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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-29.html)

I guess initially it will sell in decent numbers because of the hype and being a " German car " .

Polo offers German engineering with too many compromises.
Engine is a compromise. I know it's debatable but on paper it doesn't look like a match to other 1.2L engines ( K series , Kappa and 1.2 iVtech ) and , 1.4 FIRE .
Feature set - a big compromise , when somebody says premium hatch , I fail to understand what's premium? If only plastics and build can make a car premium then it is . But what else ?
Space - again a compromise.

Now what are the strengths of Polo .
Build - Personally after checking Polo I felt Punto feels more secure. ( my personal opinion ) .
Handling - can't comment whether this is the best. But going by the reviews it isn't . At best comparable to Punto.
Steering - I was disappointed. Punto and Jazz steering is lot better. ( I am not talking about feedback , only perceived quality after sitting in the cabin )
Ride - again can't comment on this certainly , but going by the reviews Punto beats it.
Now the so called "contemporary interior" - what's contemporary here? The design - No. The creature comforts - No. It's only plastics. But then Fabia beats it hands down and even i20 is better in this.

A premium car should have premium features which are not available in other average cars( oh yes "VW" ). There are other cars which offers even better plastics ( Fabia, i20 ).

Where's my automatic climate control? Where is my electric ORVM ? Where is aux/usb support ( even vista offers this? ) ?

All in all it looks like an average offering which can't be tagged as VFM or premium.

* I am not commenting about Figo as I have not seen it in person, but I have checked all other cars in person ( driven i20, jazz, Punto, Fabia ) and only thing I can say " if you are looking for premium feel inside , nobody can match a Fabia ( even the clips of the sunvisors are premium ) .

I am not trying to compare the base models rather speaking about the mid range models or the top end models and there, even with the petrol Polo highline if you compare the i20 asta , Punto 1.4 emotion pack the price difference is negligible. But with Polo the compromises are high compared to the other two.

Still , I may be forced to change my comments after a test drive, till then these are my views .

I saw a red polo on Bangalore road today, it looks plain from out side and too simple inside. very dull looking car but you can feel the solid build quality. There will be a high demand because of VW badge and their recent advertising campaigns. Lets wait and watch how VW going to manage it with their limited dealerships available now.

The going by the saying "German Brand" might be valid only in Germany. I doubt if the same car could be compared to the ones available in Germany.

+1 to that,

Figo is Old wine in New bottle. IMHO it need to be compared with INDICA

Not just Indica , Figo can be compared with most hatches. Its positioned brilliantly bang in the heart of hatchback market.
Figo Petrol can be compared with - Chevy Beat, i10 1.2, Ritz, Swift, Punto 1.2, Polo, Indica Vista
Figo Diesel can be compared with - Ritz, Swift, Indica Vista, Polo and Punto

Coming your 1st statement, well Figo is a brand new offering from Ford for the Indian market. Yes, it is built on a slightly older platform. What difference does it make to end consumer if the car performs or car as a package is just as good or even better than the international offerings here and is available much cheaper. Most characteristics of a Euro car are present in Figo. Its an absolute VFM car for the masses.

If people want premium hatches, these are the ones to consider - i20, Punto and Jazz.

Just because its cheap doesnt means that it needs to compared to Indica. The so called old wine in a new bottle can teach the state of the art i20 a lesson or two in ride and handling.

Absolutely, but why complain when you get good tasting wine in a new bottle?lol:

BTW you mean the Vista or the Indica V2?

+1
Everyone knows the Figo's history. What platform it comes from, AC vents to engine are shared with the Fiesta etc. Period. All this was for a reason - To keep costs down. Now they have been successfull enough in keeping the costs down and have been sensible enough to price it low as well.

So if this makes sense to you and you like it, please pay up, buy it and enjoy driving and save some bucks as well.

If it doesn't excite you due to the old wine heritage just move on and buy a car that suits you.

And talking about the Polo, the positioning seems to be premium; IMHO not so with the features offered for the price.

my initial response is that the car is good for the price it comes for and its VFM. The engine it rough maybe because its new. The quality is top notch and you get the feeling of being in a bigger car and the pick up is great for 1.2 l engine and the turning radius is nice the gear shift is butter smooth



but the rear seat is not a good place to be in for long journeys
It landed me around 4.70LAC
now let the pics do the talking (sorry taken with a e51 pathetic camera)

Carwale will also tell you that the Figo base version is available for 349,000. Looking at the pics you posted, would you pay a 1L premium?

Since I have not driven both yet, I will go with what's there in the first page of this thread. Individual experiences may vary after TDs.

I agree. And I am sure that some aspects of the A Star are better than the Polo as well. Would you agree as well?

The German tag was of no use for the Jetta and Passat. Both are massive sales duds. They are even out-sold by their Czech cousins .

The hatch market is extremely crowded. Every car needs a USP to survive.

