May it be youngsters, middle-aged people, and our grandparents, all have a special place for this car in their heart and is very close to them. I’m talking about a pocket-rocket from Germany, the Volkswagen Polo. Today in an era of subtle and hot hatches, the Volkswagen Polo’s 10-year-old design promises us so much that this car still tops all the charts and obviously all enthusiast’s hearts. With so many cosmetic updates and despite of the downsizing norms, Volkswagen Polo continues to delight every driver with it’s go cart feel which is missing in its competitors.
Exterior-Undoubtedly, Polo is the best-looking hatchback in India as compared to other hatches. No eyes can miss this car on the road, especially if you go for the eye blistering Flash Red color, it makes you stand out of the crowd. For the sporty feel company has now provided much more sharper bumpers as compared to the previous model. Talking about the front, it gets a honeycomb grill(latest version) borrowed from the GTI, giving it a sporty look. Sharp headlights with blacked out treatment and cornering fog lamps give it a cool appeal. Seeing its sexy profile will give you a sure shot eyegasm. Tinted windows and rear spoiler are cherry on top for it. Rear profile is also mind boggling with new design tail lights and a rear diffuser too(latest version), though it’s a fake one. The car gets black finished 16” wheels which look awesome when they are surrounded by Apollo Alnac 4Gs.
Interior-The interiors are plain, useful, precise, and stylish at the same time. A few changes and that’s they key for the company. It also gets a climatronic system which will adjust the temperature automatically for you and even replace the inside air with outside after every 20 minutes. The all-black interior which is unlike the older one with dual-tone gives a sporty feel but at the same time lacks that somewhat luxury and airy feel. The dashboard still comes with hard plastics which isn’t nice to touch.
For driving fit and feel, it is a good cabin with many information on the instrument cluster. Not to miss the leather wrapped tilt and telescopically adjustable flat bottom steering wheel which lets you steer the car the way you want and that too in fraction of a second. The music system is nice and comes with 4 speakers, one in every door. It also supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
The front seats are the best in segment, they give you a good grip around the corners and are soft and comfortable. There is only manual adjustment available for the seats. The rear row is a little tight and cannot fit people comfortably for long rides. It has got good under thigh support but is of no use because of lack of legroom. It does get an armrest for diver and co-driver. The boot is decent sized and can be pretty useful for your weekend getaways. The rear tyre is a space saver (15”).
Built Quality-Thing for which Volkswagen is known for. Just like all other cars, Polo’s built quality is top notch. That can be felt by that thud sound when one closes the door. Not to forget the salesman who climb onto the doors to make you realize that this is actually a very rugged car. It comes with 2 airbags as standard across all the versions which makes it safer to drive. The paint quality is also very good and it comes with a 6-year warranty from the manufacturer.
Driving-To live is to drive, this is well fitted onto the Volkswagen Polo. This hatchback will make you smile whenever you drive this hot hatch. This version has got a stiffer suspension than the last generation, which helps is a better cornering. This car has such a nice feel on its steering that you can corner it on any road and at any speed. You would see such a refinement from a three-cylinder engine that it is even not audible past 5000 rpm. This 3-cylinder 1200cc engine is mated to a manual transmission which is best in the segment and can make you feel that gear change like a knife through the butter. The engine churns 74 bhp @ 5400rpm power and 110 nm @ 3750rpm of torque. You can’t expect a good mileage from this mill until you don’t drive how this is made to be driven. The engine picks up a good pace with passion until 4000rpm which is the mid-range and past that there is a laziness from the engine though it revs all the way till 7000rpm but power starts trailing off past 5000rpm. It takes 13 seconds to go from 0-100 km/hr. Power delivery is very neutral and subtle but at the same time aggressive enough to keep you at first pace from a red light start.
Conclusion- Being Volkswagen’s flagship hatchback, everything expected from this is rightly fulfilled. The driving charm of this vehicle is unmatched and the drivability is so versatile that you’ll have so much driving fun, that no other hatchback at this price point will give. It is almost a perfect car from an enthusiast’s point of view but there are some of the points that its competitor excels in. Like it has got an aged design which hasn’t changed over years, it doesn’t give us many features that other cars do.
One can go for the Polo GT if they want to satisfy their needs but this 1.2L Polo is more than sufficient for an urban run. A car only runs if the owner maintains It well, so talking about the service cost, it is a bit on the costlier side but the built quality and customer satisfaction overcomes that cost. With its peppy engine, sporty cool looks, built quality and drivability this car definitely thrashes its competitors away.
It is so nice
ReplyDeleteSo Proud