REVIEW | Why the VW Polo Vivo is a firm South African favourite

Last week Volkswagen Group Africa (VWA) invited media to its production hub in Kariega, Eastern Cape.

The manufacturer wanted to share its triumphs of 2023 and talk about plans for the year ahead. On the agenda is the prospect of a third model line to be added to its production facility.

That product is yet to be detailed, but it could possibly be a light commercial vehicle of some variety, ideally following the template of the Saveiro pickup sold in Latin America.

Aside from the points on the business agenda, the brand also gave us a customary factory tour and a look behind the scenes at local development activities surrounding its popular Polo Vivo.

That included a discussion about the extensive torture testing that went into producing a car designed to meet the varied, punishing conditions of South Africa.

From extreme temperatures to varying road conditions, our environment is tough. Safe to say the Vivo, currently in its second generation, has proven itself up to the task when it comes to the demands of local motorists.

A week before the Kariega trip, an opportunity to get reacquainted with the best-selling passenger car in the country came when a 1.6 manual derivative arrived for testing. It donned the optional Black Style package, which delivers exactly what is said on the tin: glossy black accoutrements for a more distinguished look. It rolls on 16-inch Portago alloys, while the suspension has been lowered by 15mm.

Forget about the swagger, even though Mzansi buyers do focus closely on visual appeal. It was the core substance of the current Vivo that offered a great reminder as to why it is so favoured.

From the moment you pull the door handle, the sense of tactile quality is evident. Based on the lauded architecture of the fifth-generation Polo, the current Vivo offers an interior that shames some newer Volkswagen products. Take that soft-touch dashboard for example, then compare it to the hard, coarse surfaces found in the current T-Cross.

Touchscreens and haptic surfaces are nice, but the elegant simplicity of the Vivo cabin is refreshing. Rotary dials you can twist, buttons you can press and levers you can pull could be related to some cave man part of the brain, but these actions do please the senses.

Handling-wise, the Vivo is steady on its feet, delivering a feeling that is a lot more accomplished than certain rivals. Unless you are hopping directly out of the genuine Polo Mk5 and into the Vivo, you are probably not going to be able to tell the extent to which insulation and other refinements might have been trimmed down.

Under the hood of the Vivo, you are not going to find anything particularly complicated. Save for the GT 1.0 TSI, which is turbocharged, the other engine options (1.4 and 1.6) remain normally-aspirated.

The 1.6 we tested delivers 77kW and 153Nm. You can have an automatic, but the more flattering choice would be the five-speed manual.

The 1.6 is not going to win awards for its acoustics or outright grunt. But it is sufficiently tractable, responding well to efforts at keeping things on the boil. Shift sensibly, modulate the throttle appropriately and you will find the Vivo is able to keep up pace in all environments.

The worst fuel consumption we saw was 9.2l/100km and the best was 7.9l/100km. Longevity is known to be a strong point of this engine, thanks to its uncomplicated nature. The range kicks off at R259,400 for the 1.4 Trendline, the 1.4 Comfortline costs R280,600 and the 1.6 Highline goes for R309,300. Add R2,000 if you want an automatic (R311,300). If you want the feisty GT, that will be R346,900.

As a trusted motoring publication, it would be remiss of us to not at least mention the existence of other Chinese and made-in-India imports on the market offering more in the way of standard equipment, as well as crossover body styles for similar (and less) money.

But the Vivo counters with its proven, locally-made and locally-tested credentials, in addition to having that Volkswagen cachet, with an established brand presence spanning more than seven decades.

Admittedly, the other negative in the Polo’s column is that idea of theft risk always lingering at the back of the mind.

But this would apply to just about any vehicle ranking in the top five of the monthly sales charts.