Volkswagen Polo Review – comfortable, roomy and stylish but pricey

The Volkswagen Polo is the premium hatchback produced by the German auto giant Volkswagen. In point of fact, the Polo was launched in the year of 2010 and it is the German automaker’s only hatchback in the country. The Volkswagen Polo comes in ten versions with two engine, two fuel and two transmission options.

The price of the Volkswagen Polo ranges between Rs 5.23 lakh to Rs 8.9 lakhs. All prices are ex-showroom, Delhi. The Volkswagen Polo pitches against the Maruti Suzuki Swift, Fiat Punto Evo, Nissan Micra, Honda Jazz, Hyundai Elite i20, Tata Bolt and Chevrolet Sail.   

ENGINE AND SPECIFICATIONS

Polo by VW comes in powerful 1598cc petrol engine and 1489cc diesel engine flavours

The Volkswagen Polo comes with three different engine options- the 1.2 litre, 3 cylinder, 1198 cc petrol engine generates 73.7 bhp of power at 5400 rpm and 110 Nm of maximum torque at 3750 rpm. Secondly, the more powerful 1.6 litre, 1598 cc petrol engine churns out 102 bhp of maximum power at 5250 rpm and 153 Nm of peak torque at 3750 rpm.

On the other hand, the 1.5 litre, 1498 cc diesel engine produces 88.5 bhp of maximum power at 4200 rpm along with 180 Nm of peak torque at 2,000 rpm. The engines are coupled with a 5-speed manual transmission gearbox. In terms of acceleration, the car reaches the 0 – 100 kmph mark in 13 – 16 seconds with a top speed of 162.9 kmph – 183.8 kmph. Furthermore, the hatchback has a turning radius of 4.97 metre. 

As far as mileage is concerned, the petrol powered Volkswagen Polo has an ARAI rated mileage of 16.47 kmpl while the diesel powered Volkswagen Polo returns a mileage of 20.14 kmpl, which is ARAI certified. Besides, the Volkswagen Polo has 45 litres of fuel tank capacity.

EXTERIOR

Volkswagen Polo 2016 has 165 mm Ground Clearence with 6 color options

The Volkswagen Polo is a good looking car. At the front, the car gets sleek front grille that makes it look aggressive. The sharp looking headlamps along with the twin fog lamps look elegant. Although, the side profile and the rear profile of the Volkswagen Polo are not changed. In addition, the body-coloured door handles, 15-inch alloy wheels and the rear window mounted spoiler of the car make it sporty.

Dimensionally, the Volkswagen Polo measures 3971 mm in length, 1682 mm in width and 1469 mm in height along with a wheelbase of 2469 mm and a ground clearance of 165 mm.

The Volkswagen Polo comes with a choice of six attractive colours- Flash Red, Candy White, Copper Orange, Toffee Brown, Reflex Silver and Carbon Steel.

INTERIOR

Volkswagen Polo interior is spacious with 5 passenger seating capacity.It has 280l of boot space.

The interior of the Volkswagen Polo is decent. The dual tone dashboard along with the all-new centre console of the hatchback gives it a marvellous look. On the plus side, the Volkswagen Polo comes with a steering wheel with a flat bottom that provides a sporty feel. Besides, the height adjustable drivers’ seat is more convenient. 

The Volkswagen Polo has a seating capacity of five passengers and now comes loaded with plenty of features like an instrument cluster consists of speedometer, odometer, tachometer and trip meter, power windows, climatronic air conditioning system, 12V power socket, dust and pollen filter and Bluetooth connectivity for mobile phones and voice command (only in the top-end variant) and lane changing indicator.

Other features of the hatchback include chilled glove box, bottle holders, front cup holders, sunglass holders, satellite navigation, CD /MP3 player, 4 speakers, USB and aux in-port. Moreover, the Volkswagen Polo is blessed with a decent boot space of 280 litres.                   

PERFORMANCE

Volkswagen rivals are Maruti Swift and Honda Jazz in the segment.

The performance of the Volkswagen Polo is good enough. The handling of the car is nice and at the same time, the ride quality of the hatchback is excellent.  On the braking front, the Volkswagen Polo features ventilated disc brakes at the front and drums in the rear. Besides, the hatchback is fitted with McPherson strut and stabiliser bar suspensions.

In terms of safety, the Volkswagen Polo is integrated with essential safety features like dual airbags, Antilock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), central locking, reverse parking sensors and reverse parking camera, three point front seat belts, electrically foldable and adjustable outside mirrors, three point rear outer seat belts, child safety lock, lap belt in the middle, front fog lamps with cornering lamps, speed sensing auto door locks and engine immobilizer.

ADVANTAGES

The power and performance of the Volkswagen Polo is superb. Interior cabin of the car is stylish. The top end variant of the Volkswagen Polo features hill hold control and electronic stabilisation program.

DRAWBACKS

The main shortcoming of the Volkswagen Polo is its low ground clearance. Cabin is not spacious. Besides, the legroom at the rear seats of the hatchback is limited.

VERDICT

The Volkswagen Polo is a great hatchback. The car has high quality interior and, at the same time, it is well equipped. Moreover, the Volkswagen Polo is awesome in terms of comfort, look and style.