Wolfsburg, Germany - Just when you thought it was safe to go back into a Volkswagen showroom again, Wolfsburg has announced another four Polo variants, to add to the facelift announced less than a month ago.
The Polo TSI BlueMotion, Polo TDI BlueMotion, Polo BlueGT and Cross Polo will premiere at the Geneva motor show next week, with new, cleaner-running diesel - and petrol - engines, for which VW is claiming as much as 21 percent lower fuel consumption.
Until now, BlueMotion has meant specifically turbodiesel power; now, for the first time, there's a Polo TSI BlueMotion with a brand-new, 66kW, three-cylinder turbopetrol.
Volkswagen says it's the world's most fuel-efficient petrol-driven five-seater, with a combined-cycle figure of just 4.1 litres per 100km.
WORLD'S MOST FUEL-EFFICIENT FIVE-SEATER. PERIOD.
Alongside it at Geneva will be the TDI Blue Motion, updated and restyled to match the rest of the 2014 Polo range, its 55kW, three-cylinder turbodiesel now quoted at a parsimonious 3.1 litres per 100km to retain its title as the world's most fuel-efficient five-seater car, with a driving range of more than 1400km on a 45-litre tankful of diesel.
The third and last 'Blue' Polo for 2014 is the BlueGT, an intriguing mix of long legs, remarkable performance for the genre and formidable fuel-efficiency, thanks to cylinder shut-off - much more common in big V8's than super-clean small diesels, while power is up seven kilowatts for the facelifted model, from 103 to 110.
AND FINALLY…
The CrossPolo - VW's special hatch for people with long gravel driveways - has also benefitted from all the 2014 updates, as well as new paint colours, new upholstery fabrics, a new, more modern steering wheel and new smoked tail light clusters.
The new Polo will be released in South Africa during the second half of 2014; no decisions have yet been made as to which of the BlueMotion models will will be included in the local line-up.