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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-19.html)

^^ sid - whats the point of a 14" spare wheel when all others are 15" - I am not sure but is it even safe to drive with a wrong sized wheel!

Polo comfortline pics


front end, fog lights are not standard.


14" steel wheels with clip-on wheel caps, same size for the stepney on this one.


front 3 quarter view. Looks like any other 2 box car out there. plain and simple.


rear windscreen. wiper/washer and defogger not standard.


polo comfortline has all 4 power windows as standard, but the driver's side only gets controls for front two. rear power windows can only be opened by rear passengers, who get their individual controls on the doorpads.


comfortline dashboard, tilt and telescopic steering standard even on this version and trendline also.


different beige fabric design for comfortline, same used in trendline.


driver's seat height adjust also standard on comfortline, NOT on trendline.


comfortline rear doorpad with power window controls for rear passengers


rear seat comfort is just about average. Low seating position and less than stellar legroom not help either. feels pretty cramped.


comfortline dashboard. NO audio system provided except a single din slot to install after market audio. space below for CDS but 2 DIN audio can also be fitted, which will eliminate that storage space.


side view in candy white.

Almost all supercars and some luxury cars in the world come with this setup.

The point is once punctured you will have to replace pretty soon as the spare is steel as a norm. Hence it does not make a difference. Although you might have some speed limits on the 14 inch spare. My guess is around 50-60 kmph in the worst case.

Answering your safety question, on broken roads with normal tyres itself the chassis will have to accommodate much more irregular weight distribution and will be engineered for that. So as a stop-gap measure it should not be an issue.

Plus remember!

The profile of the 15 inch is lower than the 14 inch. Hence the difference in tyre diameter might be around half an inch and not 2 inch as some might think. It might even be the same (but I do not know that)!

Punto - Figo - Polo - Beat.

Speak to the largest seller of diesel hatchbacks in India : Maruti. I asked them exactly the question, and they replied "We don't see any potential for ATs today. Sales numbers are too small to justify an AT in the lineup of Ritz & Swift". That's just plain silly. A market leader has to continuously be on the lookout for new growth opportunities. And retain those customers within the family, who are switching over to Hyundai ATs today. Tata also has an opportunity at hand, since it is in the best position to provide a VFM pricetag on the AT Linky : The case for an Automatic Indica.

Well, I certainly don't think VW would complain if it gets the kind of response that the Palio did at launch. For a healthy number of months post-launch, the Palio regularly managed 3,000 cars a month. Important to note : This was at a time when the market was substantially smaller. It's probably worth 10,000 cars a month today in relative marketshare terms.

By current standards the Palio 1.2 might be under-powered. But 8 years back, it did the job. No one dumped the Palio for being underpowered....the reasons were entirely different.

You can say that again.

The overall diameter is near identical. Thus, it is safe to drive, though I'd keep the speeds in check.

Hi sid

How did you find the Polo comfotline Interiors/Plastic quality compared to the Punto Emotion variant. Looking at the pictures there was not much I could make out. Some first hand information would help, since you own a Punto now you would be able to judge better.

So how do they compare against each other on plastic quality/interiors?

Sorry to jump the gun. We can count on the answer what Sid is going to give but this is what I found today while checking both these cars. I was planning to book one of them today itself but unfortunately didn't happened.

The overall quality feel in Polo ( in terms of plastics ) is better than Punto. I would say way better than Punto , visually. The buttons all over the car speaks about quality. But.

It's tad boring. The beige portion of the plastics are not that good ( they don't have the premium feel upon touch ). Black portions are still good. Steering is again good and the horn buttons are pretty convenient.

Now the comparison.

Punto looks more contrast full in comparison, visually. Punto has better space and feeling of being safe. I saw a visible difference in the black portions of dashboard in Punto. They have improved by a long margin. I don't know any tangible parameter which can be materialized to gauge the quality , but to me it looked comparable ( read the black portion ) . Now the Grey portions are still average although not bad as earlier ( checked last in November 2009 ).

The major difference! Steering. In Punto it's lot better IMO. The Polo model I checked was not having the integrated stereo, so can't comment on that.

The instrument cluster looks better in Punto.

The rating in my opinion -

-------------- Polo --------------------- Punto ---------

Dash design 4 4.5
Finishing 4.5 3.5
Plastic Quality 4 3.5
Steering 3 4.5
Space 3 4
Premium feel 4.5 3.5
Seats 4 4


Overall , Polo have a better half of plastics in terms of premium looks ( Beige portion compared the Grey portion of Punto ) but other wise Punto feels more solid from inside , other portions are comparable and Punto is high on features .

