

The range is disappointing, at just 150km with absolutely optimum conditions, but VW did produce an intriguing and very German justification for the range limit. According to German Federal government statistics, 60% of German’s commute to work by car, and of those people roughly half commute less than 10km one way in to work. Only 16% commute further than 25Km, the rest traveling a variety of distances more than 10km and less than 25km. The point of these rather boring and for South Africans arbitrary statistic’s, is that for Germans at least, the measly range is sufficient for their work needs. Going anywhere else however could present a problem, which, you know, is sort of the idea of having your own car. The convenience and versatility not provided by public transport, even if you’re in the west. I must applaud them for at least attempting to work around one of all-electrics problems in a typically German way, for the German’s.

There are some systems in place which allows the driver to squeeze as much range as possible out the electric motor. The car can coast, or sail as VW puts it, when the driver releases the throttle the engine is disengaged from the drivetrain thus minimising drag. When this mode is engaged the batteries will be charged as well via everyone’s favourite party trick at the moment, regenerative batteries. Although this isn’t directly an F1 style KERS solution, the common DNA is there. And whilst F1 by no means pioneered regenerative batteries, it most certainly popularized it and got the concept out there to the public.

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With the World Cup kickoff rapidly approaching and now near enough for us to taste, our April issue of South Africa’s best free, online motoring magazine Drive is just what you need to quell the unbridled excitement bubbling up inside of you for a little while!

This month we’ve been inundated with mid-sized hatchbacks, and the market for these vehicles appears to be exploding with new players like Hyundai coming to the fray with the i30, VW reviving its low-cost alternative with the reworked Vivo, a full test of the excellent new Polo 1.4, and even a turn around the block in the Chery J1.

Heading upwards a touch on the value ladder, we also enjoy our taste of the somewhat obscure Citroen C5 tremendously and approve heartily of Audi’s green efforts in the A4 2.0T StopStart, and take a trip in the aptly named Dodge Journey CRD R/T.

There are two massive head to head duels in the issue, big V8 saloons inspired by our visit to Kyalami to watch the Italian Superstars hammering about the famous SA track, in the shape of the perfectly mismatched new Mercedes E63 AMG and not-so-new Chrysler 300C SRT-8, while two-wheeled fanatics will be interested in our comparison of the Kawasaki GTR 1400 and Honda VFR 1200 sports tourers.

In addition there are interesting features on the reality behind the ridiculously punitive emissions tax coming down on SA motoring this year, the interesting new Michelin Pure Power tyre, and a trip to the Honda Driving Academy to buff up our biking skills.

Enjoy the read!

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The new Polo

Not very long ago at all I did the road test on the 1.4L Polo, read the road test in the April edition of Drive in fact, but to summarise I had many good things to say about it. To be honest there was actually very little at all that I could find fault with, except for on thing. The VW Polo has just recently been awarded motoring’s most illustrious title, that of World Car of the Year. And whilst I have immense respect for the 1.4L, it lacked that special something, it’s just very good in every department, but lacks the spark needed to truly call it the best car in the world. Now however, I understand, the 1.6 has spark.

The Polo 1.6 for me is the car that rounds off the Polo range, the motor livens up the chassis and platform as a whole to the extend that I can now see just why the international motoring press believes the Polo to be the best overall car range in the world. Thanks to its short throw manual gearbox, the driving experience is a visceral one that almost makes you feel like you’re in a baby Golf GTI, praise doesn’t come much higher than that, from me at least.

I’m not going to say for an instant that the Polo 1.6 is anywhere near as capable as a Golf GTI, what with the Golf’s 155kW 2.0L motor and wildly versatile XDS electronic diff the Polo simply can’t touch that sort of performance, but it just feels like it. And feeling, quite frankly, is all important. The 1.6 can actually only manage 77kW and 155Nm of torque so Golf GTI performance is definitely out of the question, but we’re talking a volume seller here.

VW Polo 1.6

On my first drive home I found myself doing something I virtually never do when testing cars of the volume seller segment. You know when you throttle off and let the guy in front of you get a good distance ahead, and then pay close attention to the lights and try and time it so not only do you hit the red, but are hopefully at the front thanks to the prodigious following distance as well. Now you’re at the front waiting for green, open road in front of you, you’re at a standstill so for a short while at least there’s no concern for speed limits, only a few seconds on from green but I’ll take it. Build the revs as you see the cross traffic light go yellow and then red, once you have green and the obligatory three cars have jumped the red of course, dump the clutch and bury the throttle. Rinse, repeat, all the way home. And what makes this fun in the Polo is the fantastic throaty growl from the 1.6 from high 2000’s all the way up to 5000 odd revs, it gets a bit whiny beyond that and has quite a hard limiter at 6000 in first as well, but still marvelous all in all. Combine the growl with a beefy level of grunt for a 1.6, a first class gearbox and you have a recipe for fun, which in a Polo is surprising indeed.