Figo USP: Great Price, diesel engine
Beat: Funky styling, good price
i20: Great interiors, good petrol and diesel engine
Swift: Fun, A.S.S
Indica: Price, space

What is the Polo's USP? I can't think of any. Only the glove box looks great to me.

Congrats man! T-bhp's first? She looks sweet - some better pics are in order though!

Glad to hear the pick-up is decent - can't wait to test drive it! Hopefully by July/August the 1.6 will be out!

Actually Carwale has Figo LX at 3.67 Lakhs ex-showroom as all prices mentioned are for Mumbai (including that of Polo).


Now lets compare Figo LX to Polo Trendline:

- Figo Petrol is the most underpowered car in the current hatches (Beat, Polo, Swift, Ritz) taking 16+ seconds to 100

- Figo LX Petrol has the least mileage in its segment

- Figo LX doesnt come with tyre cover

- Figo LX doesnt have Left Hand Side mirror

- Figo LX doesnt have front power windows

- Figo LX doesnt have Height adjustable headrests front and 2 headrests rear

- Figo LX doesnt have engine immoibilizer

- Figo LX doesnt have Tilt Steering

- Figo LX doesnt have roof antenna

- Figo LX doesnt have manual central locking

- Figo LX doesnt have Chrome on Grill on Interiors

So as you can see comparing Polo Trendline with Figo LX is not a fair comparison as like for like Figo EX at 4,00,039 needs to be compared to Polo at 4,53,000/- barring stereo which is offered in Figo EX.

I am not even putting a value to the increased space (length wise), build quality and plastics for Polo.

So like for like Polo all of a suddent doesnt have a 1 lakh premium, does it?

I suggest you take a look at both cars in person. As of now you are basing your views on build and interiors based on your ownership of Fiesta. Only having a look at Polo and Figo without Fiesta glasses can give us an objective understanding.

Definitely. I find A-Star an excellent city ride for 2 ppl.

Passat being a CBU never really had any chance ala Camry. And Jetta was a half hearted attempt to kick off VW brand in India. We'd both agree Polo is VW's first real attempt at Indian market.

There is a time while debating and trying to prove a point we become subjective and loose objectivity. You had yourself stated the following USP of Polo:

"There is a VW stall at my office today and I just had a look at the Polo for the first time. The car looks fantastic on the outside. The punto just lost the 'best looking hatch' title as far as I am concerned. I was happy to see that it does not have weird 'frog eyes' like headlights."


Here are some of Polo's USPs:

- Build Quality and Solid Feel
- Handling
- Contemprary Looks
- Paint Finish

Sometimes I find it difficult to understand why Indian buyers are sometimes so naive. For eg. you would have someone stating hey 'X' car has stereo as standard and so does 'Y' but 'Y' is 50k more expensive so its not VFM or is overpriced. They simply dont understand or put a value that X stereo may sound like crap and Y has a great audio system....

Please take my arguments in the right spirit, I have no intentions to unintentionally hurt anyone's sentinments. :thumbs up

Aseem, try comparing the Polo Highline to the Figo Titanium. The Polo Highline is 1L more than the comfort line.

Polo 1.2L Petrol Highline - Rs. 5.82L
Polo 1.2L Diesel Highline - Rs. 6.82L

Figo 1.2L Petrol Titanium - Rs.4.64L
Figo 1.4L Diesel Titanium - Rs.5.55L

Features are almost similar as well.

I thought Figo has a few features that are missing in any variant of Polo:

1. Bluetooth compatibility
2. Aux input
3. EBD. I do not know how important EBD is, but that's missing in Polo as well.

However none of the Figo variants come with alloy wheels.

Of course they are direct competitors. Either is a fresh brand in the diesel hatch market (ignoring the petrols here). The Polo may have slighter larger dimensions, but how does that matter when their interior + boot space are identical? In fact, IIRC the Figo had better rear space than the Polo (slightly so, can be reconfirmed after checking them next to each other).

Both are European based models with similar interior space, outright performance, ride & handling. The only reason that the Figo is priced so well is that its an older platform.

Question : Does the market prefer an older + still relevant product, or will it be looked over for a newer car (that doesn't offer any more functionality / key strength)

1.3 lakhs difference in the top-end? Sorry to say, but NO. The Figo may be older, but the engine is a proper 4 cylinder that's high on refinement (much more so than the Polo's 3 cylinder).

Agreed. Ask the guy on the street and he won't have a clue! What the mass market cares about is not categorisation, but size where the two are similar.

Its you who is being unreasonable here. A new launch means limited test-drive vehicles. At the showroom, the TD car will only be used for test-drives 9 hours a day and hence, serve a lot more potential customers.

If they start visiting everyone's house, more than half the day is wasted in commuting to & fro only. Even a 19 lakh rupee Fortuner required customers to come to the showroom initially.

Congrats Manik,

guess you are the first POLO owner in T-BHP, but you did great injustice to the beauty by taking pics with a mobile cam.

Please do shoot better pics in daylight and post soon.

4.7 lac OTR is great value for money. just 30k more than similar spec Figo and better mileage too!!