THE fateful day had been a long time coming, but production of the perennial CitiGolf finally ended late last year. The ground-breaking Mk1 Golf replaced the Beetle and then, for South African audiences, was reincarnated as the Red, Yellow, Blue – not Green – Citi.
After nearly three decades of providing carefree transport for South Africans, Volkswagen SA finally pulled the plug on the ageing model and the car featured here is tasked with filling the Citi’s shoes.
Officially it is the Volkswagen Polo Vivo, a rehash of the outgoing Polo model, but we’ll dispense with the Polo prefix to spare possible confusion. There are some cosmetic changes, which we will get to later.
The model on test is not the car that we ideally would have chosen – the base model 1,4-litre three-door hatchback. Instead, VW only had the highest specification – and most expensive – hatchback in the Vivo range, the 1,6-litre Trendline, available in time for our deadline.
Aesthetically, the Vivo has subtle revisions, the majority of these having been applied to the car’s “face”: the bumper has been smoothed out and is more in line with Golf 6 and new Polo styling. Most notably, the single frame drop-down grille treatment is no longer employed. A slatted grille between the headlamps is clearly demarcated from the lower air dam, and areas inside the headlamp covers have been darkened.
In profile there is very little differentiation, though if you look closely you’ll note the indicator side repeaters have been removed from the mirror casings and relocated to the front wings just aft of the wheels. The mirror housings are not colour-coded, which is not a problem on a dark hue such as that of our test unit. A metallic paint finish is an R840 option. Fourteen-inch alloys are standard on this range-leader; all other models have steel wheels with plastic covers. All the rubbing strips, or beadings if you prefer, have been removed.
Unless the older-gen Polo and the new Vivo are viewed side by side, there are very few people that will easily tell the difference. Slide inside and if you’ve driven a current VW the cabin will feel familiar and intuitive.
The cloth-upholstered front chairs are flat and not particularly supportive and the driver’s side only has fore/aft and rake adjustment. Height adjustment was sorely missed by the various shapes amongst our test team.
There are not many bells and whistles to entertain but this model has electric actuation of the front windows. The switches are found where most VWs have the door unlock button, ie right next to the interior door handles.
The door lock/unlock switches are now mounted on the centre of the facia. The mirrors are manually adjustable on all Vivos, which is a poor showing for a car costing this much. The steering wheel has three spokes and resembles that of the new Polo, without any metal accents or satellite audio controls. VW has opted to use plastic for the gear knob and leatherette for the gear boot, which is unfortunate as this contact point for the driver feels cheap.
VW is justifiably proud of the locally-made slush-moulded, soft-touch facia and it does feel and look good, more upmarket than any of its competitors. Unfortunately, that’s where the soft-touch material ends. Door trim in particular is constructed from hard plastic that feels cheap. On the safety front, both front passengers have airbags ahead of them, which is standard issue on all Vivo models.
Not only was our test unit the most expensive hatch model on offer, but it also had every extra you can specify for a Vivo.
Centre stage on the facia goes to the radio that features MP3 compatibility, an SD card slot and a USB port, which are standard for this Trendline model. However, add to that a Bluetooth streaming radio upgrade and the price rises by R930. This radio is not a custom unit like the old Polo. It looks aftermarket, which could make it a theft risk.
The audio head unit is flanked on the right by a pair of credit card slots. The kinky drinkholder that used to be on the left is no longer there, an unsightly blank taking its place. A drinkholder can be found in front of the gear lever and another two are positioned aft of the handbrake lever. Lower down on the facia are the ventilation controls. A basic four-speed fan is aided by the optional (R7 950) air-con.
Unlike the model upon which it is based, the rear seatback does not split before folding. If you ever need extra luggage space a rear passenger will automatically be precluded. On the move, we found a fair amount of noise intruded into the cabin, leading us to believe that some sound-deadening material has been removed to keep costs down.
One of the most notable changes that the Vivo boasts is the adoption of an all-new range of engines. These multi-valve units are similar to those found in the new Polo range. The 1,6-litre powerplant develops 77 kW and provides 155 N.m of “twist”.
VW claims a zero to 100 km/h sprint time of 10,6 seconds, which we did not achieve. Our VBOX data recorder showed a best time of 11,99 seconds for the benchmark test. Top speed is quoted as 187 km/h.
ABS is standard on all but the base Vivo. The 10-stop average time to brake from 100 km/h was 3,28 seconds, which earned the front disc/rear drum braking system a poor rating. The time is just fractionally better than the average (3,37 seconds) obtained by the most recently tested Citi – and that was without ABS.
We found the clutch action too light with a very late bite point. Some drivers were seen bunnyhopping the little car trying to modulate the left pedal. We are not sure if it is a problem suffered by the test car or if all Vivo clutch pedals will feel similarly on/off. Suspension underpinnings remain unchanged, which is to say MacPherson struts up front and a torsion beam with trailing arms at the rear.
Ride quality is impressive, probably better than anything else in this class. Handling is fairly benign as the car has no real vices. There is mild and predictable understeer when you really press on, and zero hint of oversteer, even when provoked.
TEST SUMMARY
There are several good cars competing at this price point and VW may be trying to ride its reputation for reliable and quality motoring when it comes to this model. However, we believe that VW has missed the point of an entry-level model, certainly with this 1,6-litre Vivo.
When you consider that this older-generation car competes directly with its newer sibling, it just does not add up. The new Polo may have a smaller engine but it is a brand new model with a fresh design.
Vivo may feel more refined than some of its competitors but then it falls down in terms of specification, without a service plan included in the list price. We would venture that this 1,6 Trendline model should either cost less or have more features.