@ Sid, you own Honda Jazz too. I have checked out both the cars. I liked most things in Jazz except for its price which i think is higher by about 75ks & lack of muscle as compared to polo. Till now I have not been able to take TD of Polo so cant say much about its engine and ride. In polo I liked the looks, alloys, music system, driving position, quality of interiors etc. I was not happy with rear leg room in polo as we are family with heights in the range of 6' & engine is still a question mark for me.

I have judiciously gone through your Jazz thread. How do you compare these two cars. At present I am looking forward to both these cars for my next buy. Your input will be very valuable for me in making up my mind.

Thanks in advance.

Plastic quality of polo is far superior than the punto. Punto still has some uneven panel gaps and substandard plastics, but polo interiors, though extremely basic, feel built to last and well screwed together. But visually and equipment wise, the punto comes on top. If only it was well screwed together.
I recommend that you go and check these cars in person. Because public (buyer) is the best judge.

If you can AFFORD to go for the jazz, GO for it. Much better overall quality, smoother 1198 cc 90 ps 4 cylinder i-vtec motor, engineering and all rounded practical nature with class leading space and comfort and lower cost of ownership, it is a better all rounder. Or else for spending 7,50,000 plus, if you want more equipment, the I20 crdi is your best bet.

As I told, the polo, other than solid build and decent fit/finish along with gearshift, there is nothing unique about the car that would make you go say-wow. VW could have done much better, especially with the upcoming TDI model.

If I had to choose between the polo and punto, my choice is clear-punto, just because it is a bit cheaper, has better equipment levels, better engines which includes the proven multijet, well sorted ride and handling combination and bigger service network, only let down by cheapskate interior fit/finish and overall finesse, which can be better.

Checked out the Polo in the showroom today. In Mumbai, the VW and the Fiat showroom are about 500m from each other so I performed the simple exercise of checking the cars out back-to-back. Here's my 2 bits :-

• I must have annoyed the salesmen in both the showrooms by poring over every square inch in the interiors and by repeatedly opening and shutting the doors of the displayed cars but I was keen to assess, for myself, the build quality and the minor details. I, for one, am certain that the Polo is the most well built hatch in the Indian market - absolutely rock-solid german build quality, unmatched by any in the Indian hatchback landscape (havent been in a Figo yet but for everything else, the statement holds) and flawlessly screwed, if not extremely luxurious, interiors.

• The space inside the Polo was not more than the Punto but there wasnt much to choose between them.

• In terms of exterior aesthetics, the Punto takes it, in terms of interiors, the Polo seems to be a more quality place to spend time.

• Could obviously not judge the FE but I dont think the Polo could possibly be worse than the Punto.

• In terms of ride and handling, I’ll reserve my judgment till I drive the Polo though I know it wont be easy to match the Punto there.

But overall, the Polo is 3-4 years younger and fresher than the Punto. VW harps on about its Indian plant being one of the most technologically advanced in the world and the Polo clearly looks like a worthy offspring from that plant. The fit, finish and build of the car exemplifies German precision and while I love the Punto, there is no rational way to overlook the fact that it is typically Italian - It has inconsistent panel gaps and and has iffy quality which indicate that the its not put together as stringently but then again, it has real character - in terms of looks and appeal.

I intend to buy a hatch soon and I know it’ll be either the Punto or the Polo for me - The Figo may be a great car but with all due respect, it’s a 3rd world solution offered neither in Europe nor America and based on a previous generation platform, is simply not modern enough to cut it for me. For now, I’m leaning towards the Polo.

agree: completely.

The Negatives i found are ;
1.Underpowered Lousy 3 pot engine
2.Scarce Sales Network (We have a total of 4 VW Dealerships in Delhi and 1 in Gurgaon ; And there are around 4 MASS ,3 Hyundai Service Stations & 2 TATA-FIAT Serv Stations in less than 5 kms radius of my house)
3.Premium Brand Image (It goes against the product as people think its maintainance would be expensive)
4.Competition is far ahead in terms of product based on market demand.
IMO Only 2-3 of every 10 people care about the dynamics and handling.Even then we have the swift,figo and the Punto .
5.Diesel engine is even poor.
I see the sales of the car settling at not more than 900-1000 cars per month.(Total for petrol & diesel)

I dont see this car causing even a minor dent to swift's sales numbers.

