Increasing the ground clearance of my VW Polo

I wanted to take a particularly scenic route. But locals advised me against it, as the surface was bad in places and my car is too low-slung.

BHPian vox_alienus recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I have had a Polo for the last four years and am generally loving it. But the low ground clearance is a major problem. A few days ago, I was driving around in the Dalma hills of Jharkhand, through adivasi hamlets and forests, and wanted to take a particularly scenic route. But locals advised me against it, as the surface was bad in places and my car is too low-slung. I am, therefore, thinking of "lifting" the car. Is this advisable? If so, are lift kits of good quality available in India? Searching the web, I see these are available in the UK and Australia, but don't see anything in India.

Here's what BHPian VKumar had to say on the matter:

I had the same problem, due to my work profile and my habit of not engaging the reverse until the situation turns threatening - I frequently end up getting into the places where a Polo is not supposed to be (my farms, ice, dreaded Kaza-Manali route via Kunzum Pass, covered nearly entire Himanchal, under construction sites with no roads etc). My reason is simple, I love the way this car drives in the hills, has enough power, awesome dynamics, small enough to drive like an Alto and still strong enough to make me feel safe. So, I too had to find a solution.

And the solution that worked for me was:

• 195/60 R15 tyres
• Underbody protection shield

I did this on both of my cars, and I tell you. The mud flaps of both of my cars are broken due to bad roads itself. In fact, the running board of the petrol one has a decent dent too. But since the day I moved to 195/60 R15, underbody hitting is more or less a thing of the past. I have 5 sets of mud flaps at home, as the VW ones are quite large and low, hence they frequently keep on getting cracked/broken; so, I simply do DIY replacement now when one breaks.

Still, if it's a Jeep trail, then a Jeep is needed. Else if it's a route that can be covered in an S-Presso, a Polo with upsized tyres will cover it - if driven carefully.

This is how it started:

Let the wet tyres and wet running board tell the story:

Look at the front and rear mud flaps, that's all the damage I have been facing since the day I shifted to 195s'. What's hardly 1 cm of GC increase, it has made a difference of two worlds to my car:

What I would suggest is, just upsize the tyres slightly, and get the underbody shield installed (It's really useful, I have faced some hits). No suspension issues, no warranty issues, and the car becomes far more usable.

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