First drive: VW Polo Dune

Newswheel staff :: 29 March 2006 :: Filed under Hatchback, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Polo, Europe & UK

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A quicky in VW’s new faux off-roader

Fact: V-Dub has just launched a new soft-roader based on the Polo. Question: Do you care? Answer: Almost definitely not. But that hasn’t prevented we intrepid souls at Newswheel from racking up a few miles in the new Polo Dune. Purely in the name of scientific research, you understand…

Not to be confused with any kind of high-powered, space-framed dune buggy, the new Dune (known as the CrossPolo in Euroland) will be at a VW shop near you from April 14th. Based on the five-door Polo, the Dune will be powered by either a 75PS 1.4-litre 4cyl petrol motor or, for an extra £850, a torquier and more frugal 70PS 3cyl TDI lump.

The new Polo Dune: Not exactly the new S-Class. Hell, it’s not even the new Phaeton. As a monument to our towering indifference, therefore, we couldn’t be bothered to take our own pictures. So, there

Despite the implications of its name, raised ride height, chunky body-kit, roof rails and tasty BBS alloys, the Dune is a front-driver, plain and simple. Those with delusions of off-road grandeur, dune-based or otherwise, need not apply. So, what’s the point of the Dune? Thankfully a succinct explanation comes from VW’s own press release; ‘The uniquely-styled Dune offers buyers something a bit different from a standard supermini.’ Fair enough, and we’d concede the Dune’s cosmetic off-road accoutrements do pack quite a visual punch.

But a brief first drive revealed that speed isn’t the Dune’s forté either – for that you’ll want the Polo Sport or 150PS GTi. Fortunately, the Dune’s 20mm longer springs don’t hinder ride quality or cornering flatness noticeably, and the onset of understeer is typical of the front-drive hatch genre. It might be no better off-road than a standard Polo, but at least it ain’t much worse on. 

So, the Dune finds itself in a small market niche largely unexploited since that other 4x4 lookalike, the front-drive Talbot Rancho of the late ‘70s. But if you want a card-carrying 4x4 supermini then both Fiat’s Panda 4x4 or Suzuki’s SX4 are the real all-wheel-drive deal.

The Dune in Euro CrossPolo trim at Geneva. Dammit if its natty orange paint job and brushed alloy appendages didn’t momentarily seduce us…

The boring bit:
VW Polo Dune 1.4 petrol
UK Price: £12,645
Engine: 1,390cc 16 valve 4cyl petrol
Power: 74bhp at 5,000rpm
Torque: 93lb/ft at 3,800 rpm.
Performance: 0-62mph 14.3 seconds, max 103mph
Fuel economy: 32.1mpg combined
CO2 emissions: 163 g/km