TEST DRIVE: 1,000km in a Volkswagen Polo 1.6 Hatchback (Polo Trophy Limited Edition spec)

Long ago, but not too long ago, about early March or April 2014 actually, I was handed the key to the locally assembled Volkswagen Polo 1.6 Hatchback which I promptly tested and reviewed. It was a very accomplished hatchback. I did enjoy its well though out simplicity and I thought that it was one of the most pleasant sub RM90,000 car that Malaysian Ringgit could buy at that time. This time, that same model has now been around for a while and many are seen plying the Malaysian roads.

The Mk 6 Polo has been in its current form since 2008. Of course, by now Volkswagen had face lifted the car as it has been around for a while. Malaysia got the face lift sometime mid last year. And this face lifted Polo Trophy Limited Edition was what I managed to get my hands on. The face lift adds some redesigned bumpers (front more noticeable than the rear), a new Blaupunkt touch screen infotainment unit (which looks better than the one with the tiny LCD readout with a few lines on it) and a new steering wheel (that looks like the one used in the current Golf TSI). 

Volkswagen WRC team Jari-Matti Latvala & Miikka Anttila launch limited edition Volkswagen Polo Trophy Edition

Volkswagen World Rally Championship (WRC) driver Jari-Matti Latvala together with his co-driver Miikka Anttila made a visit to Malaysia courtesy of Volkswagen Group Malaysia before heading off to compete in the Australian rally leg of the WRC. The two very sporting men were fresh from an amazing one-two-three win on Volkswagen’s home turf, the Rallye Deutschland. 

Messrs Latvala and Anttila graced the grounds of Setia City Convention Centre in Shah Alam to meet specially invited Volkswagen owners, fans and members of the media as well as launch the limited edition Volkswagen Polo Trophy released in conjunction with Volkswagen’s success in the World Rally Championship (WRC) arena. The event today, marked the start of the Polo Rally Weekend scheduled for the 5th and 6th of September 2015. Visitors could go for a ride with two of Malaysia’s top female drifters – Leona Chin and Azrina Jane Abdullah. They could also take a closer look at the newly launched Polo Trophy (some trim and stickers differentiate it from the normal version) where only 100 units are available. It is priced at RM89,888 while stocks last. 

A Volkswagen Weekend in Ipoh - 18th & 19th April 2015

This weekend Volkswagen will be at the Stadium Indera Putra Carpark in Ipoh.  The VW roadshow will feature its cars and there will be the usual sales promotions for their cars. If you are in Ipoh, and have nothing better to do this weekend. By all means head over there for test drives and other activities.

A Volkswagen Weekend in Ipoh

Date : 18th & 19th April 2015 (Saturday & Sunday)

TEST DRIVE: VOLKSWAGEN POLO 1.6 HATCHBACK

Hello again folks, now's the time for one of those longer than usual reviews that hopefully would assist you in your quest to purchase the correct car for the time being. Of course this is only for the time being as people change and tastes change along the way. Especially if you suddenly get that promotion and start thinking of cars bigger than the one you're driving at the moment. It happens. And before I start going on and on and on, I've just got my hands on the Volkswagen Polo 1.6 Hatchback and this is what I think about it. Do read on.

2014 Volkswagen Polo 1.6 Hatchback - Short in-car video clip.

We have been spending some time with this little Volkswagen Polo 1.6 Hatchback. We've taken it grocery shopping, on the school run, to appointments, shown it to our family members, friends, gone through some horrendous traffic and the pouring rain with some flooding as well as over to our favourite stretches of roads around Gombak, Selayang and Genting Sempah. Nothing broke. Which is a good thing in a car. Any car.

But before we go on to our full fledged review (which should come sometime soon) here's a short  in-car clip of it being driven over some twists and turns.

UPDATED: The review is already out. Go there by clicking HERE.

Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show 2013 (KLIMS13) opened today. And I have some comments. UPDATED

The Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show 2013 (KLIMS13) was officially launched by YB Dato’ Hasan Bin Malek, Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives & Consumerism earlier today. There are some highlights of the show below as well as the official press release for your viewing pleasure folks. (Perodua aside as I have reported about it already).

But before that, I also have to state the obvious. While KLIMS13 has quite a number of concept cars from the likes of Citroen, Hyundai, Perodua, Toyota to name a few and a few notable car launches and previews by Volkswagen (the CKD Polo 1.6 hatchback), Ford (Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost, Fusion Hybrid), as well as some others, the motorshow is lacking some big names and heavy hitters. Proton is not around. The major luxury German brands are non-existant (Audi, BMW and Mercedes Benz). There are no Rolls Royces or Bentleys. There are no Mitsubishi, Suzuki or Mazda. There is also no Kia or Chevrolet. There is also no Jaguar or Land Rover. No Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati too. Sad but very true.

I have not forgotten the fact that Infiniti and Subaru are first time participants. These car manufacturers bring a slight difference to this year's motor show. But it isn't much of a compensation.