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-   -   Volkswagen Polo : Test Drive & Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/76341-volkswagen-polo-test-drive-review-15.html)

thanks GTO and Rehaan for a fantastic review with everything covered, the engine issue shows the big dilemma outsiders face when entering market.
Outside countries, there are clear-cut segments/requirement/brands etc, here is a market which wants more/most with least price, efficiency etc.
A great new addition to the choice of hatchbacks.

I see that the reverse gear is engaged in the same way as some of the utility/heavy vehicles (i.e. reverse in place of the 1st). Is it a pain to get used to this new gear change scheme or is the transition fairly smooth?

Why not? They have already offered a car which resembles Golf at 4.35Lakhs INR! IMO its more of dynamics, overall specs. offered then just looks.

Thanks GTO for the initial report on the VW Polo. I have been wanting a decent small car (selling of my ageing Maruti Esteem). I would however need a few clarifications from the knowledge banks out here...

I understand that the petrol version is far better than the diesel Polo. If I am a guy who would buy a car for a reasonable performance (if not rev happy!) would it be wise for me to go in for the diesel version? Can anyone throw light on the cost of parts/ maintenance of the petrol vs diesel? Under what conditions would it make sense to go in for the diesel instead of the petrol Polo? (ignoring the lethargy of the diesel unit).

When we saw the polo in the expo, esp the red one, the first impression was wow. What a looker. Finally a hatchback without the obvious tall boy, skinny man, fat boy etc., etc., shape.
But, though the price is right, VW has done silly cost cutting. For example the spare wheel. This is not europe. Here you will get a puncture now or then. Atleast give a proper alloy wheel spare.
Even the top end variant does not sport electric ORVMs, and the engine choice is given a whipping by the competition.
To top it all, they have decided to have only 40 dealerships for now.
I am expecting more trouble. For example, does the diesel use synthetic oil? Well then the 5L hatchack buyer won't like spending 6000rs on engine oil every 10,000kms or so.
All in all, this car could have been "apart" from the crowd. but all you have now is just another hatch. There is no USP.

I expect great launch response and couple of months later, the sales figures will climb down, and you will have a 1000-1500/month hatch

On the positive side, I am glad that this does not shod the vectras :D
If only they had gone in for the Apollo Sportz with asymmetric tread pattern for the top end variant.

Nice Review GTO,

Its the same powerplant in the Fabia. In fact I think its the same car with little interior and cosmetic changes. My only concern is the its a 3 pot again and may render a little bit breathless on the highway.
Should be interesting, waiting to get my hands on it.

Cheers.!

Whatever they do VW brand is not going to sell like hot cakes in India. I dont think even the company is expecting to match competition in terms of numbers. You complain about the spare wheel?:Shockked: GO check the feature list of the current top sellers in the segment.:eek:

And the synthetic oil used on the linea punto combo costs just around 1600 for around 4 litres. SO i dont think VW would ask you 6K for engine oil.

On further reading of GTO's excellent review a few points that came to my mind immediately.

Saw fleet of silver Polos just a few weeks back on the expressway and I think the pictures do not do justice to this car. It looks a lot better in real.

The interior design looks pretty much like made to a cost. The Fabia interiors look way better and upmarket. Heck even the Marutis have got better interiors forget the i10 and the Punto. The quality though looks good. Is there a picture of the illuminated dash anywhere?

The pricing seems excellent, so brings to my mind if this is some introductory price or is it real for the long term?

The Sumo style gearbox seems to be a first in car right?

What no spare wheel? What was VW thinking? This is India guys.

Question for GTO? So which is the best handling hatch in India today? My guess would be the Punto or the Figo. Right?

Volkswagen Polo and Golf looks pretty much the same. IMHO, it would be better to say - "They have already offered a car which resembles Polo at 4.35Lakhs" - Considering, the actual Polo got lot more features and Better engine, it would be politically correct to use the word - "Resembles".. :D

The 1.6 version of Polo (Sedan) would mean a car with a German Brand, About as good as an SX4, for something less than the cost of the top end model of an SX4.

If Volkswagen is going to do something as crazy as that, I can do nothing but to agree with you but it is very unlikely to happen. Volkswagen is not going to act all "big hearted" in India for few more years at-least.

Rs. 6000 for Oil Change :Shockked: I think you mean total service cost including all consumables.
This figure seems to be quite steep, if it is true then POLO will be dead & out very soon.

Synthetic oil is expensive. I think the Fabia engine oil change is in the range of 6000rs. Don't expect this to be any different for polo, unless they decide to use mineral oil in the polo

It will be synthetic oil. I don't see why the oil should change. However not 6K. Being a 1.2L engine the oil sump will only take around 2.5 to max 3litres. So yeah around 3-3.5K for an oil change.

Any idea how much Fabia takes? Last time I heard Mobil was somewhere aroudn 1K for a liter. May be the fuel/oil filter must be very expensive or its skoda's famous day time robbery.

BTW, I used Synthetic in my Palio and the Selenia Synthetic for petrol is 650/- per liiter.

Good review. Although agreed, this is a car made more for the masses, rather than for us enthusiasts. I'm planning on buying a hatch, was waiting for a review on the Polo. I'll test drive the Polo but I somewhat have my mind set on the Figo and Punto.

In a large varied market like India, there's something for everyone!

Still, in this age of MP3 music (who buys CDs anyways?!), aux / usb input is mandatory. Aftermarket HU please.

Either have wide turbolag and are far from the segment benchmarks, I can tell you that!

The Polo is solid, no doubt on that. However, at 140 kph, the Punto's "heavy" hydraulic steering is sheer bliss. The steering feel makes all the difference. I don't even think too much of the Merc E350 light steering feel at high speeds. My C220's unit remains the best I've driven in India.

Nope, didn't take us more than all of 1 second to get used to it. There wasn't anyone to tell us how to use it either, we figured it out ourselves.

Unless your running absolutely demands it, you will be happier with a petrol Polo.

The engine itself is reworked. I can tell you that it feels much better than in the Fabia. However, refinement levels are still lousy.