[hpzone]

Originally Posted by rajivn

POLO


FIGO


- More or less the same points and Figo is lot cheaper

PS: Kudos to you guys for the fantastic review as usual.
Hows the Audio System in Polo ? Got to play with it ?

Technically all these cars are pretty same, look at Punto, Palio, Polo or Figo. Lot of similarities. At the end of teh day the success is how the customer percieves it. Palio was a great car at lauch, slwly that faded away from common man's mind. My impression on POLO petrol is miles ahead of the competition now (considering the price). Well built, excellent fit and finish, long lasting and a premium brand. A good value for money.

Its a hard job on VW's part to maintain that perception and educating the dealers on that.

[sidindica]

Originally Posted by GTO

Large door lock / unlock buttons. When the car is secured, the "lock icon" stays illuminated. Strangely,even on the Highline variant that we drove (4 power windows), the driver's door only hadcontrols for two!

That again is confusing, looks like a trendline to me.

The pic of highline interior, taken from polo Indian brochure, shows all 4 power window controls on the driver's side.

[horabonny]

Originally Posted by sidindica

GTO, another query:

These 2 pics (one taken from overdrive website and another from your review) show marked quality differences. is there a major light factor or is that dashboard that yo photographed had a different comfort line spec upholstery?

Hey,
I guess the first picture was taken in bright sunlight which is evident at the front windows, possibly camera being on auto mode didn't fire a flash, while the second picture has been taken in shade, though its in the day and sunny and again forced flash has clearly been used. Moreover the camera seems to be a wide angle one (28mm lens), so you see a wider image.Hence the big difference, though I might be mistaken.

[senindra]

Picture taken by GTO seems to be taken with flash, while the other without.

Originally Posted by sidindica

GTO, another query:

These 2 pics (one taken from overdrive website and another from your review) show marked quality differences. is there a major light factor or is that dashboard that yo photographed had a different comfort line spec upholstery?

[ajmat]

I wonder if it is worth testing a Fabia back to back with this to seeif anything is different ?

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by sidindica

These 2 pics (one taken from overdrive website and another from your review) show marked quality differences. is there a major light factor or is that dashboard that yo photographed had a different comfort line spec upholstery?

Its a light factor. Also some of the cars had dashboards that had been polished more than others.

Here's what the upholstery looked like on all the cars :

Originally Posted by sidindica

That again is confusing, looks like a trendline to me.

Once again - the cars were mixed up in terms of equipment - ie some had foglamps (only available on the highline) but yet didn't have a stereo (which should be on the highline)!

Add to that, the review has pics from multiple cars, each with different levels of kit.

Follow the brochure for the final list of features available on each variant.

Originally Posted by senindra

Picture taken by GTO seems to be taken with flash, while the other without.

Other way around actually.

cya
R

[RGK]

Excellent Review again by GTO and Rehaan.

<<<Not neat. Notice how my left leg hits against the center console. Taller drivers also won't appreciate the high-set clutch pedal. Reminded me of the setup from my ol' Jeep:>>>

This is a valid point as this will affect tall persons like me (I am 6.2'). This is the issue I faced when I drove UVA.

[Utopian]

Awesome review GTO & Rehaan. Polo follows a very understated, clean styling which would stand out in the hatchback sector which is currently predominant with curves and arches(read i20,ritz, etc.).

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by sidindica

GTO, another query:

These 2 pics (one taken from overdrive website and another from your review) show marked quality differences. is there a major light factor or is that dashboard that yo photographed had a different comfort line spec upholstery?

Nope no difference in quality. Overdrive pic has been photoshopped.

[pgsagar]

Grrrreat review GTO!!! Looks like you will put automags out of business. Your review is all-encompassing. There isn't a thing that your review didn't cover. Fantastic.

But I am disappointed with the Polo overall. Why a 3-cylinder unit? No matter what they do to it, no matter how much they trick it up, a 3-pot engine shakes and rattles like a tractor's. I have seen this in M800, Accent CRDi and Fabia. GTO, you said the diesel doesn't have the top end performance the other cars ( I think you mainly meant Figo and Swift ) have. A 240-KPH speedo really looks out of place then. VW is probably trying to just boost the ego of the owner?

