Volkswagen Polo is an attempt by the German automobile manufacturing company to get a grip in India and establish a market in the country. Designed to give all three to the drivers – comfort, style and elegance, Volkswagen Polo will compete with Hyundai’s i20, Fiat Punto and Maruti Ritz as far as the price is concerned. Significant changes have been made in the design keeping in mind t...
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Volkswagen Polo is an attempt by the German automobile manufacturing company to get a grip in India and establish a market in the country. Designed to give all three to the drivers – comfort, style and elegance, Volkswagen Polo will compete with Hyundai’s i20, Fiat Punto and Maruti Ritz as far as the price is concerned. Significant changes have been made in the design keeping in mind the Indian populace but the basic VW features are still very much evident.
Undoubtedly, Volkswagen has come up with a beautiful car. Interestingly, the German car has been designed by Italian designers who gave VW Polo a sturdy and tough look. If you look at the previous versions of the car, you’ll see the difference – they were all cute but the fifth version is more solid in appearance. It lacks flamboyance despite being made by Italians and the sporty look is not over-the-top. Polo has got a chiselled front with the headlamps merging with the slim grille and fog lamps on the front bumper. Apparently, they gave Indian consumers shiny headlamps instead of the smoked effect ones available to the rest of the world thinking that it won’t work well. The radiator grille fits perfectly on the front with the Volkswagen logo giving finishing touches to the car. The 15-inch alloy wheels that Polo support is another feature that makes it visually attractive.
Coming to the interiors of the car, they are definitely Volkswagen – top-notch and elegant. To say the car is beautiful inside out won’t be any exaggeration. The top of the dashboard is made of hard black plastic while the bottom is all beige – this combination of black and beige for the interiors is a win-win; it looks stylish and the texture is great to touch. If one has an experience with a VW before, they will feel comfortable as soon as they lay their hands on it. The switchgear is precise in its operation and logical in its placement. One of the shortcomings of the car is that it doesn’t have a lot of rear legroom which could be a bit of a problem for the passengers – one has to sit lower in the back and won’t have much knee room. Thankfully, people up front won’t have the same problem – a basketball player can fit in the front comfortably as the seats have just the right amount of cushioning.
Polo comes in three versions – Trendline, Comfortline and Highline. Trendline is the basic version with power steering, front power windows and AC; Comfortline has body coloured handles, metallic paint and split seats while you can alloy wheels, mp3 player, remote locking, and airbags in the Highline version. The car comes with 2 engine options – diesel and petrol, both with 3 cylinder units and 1200 cc. With 1.2 petrol engine which produces 11.2kgm torque and 74 bhp, Polo goes from 0-100 kph in about 16.5 seconds which is quite modest for the engine. As is the case with 3 cylinder units, the car buzzes all the way but it is still quite comfortable when one is cruising around 120 kph. The 1.2 diesel engine has made its debut with Polo – it works quite fine until it’s revved too much but still Ford and Fiat’s 4-cylinder performance is certainly better.
Polo made an entry in India after a long time, after it was unveiled in AutoExpo and it has lived up to the expectations. If one wants to go for a German style engineered car with class and style coupled with modest speed, Polo would be the best choice.
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