For the longest time, the little VW Polo was, in the best German tradition, a three-door hatchback. We discussed this phenomenon on CC recently: smaller European cars fell into either the four/five-door “French” tradition (think Citroën 2CV or Panhard Dyna) or the two/three-door “German” one. Then, in the late ‘60s, things started to change. The French put a little two-door in their ranges (Simca 1100, Renault 5, Peugeot 104…) and smaller four-door cars started appearing across the Rhine.
There were a few laggards. Citroën did not really commit to the 2/3-door formula until the AX arrived in the mid-‘80s and VW, the German maker of small cars par excellence, refused to grant their Polo’s rear passengers any independent access to their seats until the third generation was launched in 1994.
But when VW switched the Polo over, they really went for it, bodies and soul. Other than the standard hatchback (top right), Wolfsburg also provided extra doors for the wagon (sorry, “Variant” – bottom right) and even created the Polo Classic (bottom left) four-door, as well as a “Playa” hatchback for the South African market. These last three, i.e. the Variant, Classic and Playa, were actually based on the Cordoba and Ibiza models from VAG’s Spanish division, SEAT.
Which makes sense, as though the French may be known to be very pro-rear doors, the Spanish were positively fanatical about them. After all, four-door versions of the Fiat 600, the Fiat 850 and the Renault 5 were created there.
In Japan, only the three-door and five-door hatchbacks were available, both with the 75hp 1.6 litre petrol engine mated to a four-speed gearbox. And these were in RHD, too – just like most Beetles were, back in their day. No LHD snobbism allowed here.
Oh, and what’s this “Black Selection” business, you ask? It’s a Japanese market special: Volkswagen just gave their entry-level model a coat of shiny black paint, a moonroof, some darkened taillight lenses and 15-in. alloys and sold the result in late 1999 as a limited edition. There was a white one too, of course – the yin to this one’s yang, if you will.
And that’s not snobbism, just good marketing. Just like switching over to 4/5-doors.
Related posts:
Two-Door vs. Four-Door Cars – The Long-Running War Between Germany And France, by PN
Curbside Classic: 1997 Volkswagen Polo 1.6 Automatic – The Golf’s Little Brother, by Johannes Dutch
CC Outtakes: 2000 Volkswagen Polo vs 2011 Citroën DS3 Racing – The Not So Fast And The Chic Furious, by Johannes Dutch
Making a two-door into a four-door did become one of the traits of cars in which the manufacturing moved to another country (the Spanish with the Fiat 127, the Australians with the Vauxhall Viva, the Indians with the Triumph Herald etc).
That dour-but-solid interior is so classic Volkswagen.
How the once-mighty are fallen.