Volkswagen’s Polo hatchback has been around in the Indian market for long. In Europe, the car was updated to its next generation, but India still has the previous generation Polo due to which the sales have declined in the Indian market. And now, a camouflaged model of the Polo has been spotted testing recently near Pune, India.
Volkswagen group under the India 2.0 strategy which is led by Skoda Auto are planning to localize the MQB A0 platform on which the new generation car is based. Until and unless the platform is localised the car will not be made in a feasible way, and selling price will eventually repel buyers. This is the reason the new generation Polo has not arrived in India, yet.
Before the next generation car arrives which is expected to be a couple of years from now, the current Polo may get a cosmetic facelift along with the new safety features and emission norm compliance as per new mandates. The car will retain most of the metal bodywork and only see changes to the bumpers and other plastic parts. The spyshots reveal revision to the front bumper and a black diffuser similar to the Polo GTI on the rear bumper. On the interiors, the seat fabric may see some changes and the Highline variant is expected to get a new touchscreen infotainment system. We’re expecting new alloy wheels and new body paint options.
The Polo facelift is expected to be powered by a BS-VI compliant engine though it may use the same diesel and petrol blocks. The Polo in India is powered by a naturally aspirated 999cc, MPI, 3-cylinder, petrol engine that produces 76 PS of power @ 6200 RPM and 95 Nm of torque @ 3000-4300 RPM coupled to a 5-speed manual gearbox. The diesel engine that currently powers the Polo in India is a 1498cc, TDI, 4-cylinder engine that produces 90 PS of power @ 4200 RPM and 230 Nm of torque @ 1500-2500 RPM mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. The diesel engine might not see the BSVI upgrade. The Polo GT TSI comes with a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol motor that produces 105 PS of power and 175 Nm of torque and comes with a 7-speed DSG transmission. The facelift Polo is expected to remain similar to the outgoing Polo on the exterior dimensions which measure 3971mm in length, 1682mm in width, 1469mm in height with a wheelbase of 2469mm.
The outgoing Volkswagen Polo is sold in 4 different variants with petrol and diesel engines in India:-
- Trendline
- Comfortline
- Highline
- Highline +
The VW Polo rivals the Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Honda Jazz and Hyundai Elite i20 in India.