This was the public perception... but investigation would've shown you that the cars sold locally were much better spec'd than their European counterparts. The difference in price was justified, but in retrospect it was a poor strategy. It was however only part of a product introduction and marketing strategy that was a balls-up from beginning to end.
This was not case, actually. VW's (and Ford's, etc) sold in South Africa are all but stripped-out versions of similar-badged European counterparts. Because the Seat's were direct European imports, the actually came with standard equipment which in some cases wasn't even available as options on local VW's. I actually did a lookup on VW's UK site to see what my Polo Sportline came with as standard in the UK. What I concluded was that the Sportline variant sold in South Africa was made up from the following combination of UK-Spec Polo's:
- 96KW TDi engine from Polo Sport
- 2-door body from Polo SE (Color coded trim but no rear spoiler, side-skirts or bumper lip)
- Seats and seat trim from 2-door Polo S (UK Base model)
- Radio from Polo S
- Optional 6-CD Changer
- Interior accents from Polo S
- Instrument cluster was a combination of a Polo S (rev-counter), Polo Sport (Speedo) and Polo S (multifunction computer). It did not have the digital display you see in Golf 5's or the chrome surrounds found in the Sport version in the UK.
- 16" alloy wheels from Polo Sport
The UK Polo Sport was basically a 2-Door version Polo with Highline spec but had bucket seats in the front and a better radio system which looked similar to the Blauwpunkt 510 units found in the Golf 5. South Africans got a basterdised Trendline spec car sold as a premium-model.
The irony is that VWSA also assembled the same UK-Version of the Polo locally and exported it there. The same goes for Ford - have a look what Ford's have standard/optional in the UK compared to the ones we get here. It is an insult to the SA carbuyer.
"This was not case..." ?!
