Volkswagen Polo Review

The decade-old Volkswagen Pol0 is one of today's fun-drive petrol hatchback with a turbocharged engine mated to a manual gearbox. More than 10 years ago, Volkswagen presented its first mass-market car in India. The premium hatchback is known for its sturdy build and high performance.

Let us find out what 2020 Polo has on offer.

Exterior

The Volkswagen Polo retains its familiar design on the outside with the latest model featuring new bumpers, new grille, new lights, and a body strip. It's an old design yet looks pretty good, and the minimalist approach appeals quite well. The quality of fabrication remains good and the solidity of the polo is a positive aspect. The shade of Lapiz Blue looks high quality.

The steering is highly accurate and feels confident at high speeds. The car has superb body control, is good at handling and is the fun driving car in its segment. Tyres are also highly capable and the braking power is good. The suspension is adjusted to be on the steeper side hence, the ride is a little harder at low speeds on poor roads. On highways and corners the car feels very balanced, offering the driver a lot of trust.

Interior

When you talk about the interior, the cabin and dashboard are the same. The cabin is entirely black and the finish is good. Features such as electrically adjustable mirrors, automatic climate control, Apple CarPlay, and Android auto touchscreen infotainment, dual front airbags, and ABS are provided. Yes, unlike some of its rivals, the Polo has no extremely long feature list, and even a reverse car park camera is missing. While the front seats are very comfortable and complementary, the back seat for the passengers is very tight and not very practical.

There is a lot of comfort in the front seats of the polo and many good driving positions. The back is very tight and there is a very obvious lack of space. The seats are well-formed and supportive. The back seat is good enough for two and problems won't happen to short people. The boot space is 294 litres in size. The front doors are fitted with large bottle holders, but the back doors have no bottle holders.

Engine

The Volkswagen Polo now has a 1.0 litre TSI gasoline engine that substitutes for the older 1.2-liter TSI unit. The older engine had 4 cylinders, but the new engine has 3-cylinders. The EA211 family consists of 110 HP power of 5000 to 5500 RPM and 175 Nm of torque. The front transmission has undergone a substantial change as only the old GT TSI has received a 7-speed DSG, but both 6-speed manual transmission and 6-speed converters have been provided for the newer models.

For years, enthusiasts have asked for a TSI + MT combo in the polo and we have it now. The TSI engine provides good driving capacity in city. The throttle response is also fine, but the actual performance is between 2500-5500 RPM. The manual gearbox offers easy change and an automatic gearbox is also available.

Safety Features

The Polo car is equipped with dual front airbags, ABS systems, central locking, and all other required safety features. All these features make this car a completely safe car to drive.

Pricing

The Polo TSI costs nearly Rs. 10 lakhs (on-road), which is a bit high as at a lesser rate, the Skoda Rapid TSI can be bought. You can also get some compact SUV offerings for the same money, but you won't get the same fun that you get in driving Polo.