Hot on the heels of the arrival of the fantastic Mk. 6 Volkswagen Golf, the all-new Polo has made its international debut and will soon be arriving on UK shores.

Volkswagen is making big claims about its new baby, and told us they are confident the new Polo is a better all-round car than the Ford Fiesta.

It's a bold statement. We were blown away by the Ford and awarded it 91 per cent in our ten point test - the highest score we've ever given.

Is the new Volkswagen Polo really a contender? Andy Goodwin drove three models back to back to find out...

Volkswagen might build subtle looking cars, but there are a few features of the new Polo which stand out and move the Polo model along in leaps and bounds.

Volkswagen's engineers have made its new diesel motors 20 per cent more efficient than their predecessors, while the petrol's are as much as 15 per cent better - no small feat.

Secondly, the Polo might now be bigger in all dimensions except height, but it's seven per cent lighter than the Polo on sale today.

Weight is the biggest enemy of handling, performance and fuel economy, and small cars are more sensitive to its effects than most.

View images of the new Volkswagen Polo

And last, but definitely not least, the Polo maintains and builds on its premium quality image and levels of safety in a segment which used to be dominated by budget cars.

It's looks take inspiration from the Scirocco and Golf and it's now a much sharper car than before. Many of the curves of the Mk. 4 Polo are gone, replaced by jutting, angular lines and shoulder creases.

Golf-inspired cabin

The interior is seriously impressive, with materials which exude quality in look and feel. It's more grown-up than the ultra-modern Fiesta interior and feels more expensive, if not more exciting.

Everything from the steering, gear shift and handbrake to the switches and buttons has the same solid and strong feel, and look capable of withstanding ten years or more use.

Cruising along the roads of Sardinia it was striking how refined the Polo is, with little tyre or wind noise making its way into the cabin.

There is just enough rear legroom for adults to get comfortable, and the boot holds a respectable 280 litres of luggage.

Diesel or petrol?

We drove the 1.4-litre petrol first, and it felt impressively lively for a car with only 84bhp.

Thanks to a free-revving throttle response and tuneful exhaust note it feels quicker than it actually is.

But, fitted with diminutive 15-inch wheels and high-profile energy saving tyres it also had the least grip and softest handling of the Polo's driven, with tyre-squeal building into gradual understeer.

We sampled the 1.6-litre TDI CR with 74bhp next and found it something of a disappointment after the fun-to-drive petrol.

Its combined fuel consumption of 65.7mpg and emissions of 112g/km are both hugely impressive figures which will attract many buyers.

But the 89bhp version of the same engine offers similar figures, and this motor should offer substantially more poke. The 74bhp model was fine for cruising but offered little in the way of acceleration (0-62mph in 13.9 seconds) and can't exploit the Polo's fine chassis.

1.2-litre TSI impresses most

The revelation of the day came behind the wheel of the 1.2-litre TSI. The 104bhp power output (more than the bigger 1.4-litre petrol thanks to its turbocharger), low emissions (124g/km) and high fuel economy (53.3mpg) makes it the most compelling proposition.

And rightly so, it proved to be a sensational engine. Take the wheel without knowing which engine is sat up front and you would swear it's a 1.6-litre thanks to its urge and top end power.

Fitted with 17-inch wheels and much more performance-orientated tyres than the 1.4-litre, it proved to have wonderful handling and lapped up some seriously sinuous Sardinian asphalt.

The 1.2 TSI dived into corners with real eagerness, remained stable through challenging S-bends and proved lots of fun.

With so much grip on offer, barely any understeer, an ESP system perfectly set up to allow the driver to have fun before cutting in and a willing engine, we'd go so far as to class the 1.2 TSI as a warm hatch. It will certainly be an upmarket alternative to the 1.5-litre Mazda 2 Sport.

It's also got us excited about the prospect of a Polo GTi, especially as it’s likely to be powered by the 1.4-litre TSI engine from the Scirocco, with its supercharger and turbocharger and output of up to 180bhp.

Bluemotion coming soon

At the other end of the driving spectrum the second generation Polo Bluemotion is currently at the concept stage of development, and has been given the go-ahead for production.

When it arrives in the UK in 2010 its 1.2-litre three-cylinder TDI engine will have a scarcely believable 85mpg combined fuel consumption while emitting just 87g/km of carbon dioxide.

This puts it ahead of the impressive Ford Fiesta Econetic which emits 98g/km and has a combined fuel consumption of 76.3mpg.

Still built tough

The last Polo was advertised with the slogan 'built tough', so it should come as no surprise if the new model sports the tag line 'built even tougher'.

At the time of testing it had yet to undergo crash testing at the hands of EuroNCAP. Subsequently Volkswagen has been shown to have successfully designed the Polo to fully conform with the new and tougher criteria, and has achieved the maximum five stars.

Firmly in the top three

The Polo has undergone a transformation from a solid and reliable model, to an exciting new car at the sharp end of small-car technology.

We're so impressed with it as an all-round package, we think it's among the best three cars in its class and should be on any supermini buyer's short list.

But can it knock the Fiesta off top spot? To find out for sure we'll have to drive the Polo on British roads, and we await the announcement of its UK pricing with bated breath to see how it will stack up pound for pound.

What do you think of the Volkswagen Polo? Rate it on the Auto Trader Cool-o-meter