Team-BHP - Volkswagen Polo : Test Drive & Review

Hello everyone.

Factoring in the price, the petrol base version (Trendline) of the Volkswagen Polo costs 40,000 bucks more than the top version (1.2 LT) of the beat! Sure, Chevrolet BEATs the Volkswagen Polo in the price factor.

I personally prefer the exterior of the Polo to that of the Beat and vice-versa considering the interior.

Now what I really want to know is the difference between the performance and safety of the Polo and the Beat and if the Polo's performance really is better than the Beat, is it really worth shelling out another 40grand on the Polo and compromising on other features (Automatic Climate Control, etc.) too?

Cheers,

Nilesh

excellent review GTO and Rehaan!! Very detailed and all things covered including the omissions like dead pedals, climate control, usb/aux, etc.
If VW is reading this, my biggest ask would be a better engine (1.2tsi or 1.6) and goodies like all disc brakes on a performance/sport variant :-) plus the most glaring omissions like dead pedals and climate control. I won't really care much about included audio/usb/speakers as most people want to upgrade nowadays.
Also perhaps some more options on alloys (17"?) would be great!

Agreed my asks are not the same as average buyer :-)

Great review, GTO+Rehaan.
One keeps getting the impression throughout the time of reading that the car was lesser than you expected, except for the stability and screwing together of the car.
Someone abroad, after seeing the Euro spec Polo, had remarked that he doesn't see a Punto beater here. Have to agree from the review. This car would only hurt its cousin Fabia's sales I think.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 1755844)

You think a giant like Maruti will be sitting idle? The all-new generation Swift has been spotted testing. India is the largest market for that car, and you can bet it will be tailor-made to our requirements. One of the reasons that the Swift is being outclassed by these newer hatchbacks is that, well, its SIX years old!

i was about to say this,
MS Swift is still taking podium spots in almost all departments save for build quality(never a strong point of Japs) and we know how board-room meetings go,stupid:

OT-is the all new-gen Swift spotted in India?any indicators about when it shall debut?

and in the ever increasing tribe of comparison demanders, you may add my name.

Thanks GTO and Rehaan for the great review. 5 Stars!

I think, for a common man, its just not the right time to buy any car (hatches). The market is changing with new cars coming and recalls happening. Its better to wait for a little while and allow things to settle down.

Hi GTO & Rehaan,
That was an excellent review I have ever gone through.You guys have taken a lot of pain to write that comprehensive review to quench the thirst of all the followers.As mentioned earlier by someone,the masses only want a good FE and cheap option.And that's what VW has given.No doubt,they will establish themselves in the market with a fair marketshare along with Ford and Hyundai and the rest of the competitors.In Europe also they are far ahead of the rest of the competition.Hyundai has a great presence there but comes well below VW mark.Seldom have I seen VW as a Rent-A-car option.Most owners I know who own VW, Fox or Bora or now called Jetta would ever want to sell off their car for a better one.The resale value of these machines is always at a premium.Even after years these machines are in great condition provided they are taken care of.They are established all over the world which now includes China (where they have setup more than one manufacturing base) as you guys already mentioned.So once the cars are on road and given five years the Indian mindset will change and we would be able to see who is turning out to be market leader in overall terms.VW is known for quality and will maintain its brand name in time to come.

Quote:

Originally Posted by extreme_torque (Post 1755637)

Fantastic review! No wash and wipe even on the highline trim???

Talking about interiors, I think Punto's look a far more classier (not talking about quality jus pure looks here). VW is too plane jane.

Highline has rear wash/wipe with defogger. The cars tested looked like comfortline kitted with alloys. These are preproduction units.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CARDEEP (Post 1755808)

...just 1 cylinder was removed from the existing engines to get new engines for India. Result, no R&D cost,...

You make is sound very easy, though its not quite as easy as lego. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidindica (Post 1755970)

Highline has rear wash/wipe with defogger. The cars tested looked like comfortline kitted with alloys. These are preproduction units.

Yes, as mentioned earlier these are pre-production units with a mixed bag of features (so it would be best to look at the brochure for the exact level of kit rather than trying to figure it out from the photos).

Actually some were even trendline. But irrespective of the variant, all the cars had alloys.

cya
R

the price sheet in the road-test mentions the price of top end version of swift diesel and as far as i konw ther are only two versions of swift diesel i.e low LDI & mid VDI , then howcome the data mentions three trims ?
Pardon my ignorance if i am wrong

Popped in to the VW Downtown fellows at Magrath road.
Seems they have taken close to 100 bookings. Waiting period is now 2 months, he promised delivery mid-May - "What to do saaar.. long list of bookings".

The fella said the excise hike doesn't affect the OTR prices of Polo. :eek:
Maybe his father-in-law will pay up the difference to Mr. Pranob Mukherjee.

Demo car to be in showroom around Mar 3 or 4.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WindRide (Post 1756027)

Just 100 bookings and 2 month to wait?? man it seems like having a wait is in fad now. Even my friend who works with GM happily exclaimed about waiting period for the beat also. Its sad in a way that even the first customers need to wait, i for one would rather buy another car than wait.
Demo car still not there, while their brand is most certainly more visible in places like bangalore, talk about being prepared. THIS is where the hyundais and the marutis need to teach these guys! Wonder those who booked, where did they take a TD or they did not at all!
That saar is such an irritating thing to hear at times :D