It always amazes me how efficient the Germans are. As I was going to see Grand Designs the other day, I saw an entire house built in a Bavarian factory, shipped to England and built in three days, all flawlessly and of course finished to the highest quality. It’s the same story with the sport, I bet Michael Schumacher could return to the Formula One paddock, shake hands with Lewis Hamilton before demolishing him on the track, without breaking a sweat.

German cars are no different and a perfect microcosm of this can be found with a look at the Volkswagen Polo. Amazingly, this car has been with us for 33 years and is just as popular today as the first model was in 1975, selling over 500,000 units worldwide in just six years. Originally a rebadged Audi 50, the Polo was sold alongside its Audi counterpart, but was cheaper to buy. Unsurprisingly, the Polo outsold its identical twin, and Audi stopped production of the 50.

Buoyed by its success, a facelifted Polo appeared in 1979, with subtle styling changes to bring the baby Polo in line with the design of the existing Jetta Saloon (this included square headlamps on the higher-end ‘Derby’ derivative). VW intended this to act as a stopgap until the Mk II Polo arrived in 1981.

It’s fair to say that Porsche is often criticized for having a lazy design studio – after all, the 911 has looked almost identical for 40 years – but Volkswagen put in a good effort to clinch the title in 1981. The Mk II Polo was essentially identical to its predecessor, although what it crucially lacked in originality of style, it more than made up for in build quality and reliability. While its main rivals – the Renault 5, Fiat Uno and Austin Metro – have long since gone to the great junkyard in the sky, the Mk II Polo is still found in abundance on British roads.

Built until 1994, the Mk II also allowed Volkswagen to pioneer new technology, most notably a supercharged G engine that would later form the basis of the one found in the Corrado and Golf. As with the Mk I, the second generation Polo received a subtle facelift in 1990 for the last four years of production. Despite new headlights and bumpers, it still bore an almost identical resemblance to the original 1975 model. One notable feature, however, was the introduction of a removable cassette/stereo unit, which allowed for increased safety and was a hit with buyers and is now out of the question with all in-car audio units.

1994 finally saw a significant update to the Polo. Available in 3- and 5-door hatchback versions, the car sat on a new chassis shared in part with the SEAT Ibiza (VW also owns SEAT) and the Polo’s big brother, the Golf. There were eight different engines available, the largest choice yet in the Polo range and more contemporary styling was also offered. The turn of the millennium saw the compulsory facelift with the change of 70% of the components, although this was not visible on the outside. The car certainly continued the tradition of being better made and more luxurious in feel than its rivals and sold well. It also won several awards, including Best ‘Supermini’ from Top Gear, Auto Express and Which? in the late nineties.

The Mk IV Polo was launched in 2002 and built on the heritage of its predecessors. Again sharing a platform with the SEAT Ibiza and additionally the Skoda Fabia, the Polo’s appearance changed dramatically, with quad headlights similar to the smaller Lupo featured in the new design. There were no fewer than 11 different engine options available, each with different trim levels to complement. Despite early promise, the Mk IV did not sell as well as previous Polos and did poorly in many customer satisfaction surveys, including high-profile ones such as those conducted by Top Gear.

With this in mind, the Mk IV was restyled in 2005 and is the model found on the roads today. Subtle exterior changes were made to bring the car back to share the design flair of others in the Volkswagen range, particularly the Passat, and interior components were restyled in light of earlier criticism. The latest model is the Polo Bluemotion, specifically designed to be more environmentally friendly by reducing vehicle weight, electronic equipment and engine emissions.

Reliability and value for money remain the Polo’s standout features, although there is no doubt that the latest model is a very stylish looking vehicle. The best way to sum up this car is to steal the phrase from the German company itself: “small but tough.”