Polo R set to join VW's
Australia's best bang-for-buck sports car, the Volkswagen Polo GTi, is set to acquire an even more slippery sibling.
Just announced at the brand's GTi festival in Germany was an R version of the Polo. I'm tipping it to start at $36,990, with Australian availability likely late next year.
This would place it $9000 above the super-value GTi.
Such pricing would be below the Golf GTi and R, which start at $38,990 and $48,490.
The Polo R will be urged by a 162kW 2.0-litre turbo, suggesting a 0-100km/h time just above 6sec.
Like the Golf R, the hottest Polo will be all-wheel-drive, a decided handling asset. The VW stable's Audi will also utilise this all-wheel-drive platform, in a special edition of its S1 pocket rocket.
At the GTi festival, Volkswagen showed off a racing version of the Polo R with World Rally Championship decals.
HELP FROM ABOVE
It's amazing how quickly we take new technology for granted.
Driving the Platinum version of Ford's Kuga SUV recently, I regularly cursed its lack of a reversing camera.
And that's despite creating only a few catastrophes while reversing prior to the availability of electronic eyes.
Most SUVs now have such devices but Nissan has gone one better. Upper models of its Dualis and X-Trail ranges now have eyes everywhere. On these models, the screen displays an image of the vehicle from above, as if there were a hovering camera.
To achieve this illusion, the system integrates four super wide- angle cameras and four sonars.
The cameras are in the grille, side mirrors and rear spoiler, while the sonars are at the corners. So precise parking should be a cinch even for the spatially challenged.
The X-Trails with the helicopter pilot's view are the $42,990 TL diesel and $44,990 Ti petrol. In the Dualis, the top view is part of a new Ti-L range, which also adds sat-nav and 18-inch wheels.
Pricing starts at $31,540, the cheapest place you'll find a bird's-eye view in motoring.
No excuses for carpark dents and scrapes in one of these.
OIL ON THE OUTER
Though probably no longer true that they're averse to water, it seems UK drivers are not very familiar with oil.
According to a survey, predictably from a company with an interest in the subject, three-quarters of UK motorists don't know how to check the oil level. Half don't even know why oil is used, says Mobil.
I suspect it's not much different here, with oil (and even radiator- level and tyre-pressure) checks often left to whenever the car is serviced.
In my youth, when cars tended to retain oil no better than colanders, my Cortina needed half a pint in a good week.
The consequences of forgetting were dire. You learnt quickly, or walked to the drive-in.
