Exterior design

According to the dictionary that kind of the look means "foreign appearance or look of something or someone". The VW Polo equipped with the R-Line kit is, of course, magnificent, but ... how is this combined with the 'simple' 90 hp diesel engine?

There was a time when the sporty versions of a particular model was recognizable. By bold and colorful part of his personality ... and its standard equipment and that appearance gave added value to be added to higher performance, a well-tuned chassis... We talked about the 80's and early the 90, when a Opel Kaddet GSI or Peugeot 309 GTI 'you saw it coming' with its unmistakable appearance. And the same happened in the urban segment, a category in a Ford Fiesta XR2 was more than a 'nice track suit' ... but a true sport. So 'appearance' and 'practical results' were inextricably linked...

Over time, the mixture of concepts between "being" and "apparently" increasingly dissociated, so that we could meet with sporting authentic camouflaged under a conventional aesthetics, a good example was the Peugeot 206 GTI hardly distinguishable alloy wheels for their car but really fast and fun, or print outright sports models ... but somewhat underpowered. And this current is strong... we are experiencing today. And it is not customization kits 'after-market' where users can install once you have the car ... but 'sports suits' that are offered as an option by brands.

Within the city, now is possible, for example, to buy a Seat Ibiza FR surname ... but with 105 hp and 1.2-liter engine, or even you can access a Opel Corsa 1.4 of 100 hp and dress with OPC-Line kit ... but perhaps most striking is found in Volkswagen and its R-Line. The idea is that virtually any model of the range VW Polo, Golf, Passat, Tiguan ... - can be fitted in its interim releases a complete sports kit for indoor and outdoor, but not touching mechanics and chassis. And the Polo of our test have some of that complex of lamb in wolf's clothing we mentioned earlier.

What we have here is a 90 hp diesel urban, five doors, five gears and a tight average consumption of 4.2 liters. But seen from outside, parked in any parking, anyone could think that it is 'the real Polo GTI'. Nothing is further from reality.

What is special about our unit is the fact surnamed R-Line, and, in turn, that means that this is a Polo, but with a sporty appearance because it's not a sport car. Its 'suit' includes specific bumpers, black grille with the logo 'R', side skirts, roof spoiler, chrome exhaust... and a gorgeous 17" wheels tires of roads on 215/40, the latter being the most contentious point of transformation, as discussed below. The truth is that there is fault to put the design, while the Polo has spent almost five years on the market, is still preserved quite well... and there's no denying that people from VW has done a good job with the styling accessories, making the Polo hieratic copper for the occasion quite expressive. By the way, that red color costs 170 euros, that white goes free and that there are four separate metallic shades for 370 euros.

R-Line kit also includes some interior detail, such as metal door sills, sport seats with specific upholstery, the magnificent wheel and pedals flattened metal. Otherwise, the interior remains unchanged over other Volkswagen Polo, so we have a reference for quality, ergonomics -by the thing that all controls are in the right place- a reasonable habitability -if we understand correctly that is good for four adults and just reasonable for five- and equipment that is equivalent to the Sport trim, which means that there are on-board computer, electric windows on all doors, audio touchscreen front, USB charger, rain sensor and control speed. Interestingly, no curtain airbags as standard, which is common in much cheaper rivals and here are charged at 530 euros. Also optional is the alarm - 205 euros, 315 euros for parking control 785 euros for sunroof.

This version is the perfect balance point within the range, takes the already well-known diesel engine 1.6 TDI 90 hp and a five-speed manual gearbox. Looking at the performance figures, is also in the middle segment: it reaches 180 km / h and accelerates from 0 to 100 in 11.5 seconds, with consumption as mentioned earlier of about 4.2 liters adjusted.
However, the way they move the VW is ... odd, the feeling is that there in front under the hood is a good engine... subjugated by a change of development rather long and accelerator pedal response for the long haul and blunt. The conclusion is that the car 'walk' and is sure to be closer to 100 hp real ... but the feeling is you have to 'squeeze' to give their best, always stepping on the accelerator.
This actually does not make the car slower, we are confident that public benefits are fully-realistic, but less pleasant to drive than it is common in many turbo, where it is customary for the driver, with the minimum effort, always get a significant boost.

On the other hand, the 1.6 TDI is refined and well insulated, it vibrates a lot and usually has around five liters of consumption and certainly spend less with less inflated tires.

And then there's the chassis, that for all the Polo models are phenomenal. The basic versions are noble, safe ... and the sporty GTI is an example of stability, accuracy and agility. The development of the R-Line faces the problem of the wheels. These tires, are apart from expensive: around 200 euros each, they have very little profile, ie from the rim to the ground there is little rubber ... and that means that virtually disappears the 'filter' between a wheel and bumps or uneven surface, hence, the Polo R-Line is more dry than usual.
This could have an excuse if, in return, the car is very accurate... but this version keeps the tuning of the damping of a normal variant, which is quite soft and that entails a balancing of the curves. There is nothing dangerous about this, but some imbalance that results in an attitude on the road not quite balanced, perhaps part of the problem is solved with the so-called sports suspension, which also is not too expensive -135 euros but with the performance of this Polo neither see vital, especially because we would lose even more comfort.

To conclude the dynamic aspect, that change has a hard touch sometimes too, but it is quite nice.

So, in conclusion, the thing is clear: this pole does not matter. Is that, at least with this engine, the name R-Line does not suit you at all.

The solution is simple: buy the Sport version, which comes out almost $ 1,000 more affordable, dispenses with all the aero kit ... and it's a cool car in its segment, in addition, unlike the R-Line it can be equip with the excellent automatic seven-speed DSG. The concern here is the price: with their current promotion 2,280 euros, still cost 17,380 euros - the five-door body .