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

But I am disappointed with the Polo overall. Why a 3-cylinder unit? No matter what they do to it, no matter how much they trick it up, a 3-pot engine shakes and rattles like a tractor's. I have seen this in M800, Accent CRDi and Fabia.

As a rule of thumb, 3-cylinders can't match the refinement of 4-cylinders. But, I must say that the 3-cyl in Matiz (reworked 800 engine) was very refined, and zero NVH at idle - especially when new...

[Zen2001]

GTO, Rehaan - nice work, as always.

Personally, I'm not surprised as this "car with the hole" has lived up to our fears! To say it has got an understated elegance is merely making a virtue out of its limitations. No matter how much you try to focus on the positives, it's just not enough. But looking at it from VW's point of view, this spec car (1.2) in European markets would cater to a small segment at the lower end of the buyer market, more like the one catered to by M800/Alto in India; only difference being ours has the "volumes" here.
The prices of the petrol 1.2 should have been more in line with those of the Chevy Beat. Current pricing is ridiculous; german, italian, japanese, korean, I don't care!
A 3 cyl 1.2 NA is bound to be well, boring and hard to "get to work". And whatever ARAI figures claim, the practical mileage I suspect would not be over 13-15kpl. No wonder VW is playing a very cautious "carrot and stick" approach with the 1.6. I see it coming sooner in the sedan (if at all) rather than this hatch; just my sixth sense! No need to remind them what happens to a 1.6L hatch with a mileage of under 10kpl!! (A fool does not learn even from his own mistakes, a clever man does; but the wise man learns from someone else's mistakes)
And the 240km/hr speedo - is that just another example of cost cutting (no need to produce a different one for the 1.6 versions) or is VW seriously hoping that buyers should consider engine upgrades/modifications?

Next car please...

[Zen2001]

Originally Posted by GTO

Other Points:

• Reverse gear has an unconventional placement. Up and ahead of 1st gear. You have to press the lever down to engage reverse. In a tight right-hander, if you are holding on to the gear lever for lateral support, you will unintentionally press it down.

Press down? I vaguely remember my Punto (U.K.) having a kind of a button on the underside of the gear knob which needed to be pushed in, thereby LIFTING up the gear shift to engage reverse.

[Amartya]

GTO and Rehaan, thank you for the review.

To be very honest, I am quite disappointed with the Polo. I think that the Punto and the Polo are the best looking hatchbacks in the country with the Punto sneaking ahead.

I cannot see a single thing that the Polo does better than the Punto other than perhaps interior plastic quality. Let me try and compare the two:

1. Exterior Looks - Down to individual choice, I think the Punto is better.
2. Build Quality(not including interiors) - "Tijori /Vault" i.e. Punto.
3. Interior Quality - Polo.
4. Interior Features - Punto, Polo skimps on stuff like vanity mirrors, you must be kidding me!
5. Boot Space - Equal.
6. Rear Room - Punto.
7. Engine - Ruling out the Punto 1.2, the Punto wins. So only in the base variant, the Polo's engine is better. But that means, one is restricted to just a couple of colours (this is a deplorable tactic).
8. Transmission and Gearbox - The Polo carries on in the tradition of the Fabia for having a fantastic gearbox, but in my own opinion, the clutch is an ergonomic disaster and totally negates any gains that the snappy gearbox could have made. The Punto has a long travel clutch, but overall (with a dead pedal) it wins here again.
9. Ride and Handling - Punto
10. Service - Punto. Both in terms of reach and spare parts list (speculative).

There-in lies the problem with the Polo. It lacks an USP. In fact, other than people who think VW is a premium brand, and attach snob value to the car, I don't think it makes any sense.

[suhaas307]

GTO, Rehaan, anyone..

I have a very important question that I'd like to ask. It would help us immensely in our decision on buying a premium (petrol) hatch as we're in the market for one.

How different is the Polo 1.2 petrol in terms of ride, handling, stability and performance when compared to the Skoda Fabia 1.2 petrol? Do they feel the same? We test drove the 1.2 Fabia and we liked its ride and 'big-car-feel' but the 3-pot mill was a put-off! That's probably the only reason why we're not buying the Fabia. So is it worth TDing the Polo 1.2 petrol?