Double celebration in Wolfsburg: VW Polo 50 years and ‘best car of the last 50 years’.

That’s quite a nice title. So, in short, it’s double celebration for the Volkswagen Polo. That’s actually also two years in a row, because last year the Volkswagen Golf got to eat two pieces of cake in the same way. What lucky people there are in Germany.

More Polos than streets in the Netherlands

The German brand’s most compact car is also very popular in our humble little country. If you look around on Dutch roads, you see it everywhere. There are currently more than 280,000 Polos driving in our country, which is more Polos than the number of streets in the Netherlands, according to Volkswagen.

So why is this car so popular in the Netherlands? That’s actually quite simple. It is practical, reliable, affordable and quite common. Ingredients for the Dutch consumer to buy a new or used one. In fact, the Polo is also an absolute hit on the used car market. The fifth generation of the Volkswagen Polo is the most common model. The 2011 model year (from that Bluemotion engine, remember?) is the most represented with more than 24,000 units.

From Audi clone to urban icon

The Polo debuted in 1975 as a compact city car with a clever idea: take the Audi 50, strip it of unnecessary extras and voila, the affordable Polo was born. The first “entry-level” version (the Polo N) did not even have a fuel gauge, just a warning light when the tank was running low. It couldn’t get much more no-nonsense, right? Through the generations, the Polo grew with the times. Now, fifty years later, that little German has become an icon of compact class and reliability.

Those with a birthday, treats! Right?

So is the 50-year-old Polo an Abraham or a Sarah? Good question, they don’t say that when a car is named the “Best Car of the Half Century. We do know that it is a very recognizable award within the “Best Cars of the Year – The New Car World Championships.

Fortunately, you too can get a piece of this celebration. Volkswagen is treating itself (and us) with the Polo Edition 50. This special edition based on the Style version comes with sport seats, mood lighting, black headliner, 16-inch Coventry rims, 50 badges and an exclusive paint color: Crystal Ice Blue. Lots of extras on paper, but don’t expect a distinct Polo like the Harlekin hear. No, Volkswagen does celebrate double, but in a modest way. That’s what makes it desirable, for 50 years.