Positives : German Build Quality,Dynamics,Handling.

[quote=R17;1765562]Checked out the Polo in the showroom today. In Mumbai, the VW and the Fiat showroom are about 500m from each other so I performed the simple exercise of checking the cars out back-to-back. Here's my 2 bits :-

• I must have annoyed the salesmen in both the showrooms by poring over every square inch in the interiors and by repeatedly opening and shutting the doors of the displayed cars but I was keen to assess, for myself, the build quality and the minor details. I, for one, am certain that the Polo is the most well built hatch in the Indian market - absolutely rock-solid german build quality, unmatched by any in the Indian hatchback landscape (havent been in a Figo yet but for everything else, the statement holds) and flawlessly screwed, if not extremely luxurious, interiors.

• The space inside the Polo was not more than the Punto but there wasnt much to choose between them.

• In terms of exterior aesthetics, the Punto takes it, in terms of interiors, the Polo seems to be a more quality place to spend time.

• Could obviously not judge the FE but I dont think the Polo could possibly be worse than the Punto.

• In terms of ride and handling, I’ll reserve my judgment till I drive the Polo though I know it wont be easy to match the Punto there.

But overall, the Polo is 3-4 years younger and fresher than the Punto. VW harps on about its Indian plant being one of the most technologically advanced in the world and the Polo clearly looks like a worthy offspring from that plant. The fit, finish and build of the car exemplifies German precision and while I love the Punto, there is no rational way to overlook the fact that it is typically Italian - It has inconsistent panel gaps and and has iffy quality which indicate that the its not put together as stringently but then again, it has real character - in terms of looks and appeal.

I intend to buy a hatch soon and I know it’ll be either the Punto or the Polo for me - The Figo may be a great car but with all due respect, it’s a 3rd world solution offered neither in Europe nor America and based on a previous generation platform, is simply not modern enough to cut it for me. For now, I’m leaning towards the Polo.[Got to agree with you man, the Ford Figo is a third world offering and yes Ford may have succeeded with the Made for Indian IKON but in todays day and age India deserves nothing but the latest and why not we are the largest or the second largest hatch market in the world !]

I agree with all other points. But what's negative about Premium brand image?

maintenance cost is a different thing, even Toyota and Honda has a premium image in India, but not expensive to maintain like German cars.

Went to check out the car at the VW showroom in Hyderabad yesterday - came back dissappointed by the dealership response.

Only 2-3 salesmen and around 6 customers in the showroom. 3 customers talking to the salesmen and the other 3 looking at eachother wondering who will respond to them.

Realising that no one seemed like responding, I decided to check things out myself. I strolled around the entire showroom checking out the entire facility, Checked out the cars, opened the doors, closed them with thud multiple times. Looking at me the other customers also felt free to sit and have a feel of the car. At a particular time 3 of us customers were sitting in the car ( 2 in front one on the rear seat), yet no sales person would even acknowledge the presence of any of us!

After opening the boot and thumping it down a couple of times more - I just smiled to myself and left the showroom...:Frustrati

The Punto and Polo are equally impressive.

I am also looking for a hatch in the market. I have already ruled out the Punto though. A 0-100 kmph of 18+ seconds for a 5+ lakh car is simply ridiculous!

1.2 Petrol - 18.16 seconds
1.4 Petrol - 16.58 seconds
1.3TD - 17.84 seconds

Thats slower than the Tata Indica Xeta 1.2 (16.95 seconds) by the way! And we all criticize the Xeta for being slow. I can easily live without a rear demister and a manual airconditioner (seriously how much difference does it make in a month of usage?). But the car should be decently tractable. That will affect every minute of my drive.

Also, I expect VW's service to be better. They might have lesser dealers. But more than the no., its the attitude which will matter. In other words, better to have a good dealer 25 kms away rather than a 'Oh.. its a Fiat' kind of Tata dealer next door. And unlike VW, Fiat must go through Tata to reach 95% of their own dealers.

:) Hi, nothing personal, but generally you won't find as many salesmen/executives as customers in any shop/dealer/bank. Don't you think the customers are attended on first come first served basis the world over. I would wait for my turn and keep my ears open to know what is the sales man's pitch to the earlier customer and whether its same or varies person to person depending on the knowledge of the buyer :).