Adieu Volkswagen Polo: An emotional & sweet farewell

You were so much fun to drive! Your baritone engine roar at higher RPMs was what my dad hated and I loved.

BHPian DogNDamsel12 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Dear Polo,

So apt is this affable goodbye letter from you that prompted me to share a few moments with my Polos with this group.

The letter is so beautifully written, an apt exit for a vehicle that has captured the hearts of so many people like me. It feels like parting with a playful, soulful, mischievous friend, and one can do nothing about it!

To me you have also been as real as your letter, and I have had a rewarding relationship with mine, existing in a strange, delirious space somewhere between a partner and a parent to you.

For me, you were instant love.

2013 - Owning my first Polo:

This was right after I got back to India and having been on great cars abroad, was definitely looking for a good ride for myself - definitely in the hatchback category so that it was easy for me park in small spaces in the city. Had checked out a few cars - won't name them this time as I want it to be about YOU, and will not start a battle about which car is better than the other.

You came to me as a suggestion from my brother, though I was not so sure, mostly because it cost higher than some of the others in the same category. But I decided to check you out anyway. We walked into the showroom that was in Select Citywalk at that time. There was a red Polo 1.2L MPI on display. I opened the door and sat inside and closed the door. That typical Polo door shut thud that you have gave me in response.. blew me away and made my heart beat a million! I was thinking "What was this thing that was such a hottie!"

In about half an hour I test drove the car. And boy your engine got to me and how! You know that moment in the movie Avatar when Jake, the protagonist connects with Toruk and becomes Toruk Makto... my feeling wasn't anything short of that, thanks to you!

I had made up my mind about you, dear. But the parents were still to come on board. So more than negotiating with the people in the showroom, it was convincing my parents that took a while. I test drove a million cars after that just to give my parents the peace that I had tried many before I settle for that kind of an engine.

And in a few days, you were mine to keep - the Highline version of you.

You were so much fun to drive! Your baritone engine roar at higher RPMs was what my dad hated and I loved. Initially, for a novice like me switching over to a new system of driver controls did take a few mistakes to learn - the headlight had a knob on the right, the dipper-dimmers and indicators were in the steering panel on the left (as opposed to Japanese systems) and the wiper controls to the right. And I fooled around with the horn a few times.

After driving around with my WagonR LXi, I was thrilled with the adjustable steering wheel and seats, the fog lamps that made driving in Delhi's fog a breeze, the simple RPM gauge, the adjustable ORVMs, pinch-safe windows, and some real trivia such as when I switch on the headlights, the switches for the window and orvm controls also light up (as opposed to one of the other cars that we own, where I fumble in the dark when trying to locate these switches). Everything about you was so simple and elegant and muted - we grew on each other.

Trifles made me really fall head over wheels..err heels.. with you. If on a slight incline I began to release the clutch you would roll up the slope like it was nobody's business, no acceleration needed. You would take on some bad roads without the slightest squeak being felt inside. The tires always stayed planted at corners. And, I could sneak you in and keep you waiting at the busiest Old Delhi roads without any glitch.

So many nights in Delhi, when most people were perhaps out partying, I have spent rolling with you on the empty roads, listening to my favorite music, and on some days the trip meter showed over a 100 km within city precincts. You made me feel at home in what is considered a hostile place like Delhi.

So many times after switching off the engines, I have spent a few extra minutes in the car, petting the steering and leaning against it like a pal - for good times and bad ones.

This one time, there was something wrong with the battery apparatus and you had stalled right in the middle of the MG road at rush hour. Quite flustered, I was trying to call in some help in the form of friends and RSA. In between these calls, I remember silently talking to you to please at least take me home. And, the darling that you were, you did start this one more time, took me up to the parking lot, and then stopped. And from mechanics to a miracle I didn't know who to thank, except that I started to see that you did have a soul.

