HEAVILY revised versions of the Volkswagen Polo are on the way fitted with a range of new engines and the latest in onboard technology.

When it arrives in the summer the latest Polo will set a new standard becoming the first supermini to be available with adaptive cruise control which uses radar to keep a safe distance in flowing traffic.

The Polo will also be brought bang up to date with smartphone connections allowing for Apps to be accessed on the move.

And with features such as a proximity control touchscreen the latest Polo is coming into line with equipment introduced on the award winning Golf last year.

But the most significant changes are under the bonnet with modified engines improving economy by more than 20 per cent on some models - and we got close to achieving 100mpg when we took one of the new Polos on an eco run.

It is astonishing performance from a car which now costs from £11,000, some £300 more than the previous model introduced five years ago.

From the outside the latest Polo looks almost the same, its nose now highlighted with daytime running lights picking out the surrounds of the headlamp clusters.

Realistically this is a major mid-life makeover for the fifth generation of VW's popular hatch and in every way the Polo has grown up to have a big car feel that makes it great fun to drive.

The cheapest versions are powered by one-litre, three cylinder petrol engines which possess more than enough get up and go.

These are engines from VW's smaller up! city car and mean that emissions in the entry level Polo - previously a 1.2-litre - have been cut from 128 to 106g/km, improving fuel consumption to 60mpg helped by a stop/start system.

In everyday use it is going to be very economical - we actually matched the official mpg figure - and like the other engines we sampled in the new Polo it showed terrific potential.

Driving for maximum economy and keeping the speed at a constant 30mph it returned an incredible 97.4mpg over a 25 mile trial at the car's launch in Bavaria.

However, the eco star in the new Polo line up is a new three cylinder 1.4-litre diesel which replaces the previous 1.2 and 1.6-litre TDI engines.

The new diesel is available in power outputs of either 75 or 90ps and both have ultra low emissions of 88g/km which translates into an official fuel return of 83.1mph.

Compared to the outgoing 1.6 diesel it is 21 per cent more fuel efficient and makes the new Polo one of the cleanest cars on the road.

For a diesel it is surprisingly quiet inside, even at motorway speeds and while its 0 to 60 time is just less than 12 seconds we found that it pulled well through the gears and didn't struggle at all. It also managed to show an average of 60mpg on the trip computer without any trouble.

The Polo diesel costs from £14,645 - £200 more than before - while the line up tops out at £19,715 for a 1.4-litre turbo petrol Blue GT version that comes with plenty of styling kit and a seven speed DSG semi automatic gearbox.

The new Polo is slated to arrive in July and later in the year the range will be extended to include even leaner BlueMotion models - diesel and for the first time petrol variants.

VW claims the diesel can return more than 90mpg while the petrol is rated at 68.9mpg with a CO2 figure of 94g/km.

There is also a hot Polo GTI in the wings although VW still has to release details.