Volkswagen is celebrating 10 years of the Polo in the Indian market. Now, there is a good and a bad side to this. The good thing is, that the Polo even though an old and dated car in 2019 standards, still remains a drivers delight. However, for 10 long years, the Polo has not moved a generation ahead here in India while globally the new Polo is on the streets already.
At the moment, Volkswagen retails 4 versions of the Polo hatchback which include a 1.0L MPI petrol engine with 5-speed manual, 1.5L TDI diesel engine with 5-speed manual, 1.2L GT TSi petrol engine with a 7-speed DSG automatic and a 1.5L GT TDI with a 5-speed manual gearbox. The Polo slots in the premium hatchback category and rivals the likes of Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Toyota Glanza, Hyundai Elite i20 and Honda Jazz. The Volkswagen Polo also comes with a 4-star Global NCAP crash test rating.
First launched in 2009 here in India, Volkswagen has made bold steps with the Polo. For example, the German car brand introduced a 2-door genuine hot hatch in the form of the Polo GTI which came with a 1.8L TSI petrol motor. The Polo GTI has a max power output of 192 PS and is matched to the DSG automatic gearbox making it the most fun to drive car, but it is no longer on sale. In the last 10 years, Volkswagen has introduced a total of 8 powertrain options for the Polo in India.
Volkswagen offers features such as dual front airbags and ABS as standard with the Polo.
Worldwide, VW has sold more than 14 million units of the Polo hatchback. 45% of buyers in India for the Polo are first-time car buyers and the brand reveals that they prefer the GT TSI variant.
In 2013, Volkswagen also introduced the Cross Polo which was a crossover variant, and the first such product in the hatchback space which lead to many other brands developing such cars. The Cross Polo was nothing but the standard hatchback on stills with a little body cladding making it bad road friendly.
