At first glance, the VW Polo Dune is a bit of a caricature, with its big wheels, raised suspension and body cladding giving it a sort of "off-road" look, clearly in response to the Rover Streetwise, which was aimed at the younger driver. So how does it stack up after a brief drive?

First impressions are good. With a typical deep, lustrous VW paint finish, our car looked very smart in Raven Blue which contrasted well with the matt black plastic addenda - inserts in the front and rear bumpers, sill cladding and wheel arch covers - and the polished 7.5x17" alloy wheels (enormous for a car of this size). Other changes from the standard Polo are the roof rails, chrome finish door mirrors and darker tail light lenses, along with the obvious raised suspension (by 20mm). The extra cladding and roof rails mean that the Polo Dune has grown up ever so slightly from the normal Polo, now being 11mm longer, 25mm wider and 62mm taller.

Open the door and the interior is just as impressive. Our car was trimmed in two-tone grey and anthracite cloth, front sports seats with large "race-car" style bolstering and leather trimming for the steering wheel and gear knob. The Polo Dune is well equipped as standard, with air conditioning, an MP3 compatible CD-tuner and side as well as driver and passenger airbags. The steering wheel adjusts for rake and reach and it was easy to find a very comfortable driving position.

Start her up - yes, it's a diesel. It seems impossible to disguise the familiar rattle no matter how quiet the engine at other times, no matter how sophisticated the car. Moving off, the 1.4 TDI three-cylinder engine (as tested earlier in the year in a the Polo Sport) showed good torque and proved quite nippy around town. Power steering and light controls made town traffic a breeze, the size of the car making it easy to slot through gaps, the engine sufficiently responsive to take advantage of them. VW claims that the 75PS engine will propel the Polo Dune from 0-62mph in 14.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 102mph, and it was certainly quick enough in the town environment. With an extra-urban consumption figure of 65.7mpg, it wouldn't make many trips to the garage either.

The more I drove this car, the more I liked it, although I was unsure just what the driving experience was gaining from being a Polo Dune rather than a not-so-butched up Polo. And there's the rub: in 1.4 TDI form, the Polo Dune costs £13,470. Even the base 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol model costs £12,495. This is a lot of money for a car presumably aimed at the same younger driver market as the Streetwise. As nice a car as it is, I've yet to see one on the road - I wonder if the target market can afford it - the standard Polo is much better value.