Despite being a means to get from A to B efficiently and conveniently, cars are aspirational items. Paying special attention to South Africa, automotive ownership is seen as a luxury and a signifier of upward mobility and personal success. For younger drivers with smaller budgets, however, the pool of offerings around the R250 000 mark is not terribly appealing with products that lack a sense of style and individuality. That’s why the introduction of the Polo Vivo Mswenko (isiZulu for swag) is a fitting one.
The past two years in particular have seen dramatic increases in new-car prices; many consumers are buying down and shopping in smaller, more affordable segments. While the Polo Vivo is no stranger to special edition trims, the Mswenko really couldn’t have come sooner. But the question is: what do you get for the extra R13 700 you’ll be forking out over the 1,4 Comfortline (as tested in the October 2018 issue)?
First and foremost, the Mswenko styling package adds side decals, a chrome tip exhaust, 16-inch Portago alloy wheels finished in Anthracite, a black painted roof, privacy glass and mirror covers (available in two colour variants). Within the cabin, the vibrant scheme continues with a new Ocean Blue upholstery for the seats, Anthracite headliner, silver dashboard inserts, App Connect functionalities for the infotainment system with six speakers and a leather package which adds refined soft-touch trim to the multi-function steering wheel, gearshift lever and gear knob. Considering the improved level of refinement provided by the Mswenko package, the premium over the standard Comfortline is not at all outrageous.
The ambience within the cabin is a step up from the straightforward Comfortline, too, thanks to the tasteful and premium trim options. Adding leather to key tactile points like the steering wheel and gear shifter makes the Mswenko even more satisfying to live with. As we were critical of the Comfortline’s perceived cabin quality in these regions, this improvement in refinement works well for the Vivo.
If you want to add yet more mswenko to your Mswenko, VWSA offers an extensive list of optional extras, most of which were fitted to our test unit. As is the way with these add-ons, some are rather costly, such as the R7 000 sound package, R2 100 cruise control system and the R2 300 storage package which adds a front centre armrest and drawer under the driver’s seat. For LED headlamps, you’ll have to fork out R14 850. This can be selected only if you also tick the R2 700 ESC and Hill Start Assist package, mind you. The rear park distance control with the rear-view camera will add R5 700 to the overall price, and the auto headlamps and rain sensor brings the cost up by another R4 200.
As covered in our initial test of the 1,4-litre Polo Vivo, the Mswenko offers engaging driving characteristics from behind the wheel. The lively 1 390 cm3 inline-four dual-overhead cam engine is eager to rev and owing to a well-calibrated five-speed gearbox, getting the most out of this engine is done with ease. A 0-100 km/h time of 12,8 seconds may sound modest and is by no means class-leading, but it belies a driver engagement that’s becoming harder to find nowadays in modern small hatchbacks. Towards the higher revs, the Mswenko starts to lose puff as the in-gear acceleration figures indicate. In fourth gear, 100-120 km/h takes 7,4 seconds which means overtaking at this speed needs commitment and precision.
On the braking front, the set of 256 mm front ventilated discs matched to a set of Continental ContiPremium Contact 5 tyres deliver a good 100-0 km/h average braking time of 3,10 seconds as per our standards. The inclusion of two airbags and ABS with EBD is welcome, but the Mswenko lacks traction and electronic stability control. A further diminishing factor that we have bemoaned since our 2018 test is that a service plan is an optional extra.
