05 March 2010
	MOTORING From ho-hum to ho-ho! By David Furlonger

What is it about brands that makes us love or loathe them? We like to believe we're rational creatures but most of our purchasing decisions suggest otherwise. Why do we pay 10 times more for an item of clothing because it carries a famous label of which only we are conscious? The answer, of course, is that we're gullible. Marketers and advertisers know this and play on our self-image and brand perceptions. But we're also to blame. How often do we measure brands not on their own merits but by the people who use them? Take cars. There's a well-known, excellent luxury product that many drool over but which I would never buy, in case I'm equated with the discourteous boors who seem to make up most of its customer base. It's not the product's fault but its image and my perceptions. VW Polo - Pleasant surprise when it really counted Which brings me to Volkswagen. Chairman Martin Winterkorn declared early this year that his company plans to overtake Toyota as the world's biggest automaker by 2018. He's in luck. The way things are going for the Japanese giant, it could happen as early as next week. Be that as it may, the point is that VW sells millions of cars every year. It's a sales leader in SA as in many other markets. It provides what customers want. But I've never had the slightest desire to own a VW. I've driven plenty over the years, some through car-hire firms, others at the invitation of VW SA. I've enjoyed most (hated some) but there's never been that moment of automotive lust that says: "I want to keep you for ever." The personal spark has been missing. And so it was with the new Polo. After two days pottering between home and office in a test car, I was bored. It was predictable, it was bland, it was ho-hum. But then something happened. I was in the overtaking lane, passing a tightly packed line of slow-moving traffic, when an oncoming car suddenly swung across the solid centre line and headed straight for me. Drastic action was needed, so I changed down a gear and threw the Polo at right angles into a side street, a split second before the out-of-control car would have hit me. The Polo's reaction was instantaneous, its agility surprising. It was so unexpected that for the rest of the test period, I looked at the Polo through different eyes. I opened up the engine a little more, took it on deserted country roads and encouraged it to show its true colours. WHAT IT COSTS 1,4 Trendline: R144 900 1,4 Comfortline: R161 900 1,6 Trendline: R166 900 1,6 Comfortline: R183 800 1,6 Tiptronic: R197 900 1,6 TDi: R197 900 The result: I'd clearly been missing the point of the Polo. It may be small and look like a previous-generation version of its big brother, the Golf, but it's a driver's car for those with modest budgets. Its compactness gives a sense of tightness, of responsiveness. Run the revs a little higher, and the capable 1,4 engine of the version I drove is wonderfully willing. The range also offers 1,6 petrol and turbodiesel versions. Of course, if you want a steady commute, the Polo will deliver. But to live your life at a steady 3 000 rpm is a waste. The car is there to be enjoyed (within your limitations). By the end of the week, I was genuinely sorry to see it go. So would I break the brand habit of a lifetime and buy one? If I were in the market for a small car... absolutely.