50 years of Volkswagen’s Polo

50 years of Volkswagen’s Polo
This year sees Volkswagen’s popular Polo celebrate its 50th anniversary. The best-selling supermini was launched in 1975, and has gone on to become one of the Wolfsburg manufacturer’s most important models.

Volkswagen Polo Mk I

From the end of the Second World War, Volkswagen’s core business hung from two models – the Beetle and the Type 2 (microbus). But by the 1970s, the aging models were unable to compete against newer rivals, so VW reacted by establishing three new cars in the space of three years.

Firstly, in 1973 came the Passat, followed by the Golf in 1974, and then the Polo in 1975; it’s fair to say that the product managers did a good job in the early 1970s then. All three have gone on to see remarkable longevity, and often become synonymous with each respective class.

But the Polo was not actually a Volkswagen design originally. It actually started life as a rebadged Audi 50, which had come around the previous year. As Audi started to move more upmarket, the 50 only lasted until 1978, but the cheaper and simpler Polo remained, lasting until 1981, and offered in three-door hatchback or two-door saloon forms.

Volkswagen Polo Mk II

Featuring evolutionary styling, rather than revolutionary, the second-generation Polo really started to make the market its own. A posher supermini – with the same ethos as the Golf but a size smaller – the B-segment hatch came as both a three-door hatch and saloon, as well as a new addition in the shape of the estate – or ‘bread van’ as it’s more commonly known.

It is this generation that really established the Polo’s strengths of solidity and quality, a reputation that it continues to this day.

Volkswagen Polo Mk III

The third iteration of the Polo was the first to offer a GTI model, though the foundations for this had been laid with the Mk II’s G40 as a hot-hatch offering. An official GTI arrived a year after the third-generation Polo’s launch in 1994, which was built on a completely new platform, and stuck to hatchback styles – now in both three- and five-door variants.

Volkswagen Polo Mk IV

A relatively unloved model in the Polo canon, the Mk IV arrived in 2001, and was a real blend of styles from the rest of the Volkswagen range. The rear was very Golf, though the lights were similar to a Passat’s, and the front end was reminiscent of a more mature Lupo.

And it didn’t really work as a concept. The Polo stumbled a little, losing traction to the likes of the Ford Focus and Peugeot 206 in terms of style and driving fun, with only its Teutonic build maintaining the compact VW as a potential buy for supermini customers.

Volkswagen Polo Mk V

You don’t become a company as large as Volkswagen by letting a stumble or two become an established norm, and the fifth-generation Polo reestablished the badge in 2009. A more stylish offering, it managed to remain a grown-up proposition, while still adding youthful appeal.

Sharing components with the Audi A1, the Polo offered a broad range of engine options, from the 1.0-litre unit that also powered the up! to a twin-charged 1.4-litre engine that was shared with the likes of Skoda’s vRS used in the GTI.

Volkswagen Polo Mk VI

And so we end on the sixth-generation Polo… for now at least. Arriving in 2017, the current Polo will not have too many years ahead of it before replacement if normal product lifespans are anything to go by. The first Polo to not be available as a three-door hatch, the current Polo is five-door hatchback only and offers a suite of ‘big car’ systems such as digital instruments and safety kit.

As yet, there is no electrification of the Polo’s engines, but this is likely to at least a small degree whenever the next version arrives, as well as supporting I.D electric models.