AS Volkswagen continues its relentless drive to world domination, its steely gaze has been turned towards the littlest model in the Australian range – the Polo. Long overlooked by many as being too pricey and without the pizzazz of other baby Euro or Japanese rivals, the new, fifth-generation version of the 35-year-old supermini has suddenly matured with a Golf-like vigour, to provide a seismic shake-up of the upper light-car segment. Hitherto unheard of refinements like direct-injection petrol engines and DSG dual-clutch gearboxes finally make it into the baby-car realm, and the Polo is poised to finally lead after years of languishing in the doldrums. Fiesta, Mazda2, Jazz and co, your lives have just become a whole lot harder now.