I’LL never forget the MkI Volkswagen Polo – although I cannot ever recall driving one. It was their knocking ad that sticks in the memory – even more than 30 years on.

Dagenham 1977 and youngish Burnard was working on the Cortina assembly line – I’ll get around to writing the book about that some day.

But the talk of the canteen was the VW ad featuring a silhouette of the Polo with its newly-arrived rival – the Ford Fiesta.

The two quite similar sihouettes were captioned, respectively, ‘Underneath, it’s still a Volkswagen’ and ‘Underneath, it’s still a Ford’.

I would like to think it was corporate loyalty that prevented most of my co-workers comprehending the ad – but I can’t help thinking it might have been Essex education.

Anyway, digression over and time to respond to VW dealers Jacksons’ request to revisit the Polo.

Both makers’ products have come on in leaps and bounds since the seventies but I think it is fair to say that VW has earned a certain social cachet here that has eluded other mainstream makers.

The Mark V Polo does nothing to erode that.

Tight and consistent panel gaps hint at careful build quality and, while it has, like Topsy, growed – to the point where it is now larger than a MkI Golf – it is not too big.

Indeed, part of Polo’s success is down to the fact that it has been popular locally with both young and more mature motorists.

Indeed, although there’s nothing garish or Kev about it, the range includes a model aimed specifically at the younger market – the Moda.

It boasts electric windows all round, sporty 15in. alloys, rear privacy glass, remote locking, new front fog lights and iPod connectivity.

And there’s a Moda Air Con, featuring in addition single-zone climate control.

It might be World and European Car of the Year and also the winner of multiple awards for both its security and its prowess as a fleet car.

But it’s more a case of ‘the mixture as before’ than a sudden flight of automotive fancy.

And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

It feels reassuringly familiar at the wheel – although it packs in a lot of big-car feel so you do have to keep reminding yourself that it is a Polo and not something bigger.

Squeezing through gaps proves the pudding, though.

That big car ambience is down to the multi-adjustable driving position, the quality of the interior materials and the way they are put together.

And the classy, clear, uncluttered instrumentation with backlit main dials and, nestled between them, the information display that also doubles as a digital km/h speedo.

Bandy ole me did find that I had to put the driver’s seat back little further back than I expected to stop the centre console nagging my left leg – but it was no problem.

And the good news is that there was still rear seat legroom to spare. The boot’s pretty respectable, too, and in this sector it deserves an award for providing a full-size spare – an increasingly rare standard feature.

Those for whom performance is a priority will be drooling over the prospect of a supercharged, turbocharged Polo GTi that combines low emissions with a top speed ludicrously close to 150mph.

But performance is less of a priority for the Moda, which features a 1.2-litre powerplant in 59 or 69bhp guises.

As they say, though, it ain’t what you do it’s the way that you do it and – like most three-cylinder engines it pulls smoothly and willingly and cleanly from low revs making the Polo a surprisingly fun drive that does its big-small act by riding surface imperfections like something a size or two up, while retaining a high degree of small-car agility.

So – not just World Car of the Year, but real-world car of the year. And while I just made that one up, it’s far more important.

Oh, and for the record, the other nine finalists were: Audi Q5, BMW X1, Chevrolet Cruze, Kia Soul, Mazda3, Mercedes-Benz E-class, Opel/Vauxhall Insignia/Buick Regal, Porsche Panamera and Toyota Prius.

And last year’s winner?

The Golf.