Playing this little game isn’t the only way to reveal some of the Polo’s more commendable traits, the twisty bits are handled with aplomb too as the Polo has very responsive and direct steering. Sure it’ll understeer a bit at times but then what FWD car doesn’t, and as the Polo doesn’t benefit from the level of traction provided by the Golf GTI’s XDS diff it’s not surprising. I must admit I haven’t done any high speed stuff in the Polo, no open roads you see, so this glowing opinion could completely switch around after a while. You never quite know how a car handles speed until you try after all. And I’ve actually only been impressed with the Polo’s first three gears, beyond those the economy ratios kick in somewhat and dull the experience. The power band too isn’t the widest, you do need to ring the neck of the Polo somewhat before you can access all your available horses, but isn’t too much of a problem.

VW Polo interior

The Polo 1.6 manual really is the Polo to go for it seems, as the more powerful engine livens up the Polo platform, but don’t think that to achieve this VW have compromised on the critical areas for a volume seller. It’s still economical, even with vigorous use of the throttle, it’s comfortable and even quite aggressively priced. Although it must be said as with all VW’s the options list is a scary thing, especially when considering the relative lack of standard equipment. Even loaded with options though it’s well priced I think, and for the fun factor on offer well worth it.

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The South African Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ) last night announced the Volkswagen Golf VI 1.4 TSI 90 kW Comfortline as South Africa’s 2010 Car of the Year (COTY) at a gala banquet held at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand.

The announcement of the prestigious accolade comes after a stringent process of voting and physical testing of eligible cars launched onto the SA market from 1 November 2008 and 31 October 2009. An in-depth poll of the SAGMJ full members, followed by a second vote by the COTY jury, arrived at eight finalists towards the end of last year. The COTY jury, made up of the top motoring journalists in the country, then put the finalists through two days of testing in February and subjected them to a rigid scoring process.

The final audited scores showed the Volkswagen Golf VI 1.4 TSI 90 kW Comfortline as the eventual winner of what is widely considered to be the most prestigious accolade in the motor industry. It beat off strong competition from the Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.4 TBi, Audi Q5 2.0T FSI quattro S tronic, Chevrolet Cruze 1.8 LS, Hyundai i20 1.6 GLS, Suzuki Alto 1.0 GLS, Toyota Prius 1.8 ECVT Advanced and Volvo XC60 3.0T Geartronic, which were the other finalists vying for honours in the country’s premier motoring event.
Much of the evaluation process took place at the world renowned Gerotek vehicle test facility outside Pretoria, making the South African Car of the Year competition unique amongst similar accolades awarded globally because of the extensive testing which takes place in a controlled environment. The contenders are also evaluated taking their direct market rivals into account and are therefore judged in their segments rather than against each other.

Run by the SAGMJ since 1986 and sponsored by Wesbank since its inception, previous winners include the Toyota Corolla Twin Cam (1986),  Mercedes-Benz 260E (1987), BMW 735i (1988), Toyota Corolla GLi Executive (1989), BMW 525i (1990), Opel Monza 160 GSi (1991), Nissan Maxima 300 SE (1992), BMW 316i (1993), Opel Kadett 140 (1994), Opel Astra 160iS (1995), Audi A4 1,8 (1996), BMW 528i (1997), Ford Fiesta Fun (1998), Alfa Romeo 156 T-Spark (1999), Renault Clio 1.4 RT (2000), BMW 320d (2001), Audi A4 1.9 TDI (2002), Volkswagen Polo TDI (2003), Renault Megane 1.9 dCi (2004), Volvo S40 2.4i (2005), Audi A3 Sportback 2.0T (2006), Honda Civic 1.8VXi Sedan (2007), Mazda2 1.5 Individual (2008) and the Honda Accord 2.4 Executive (2009).

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VW's 'M' badge

BMW have the M division, Mercedes have AMG, and Audi have their RS range. It really was only a matter of time then considering everyone else has one, yes, the people’s car is getting a performance division, the R division.

VW have formally established Volkswagen R GmbH who will specialise in exclusive sporty models from Volkswagen. The R factory is located not far from VW’s Wolfsburg headquarters in Warmenau and is packed to the rafters with more than 350 staffers.

The question however is what exactly the R division is going to do? VW already have the Golf R and Scirocco R prepped and ready to go shortly, and those two models are the only truly sporty foundations in the VW stable. I can’t see a Fox R anytime soon, maybe the forthcoming Polo GTI could get an R badge but beyond that I can’t see it. And besides, wasn’t the whole point of buying two premium sporty brands in Porsche and Audi supposed to allow VW to play in that market without doing it themselves?

VW Golf R