And then that one fateful night in 2017, I lost my baby. It may just suffice to say that had it not been for you, I would not have survived to tell everyone how it upturned a few times, and how you hugged me through the nightmare fall. That you suffered a total loss to ensure the inmates went back to the safety of our homes. You know that I was not at the wheels. But it would not have mattered even if I were - it was destiny! It was an emotional loss for everyone involved and you should know that too! And I still think of you nearly everyday, and the day I sat hugging you in the broken cabin one last time and wept in grief, still hugging you to me as I always did!

We tried to get you back. But the repair costs quoted were so high, and we knew we could not have gotten you back in the old condition. So we had to put you down. I realise now that I have so few photographs of you. But thank you for being there!

2018 - My second Polo; A million date nights:

My dear new Polo 1.2L MPI,

Let's skip to the good part! I found you after I had hunted for my next car for quite some time. I mean who goes for the same car all over again, right? Wrong! My first choice of course was VW - having life-tested (pun intended) the build quality. Again, test-drove a far greater number of cars than the previous time before I landed up with you again.

I don't know how to write about why I went for you again without mentioning some of your friends and competitors whom I tried out (don't be mad with me!) Some with the same brand, some with the sister-brands, and some with competitors. The Fiat Abarth was one car that came very close to my heart, but it was the last batch being sold, so I could not risk owning a car whose service I was not too sure of. Then there was the Skoda Rapid which I was a breath away from finalizing but the insurance cost made me reconsider.

The Polo GT TSI AT was out and drove so well, but it was AT - not my type! The 1000cc Polo also did not feel quite like my previous one (I will spare everyone the technical details).

Polo, you must know that the Indian Government has been following a strategy of light-weighting of vehicles for quite some time and this has been evident in all the competitor cars in a similar category or the low-cost sedans - Maruti, Honda, Hyundai etc. So the fact that you are not able to grade down and keep up is something we totally understand.

When I looked up another 1.2 MPI, some 6 odd showrooms of Delhi and Gurgaon mentioned that you were the only one car left in stock - a white one.

The Metropolitan service center, where I took you in for repairing your little scratches and keeping you well, has spoiled both of us over the years. Just like your goodbye letter mentions, they took care of every little scratch and I never had to take you back after any service. (psst.. the experience in one of the Kolkata service centers, I know, has been not so great, but you can trust me that I will take it up later!)

Briefly, I had considered not getting a car as you know, and had been taking taxi, metro and public transportation, but Nemo needed you more than I did!

And, Nemo would vouch for it that he owns you more than I do.

There were some hard-to-miss differences between you and the previous Polo in that you felt lighter, the door thud was missing, you would not roll onto slopes as easily and I do have to mix the clutch release with accelerator and handbrake use. The suspension also feels "different."

When I got you initially, with the old one gone and the market no longer a consumer's one, it felt like I had settled with this one. But with 3 years, 40000 km despite a lockdown, a good travel time and regular morning runs with Nemo, and you gracefully putting up with the unforgiving parking lot and the shenanigans of one of the most horrid driving infrastructures ever i.e. Kolkata, I realise that I love you much more than I thought I did.

Your reliability has been phenomenal. Your engine is sporty, handling is smooth, over 3000 rpm you roar, dude! And at 110-120 kmph on the highways, I can still have a conversation with my fellow passengers.

You really know I am in love with you when I take random photos of you - in workshops and carwashes, on the highways, of the odo and gear, and I end up cleaning you when I have nothing to do on any afternoon.

You and I have also had the delight to participate in some local events. And, the Red one and you have together made me an enthusiast. And, for years you have also raised the bar for the likes of you (hatchbacks).

Being used as a stowaway for bike gears at the latest Team BHP meet:

So, when I woke up to the very aptly written letter by you and shared by Volkswagen, I thought it was time to at least talk of my experience with you.

And, though your breed goes extinct, I have no intention of giving you up anytime soon.

Happy miles to go, my friend!

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