Team-BHP - Volkswagen Polo : Test Drive & Review

Whats the metal like on these? I know a few people in the UK who own Polo's and the door metal appears to be a bit thin than what you woul expect from VW. Well it does not have the solid feel of the Golf etc. Maybe they skimped on the metal to reduce costs when steel prices were high.

Folks - Do we have any idea when 1.6 petrol will be launched? Overdrive has great review of the 1.2 petrol but others including GTO are not so enthusiastic about it. Looks like 1.6 should be able to address that and may also added electric OVRMS etc.

Went & checked out the Polo yesterday at Elite Motors, Bangalore. I love the car but space does not feel any better than the Punto. Rear leg room is tight for tall people (5ft11"). VW have got their quality alright but I so wish they had the 1.6 from day one.

The engine bay is so empty. It sure looks like they can squeeze in a 2.5L engine & only then you find things tight fitting in there.

Whats not so great is the pricing. A little over 8Lacs (On Road) for the top of the line Diesel, 7Lacs (On Road) for the Petrol & this does not make any sense at all. I do agree that Hyundai's I20 is expensive but it offers a lot more room, a much better Diesel engine and I doubt if quality is anywhere off the VW.

One manufacturer that will be hit & I mean hit very hard will be Fiat & its only because of the overall quality of the car. The VW is leagues ahead over the Punto.

I absolutely love the Polo in Red but I have doubts if it will kick off in the way VW want it to.

According do Elite Motors; 10th is the official launch date & Drives will be offered too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PYSO (Post 1768076)

Another manufacturer who doesnt offer ABS+Airbags as an option on Base / Mid / High-end versions

Dont these manufacturers realize that there must be lots of customers who value ABS+Airbags over mp3 player, alloy wheels, chrome central console, etc.

:thumbs up:thumbs up

Totally with you on that. Irrespective of the cost and logistic issues, I believe every car maker must offer the option of a Safety Pack (airbags, ABS, ESP) across the variant range. India may not be as mature yet as the western markets but the need to prioritize the essential goodies from the non-essential ones need not only be driven by a discerning slice of the indian consumer pie. I had high hopes from VW after the Jetta and the Passat but I guess the cost and volume concerns forced them to skimp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan (Post 1769217)

One manufacturer that will be hit & I mean hit very hard will be Fiat & its only because of the overall quality of the car. The VW is leagues ahead over the Punto.

IMO its just the fit and finish of interior stuff like dashboard or the steering column which is slightly bad in case of Punto and same is very good in Polo. Excluding that Punto, may be its petrol or diesel, beats Polo anyday!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan (Post 1769217)

Completely agree. The car is simply over priced.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HammerHead (Post 1769364)

+1.

I myself checked both the cars ( not a TD ) . Only difference is fit and finish inside in few areas. I don't know about the plastic quality as I don't have any parameter to judge it on paper.

Another difference may be the gearbox which is better in Polo.

Other things like -

Looks - better in Punto ( although depends on individuals )
Space - better in Punto
Engines - better in Punto ( although I have not yet taken any TD of Polo m going by the reviews )
Handling - better in Punto ( same as above )
Stability and ride quality - better in Punto ( same as above )
Equipment level - Punto eats Polo

So I don't see any big difference between overall offering , forget about leagues.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HammerHead (Post 1769364)

may be its petrol or diesel, beats Polo anyday!!!

While excitedly reading this thread and the pricelist of EVM Trivandrum, I decided to check out the prices of i20 and GP in Trivandrum for a comparison.

Guess what? fiat-india.com is down!! Verified it again before submitting this, their website is not online on the eve of a rival launch...:Shockked:

No offence to you HammerHead, but anyone can beat Fiat India at anytime. These guys will never learn.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas (Post 1769897)

During the price update few days back , their site was down for few hours. I had checked their site last around 7PM and it was fine. Guess they probably updating the colours of GP or updating their site for GP 1.2 dynamic and emotion.

IMO, it's not fair to assume any company can beat FIAT , just because their site is down for some maintenance work please:

If you need price information urgently , you can check "http://www.fiatpunto.in" . These microsites are always up for details.

Quote:

Originally Posted by worldcrawler (Post 1769912)

During the price update few days back , their site was down for few hours.

Thank worldcrawler. I'm aware about their microsite.

We are going OT here, but why should someone take the entire site out offline just to append a page or two? I've been doing sort of "webmaster" work for the last 10 years for a living ...:

Quote:

Originally Posted by aditya116 (Post 1768442)

Just checked out polo at the showroom in calicut.The place was teemin
Weirdly i could not find a decent driving position.Shorter people will find road visibilty hampered especially due to high set dash and low seats.The petrol engine at idle has a lot of vibrations(like an indica v2) which get transmitted a fair bit into cabin.The engine noise on a rev is sporty,better sounding than the one in figo.

I checked out the Polo today and also had the same observation. I am 5.5" drive a Palio and I just could not find the comfortable driving position even after meddling with seat and steering adjustments.

The rear seat is quite cramped when compared to Palio. It will be difficult to fit in 3 adults there.

The fit and finish in the inside it top-notch. The Punto's steering is probably better to hold that Polo, but other than that, the insides are much better. Also liked the short gearshifts.

IMO the Polo is overpriced for what it offers. The quality may be top-notch, but the basic 3-cylinder petrol engine, cramped interiors and the sparse dealer network makes things worse for VW. When comparing the base versions, the Ritz seem to be a better choice and when comparing high-end versions, the i20 definitely makes more sense. On the contrary, though Figo may not match the quality levels of the Polo, it is a highly-VFM hatch with a good dealer network and surely makes sense for our roads.

Check out the Autocar road test of the Polo here

Utvinews Autocar road test

Again the same conclusions...
Underpowered engines
Poor space utilization

If it werent for the VW badge on this car no one would have given it a second look also !
3 pot engine ! Get a life VW !