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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-31.html)

aseem, everyone knows that the U stands for unique, but none of these qualities are unique to the Polo.

- Build Quality and Solid Feel - i20 already has it
- Handling- Punto, Figo are great handlers
- Contemprary Looks- i20, Punto look great too.
- Paint Finish- Every car comes with excellent paint quality these days.

No issues. We are having a healthy debate here. :)

Polo's USP could have been truly premium interiors and VW's fantastic engines. But we did not get both here.

A great review! The compilation is superb. The VolksWagon would have considered a 4 cylinder engine.

It will be a mere comparison to Figo with high competetion!

agree:

It is like comparing a Nokia and samsung.

both are mass market brands but one being higher than the other in terms of brand value and price if not feature-wise.

The torque figures for the Polo Petrol are extremely good. On paper the performance should be same as the i20 or Punto 1.4. Even the weight at 1020kgs is exactly the same as the i20. I would think performance will be on par for the segment.

What is disappointing for me in the Polo is not the lack of features like climate control, fog lamps, and alloys in the comfort line.

It is the lack of basic features which don't cost much. They don't have vanity mirrors, there is no seat back pocket, there is no light in the boot, there is no rear defogger or wiper.

I don't mind not having climate control or no audio as anyways it will be of poor quality. But why remove the basic stuff like vanity mirrors, illuminated boot light or rear defogger and wiper. In a premium hatch atleast don't leave that big gaping gap in rear windshield meant for wiper.

What is galling in the extreme is that the features we talk about being missing, high end or basic, are all available on the international versions of the Polo.

Since we are always harking to the i20 as a suitable benchmark, any ideas how many of its "international version" features have been left out for us lowly Indians who cannot afford nor know any better?

Not too many, and that I guess is because the car was made for export only, with Indian sales planned to be incidental. A fast maturing Indian market proved that wrong though.

I can think of a few things like 16" alloys, 1.4L with manual GB, heated mirrors, ESP, Traction Control etc. But we do get everything else. That's why it sells decently.

Have anybody here seen the German version of the very same Polo that got launched here in India recently? apart from the engine capacity, I was expecting all the features to be present in the Indian version. If it were, then I'd be happy with the current pricing. But since it is not the case I simply feel that it is over priced. How many disagree with me?

BHP'ians, show some solidarity here. Let VW learn it's lesson. Go for some other cars. Do not please go by the brand name and pay these car manufacturers who are taking the Indian customers for a ride.

Read wildon's thread and you'll see it's missing the security alarm and a few other nifty features. It is fully loaded in terms of features but poor FE coupled with average ride and handling means it's not the best driver's car. I don't think it can match the Figo and Polo in terms of build quality and solid feel.

The Asta fully loaded costs Rs. 6.75L on road bangalore. It's priced lower than the Polo highline by around 15K. Features missing are climate control, foldable mirrors, steering mounted audio controls, usb/aux on audio system.

Though i agree on this that one should not go only by brand name, but buying a car is an individual choice. What is good for one, may not be good for the other. We cannot claim categorically that a car is bad and we should take a common stand etc. Forums are basically to share information and learn, i guess it should be each ones choice to buy the Polo, if they what they are paying for, they should.

even i20 ASTA doesn't have vanity mirrors.
maybe cars made for an european audience don't have one.

people who have driven hatchbacks in european countries please clarify.

If we go according to this, no one should buy a Honda. IMHO, none of their cars is VFM, but I believe they do make some good cars, DON'T they!

Be it any industry, one has to pay premium for a good brand. Dont we pay a premium for the i phone, dont we have to pay premium for the Sony vaio, dont we have to pay a premium for Gas jeans.

I agree that one should not buy a product considering only the brand name, But I believe all these products are very competitive along with a better brand.

I am amazed by some of the responses. Even the S-Class launched in India does not come with majority of the features of European countries guys..

Has anyone seen the European spec of A-Star? i10? Spark (ala Beat)? Swift(!)? i20?

All of them has much more features than local variants. You might wonder why? Thats the simple logic of purchasing power and local demand. That does not make any of these manufacturers criminals!

If someone does not like Polo, please do not buy it. But to blanket slam manufacturers on some frivolous reason is not professional and is not sensible.

All these manufacturers had the option of going CKD with namesake localisation and hark about quality just like Honda did with Jazz (If Honda can do it, VW can definitely do it). They could have minimized their project costs and boosted their market image by releasing press releases with the phrase "international quality" sprinkled all over.

The fact that they tried shows their commitment. Has anyone ever seen how difficult it is to get funds released to a country these days? At least appreciate these positives rather than 'blasting' them over 'vanity mirrors'!

+1. Going by brand name alone is not good. Everyone has their own liking/preference w.r.t car. There is no "the best car" for a given price.

Just visited Volkwagen Navi Mumbai - KSM Motors one of the two distributors in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane. Enquired about the diesel version of POLO- launch due on April last, TD vehicle will be available in May. On road price -

Navi Mumbai - Trendline - rs. 5,98,031/-
Comfortline - Rs. 6,53,100/-
Highline - Rs. 7,51,242/-
Apperently,
The plus points - Solid built (one can feel that), large boot space, huge glove box, good interior space.

The minus points - Interior is ok, you cann't just slip into the driver's seat, you have to pull up your leg a bit to enter.

The sales person informed that the 1st service is at 15000 km, which cost you around ~7-8K and every 15000 km thereafter.

This dealer has booked 110 petrol cars, so far the waiting period is 3 months.

Nice looking car with Germen pedigree, one sore point is lack of service network. To get success in this competitive market VW has to increase the service network fast.