New Volkswagen Polo launch: the countdown begins

VOLKSWAGEN’S rival to the Ford Fiesta will be officially unveiled in Germany on Friday.

The 2017 Polo will be revealed as part of a YouTube livestream, starting at 9:00am GMT on June 16.

The sixth-generation Polo is expected to move the concentrate on in-car tech rather than revolutionary styling changes.

3

It’s likely that VW engineers and designers have followed the trend started with the latest Golf, with subtle updates to the Polo’s lines. However, expect fresh bumper, headlamps and grille for the small hatchback.

The Polo is built atop the AO platform, a spin-off of the MQB architecture that the Golf rides on.

Speculation suggests the next-gen Polo will come with either a 1.0-litre three-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine with around 56kW, a 1.5-litreTSI petrol or a similar capacity TDI diesel.

Buyers won’t be short of transmission choices, with five-speed and six-speed manuals on offer, along with a seven-speed dual-clutch auto.

3

As before, the Polo GTi is set to be the flagship, with this car getting a shot in the arm, stepping up from the current 1.8-litre turbo four-cylinder to a 2.0-litre turbo unit from the Golf GTi. This should result in power figures of around 150kW, which compares favourably with rivals like the 134kW Fiesta ST and the 147kW Clio RS200.

The car is expected to be launched in Europe before the end of the year, with Australian customers having to wait until the car makes landfall in early 2018.

Currently, only a silhouette of the VW has been revealed, hinting at a somewhat more squared off profile.