A red Volkswagen Polo sedan, seen parked at a charging station in Beijing in 2017. Well, Volkswagen still doesn’t make an electric Polo even today, so we can be sure our red car is in the wrong lot. Happily, it was in a reasonable shape for its years. Paint was fading a bit, some damage here and there, and the original wheel covers were gone. But that’s okay, as black steelies always look great on red cars.
The fourth generation pre-facelift Volkswagen Polo, with the cool round headlights, is an incredible rare car in China nowadays. It was made in hatchback and sedan forms by Shanghai-Volkswagen, but only from 2004 until 2006, when it was rapidly replaced by the facelifted Polo.
Strict environmental regulations have made sure that most of these already rare vehicles have since been scrapped. The sedan sold a bit better than the hatchback but it didn’t differ that much. Fun fact: base price for the hatchback and the sedan, with the same engine and specifications, was exactly the same (!): 99.900 yuan in 2004.
The interior was a bit messy but Volkswagen’s black plastics are known to be strong, and so it proves here. The seat covers and radio are after-market.
The entire rear bench is seat-covered too. By using a slightly shorter bench than in Europe, Volkswagen managed to add extra legroom, which is very coveted in China. Many other car makers used, and still use, similar trickery.
The pre-facelift Mk4 China-spec Volkswagen Polo was available with 1.4 and 1.6 liter four-cylinder petrol engines. Today’s Polo has the 1.6 under the bonnet, mated to a 5-speed manual. Buyers could also get a 4-speed automatic. Output of the 1.6 engine was 101 hp and 145 Nm, good for a 182 km/h top speed and a 0-100 in 12.6 seconds. Price for the base 1.6 manual model started at 120.800 yuan.
The characters read: 上海大众, Shanghai Volkswagen. The joint venture is now called SAIC-Volkswagen.
The Mk4 Polo sedan; a somewhat iconic but largely forgotten Chinese Volkswagen. May this rare surviving example roam the streets a little longer.
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My family had the same car in same color and it’s from 04, plate was also 京H！Registered in 2004.1 so this one was probably registered in late 2003!