Volkswagen Polo Review


At the tail end of the last century, the European built, Eurozone-only Volkswagen Polo was the "Mercedes of small cars.” While the Golf/Rabbits MKIII and MKIV suffered from iffy quality, the smaller, staid Polo was known for being reliably unbreakable. Then, something happened. Just as Mercedes' quality nosedived, the VW Polo lost its rep for bullet-proof build. Since 2005 quality has (reportedly) markedly improved, which has put the car back on the list of frugal consumers looking to buy something “classically VW." But is it ready for a U.S. debut?
If stunning or cheeky or chic looks are a prerequisite to purchase, then no. VW gave the Polo a face lift in 2005. Unfortunately, the car didn't need plastic facial surgery; it needed a tummy tuck, a six-month subscription to a gym, two years at a charm school and some self-help books on self-esteem. While its competitors all aspire to be tautly-drawn mini fashion icons, the Polo is the last of the slab-sided econo-boxes. At best you could say it has a khaki slacks-like classicism. The worst: been there, done that, bought the Golf, already.

On the upside, the Polo’s paint and the quality of detailing are Japanese-excellent. Venture inside and you’d swear you’d stepped into a Mercedes; albeit a Mercedes taxi. The VeeDub’s cabin is perfectly fashioned in the old-fashioned way, built from the kind of solid (not to say stolid) materials that embody and personify the German national stereotype of a generally humorless nation– but in a good way. The Polo feels like it could last forever.
So, my girlfriend asked, is this all they could think of? Excellent point. The Polo is clearly a car that believes in S&O (simple and obvious) instead of S&D (surprise and delight). Or, if you prefer, it arrives woefully under-equipped. At night, the mood lightens, with a weird and dysfunctional display of red and blue lights. The Polo’s iPod aversive death-by-treble CD-radio has 24 separate illuminations. Verrrrry interesting– but shtuppid!

Otherwise, the seats are supportive and comfortable, visibility is ideal (none of that blind spot Sciontology here), the glasshouse is Guido-compatible (left elbow out of window), the ergonomics are good to go, and there’s ample legroom and headroom for four. In fact, the Polo provides more usable space than a 1990’s Golf.
So: the exterior is frumpy and the interior dull but boring. If the driving experience is so-so, we can call this car a high-quality joke and get a beer. But it isn't: the Polo is a mighty fine drive. In a nutshell (literally), it offers unparalleled small car dynamic refinement. Rough-road roar-‘n-rumble is well-suppressed, there’s little wind noise up to 80mph, and the drive is stable at 100mph. More impressively, VW provides this refinement without deadening the driving experience.

The Polo’s steering is wonderfully linear, with more road feel than a crawling baby (closed course, professional baby). The suspension is comfortable yet well-damped in that Mercedes kinda way, enabling a fluid progression through a series of bumpy curves. The shifter and clutch are both precise and shmoove. Unlike some of its more highly strung or loosely suspended competitors, the Polo is an ideal everyday, every way steed. It's easy to drive fast, pleasant to drive slow. The Polo is as at home in tear-assing through narrow city streets as it is watching luxobarges blast past on the Autobahn.
European Polo playas can buy their ride with some damn interesting, class-leading engines. The 180hp GTI sprints from zero to 60 in a not entirely slothlike 7.5 seconds. There’s a ball-busting 130hp TDI Diesel, and a new "Bluemotion" Diesel that does 110mph, yet clocks in at 62mpg and belches-out low enough emissions to single-handedly save a Siamese rainforest (102g CO2/km). So what did I have the "pleasure" of driving? A 1.2-liter three-cylinder counterbalanced low-friction poke-mill. But the mini mill brought to mind that old description of Richard Wagner's music: it's better than it sounds.

My Polo only holstered 64 measly horses, but it revved in the advertised quiet, low-vibration fashion to 7000 rpm, allowing full access to whatever acceleration it could muster. It was also in its happy place at 100mph; the most refined three-pot I’ve ever driven. Albeit not the most economical. Although this Polo is officially rated at 41mpg, I averaged just 38. That’s pretty lame for a car that requires the better part of half a minute (16 seconds) to “accelerate” from rest to 60mph. Still, even this slowest and cheapest of Polos is fun to drive.
Did I say cheapest? My bare-bones tester (which didn't even have remote entry) lists at over €11K (but discounts much lower). That’s around $8k large before the dollar got bushwhacked; now it’s closer to $13k. So much for California-compliant dreamin’. When the new next gen Polo makes the scene in late 2008, let's hope it drives as well, looks better and comes from China.
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- Ajla I think a few of you guys need to try meditation or something.
- SCE to AUX Historically, the Land Cruiser sold ~3000 units annually in the US for its last 15 years, so the answer is no.
- Theflyersfan Oh boy - the sequential manual transmission. Otherwise known as "Your 16 year old driving stick the first time is smoother" transmission. I know automakers were trying new things out around this time and seeing what would stick (hint: the dual clutches won out), but even in testing, the Toyota engineers should have said いいえ、ジャンクです。(No. It's a piece of junk.) Is this seller going to get $8500? Doubt it. Way too much interior work is needed and it just looks worn out in there. St. Petersburg - salt air year round can do some wonders under the cover as well. But the exterior still looks good which makes me thing it was garage kept. So, for $8,500 - no chance. But for maybe $5,500 to $6,000 and the buyer doesn't mind some extra work to clean up the interior, maybe a decent top down sun down fun car. Just hope the transmission holds up.
- Dukeisduke Only if there's a significant price difference between it and the Lexus GX. Otherwise, no. If they do bring it over, they'll have to ditch that ugly grille.
- Theflyersfan Chris here just gave me a big old dose of nightmare fuel with this. Let me explain... This past Saturday, driving home after doing some furniture shopping. I-64 Westbound is closed for extensive repairs in my part of Louisville so I had to take surface streets home. No problem as it's basically a straight shot from said furniture store to my domicile. Now, I had that recent spinal fusion surgery in my neck complete with four screws, some plates, artificial bone, and the chance that things might not have healed correctly so things are a bit tender and sore still. Driving home in a part of the area named St. Matthews when I pass a Walgreens. Barreling out of this Walgreens and totally ignoring the stop sign, and situational awareness of ANYTHING around him is a truck, very similar to the one shown above. Same color even. It's a four lane road - main drag through town. I'm in the inside lane and this 7,000 pound monstrosity is suddenly feet from turning an MX-5 into shrapnel. Top is down, had my wits, quickly downshift and manage to do a wild u-turn like move into the oncoming traffic lanes but avoided the hit. The neck, however, didn't like the strain and trauma and sent parts of my body into fits of limited sensations and pain. The truck driver, realizing what he's done suddenly stops. My top is down, windows are down, and we make eye contact as I pull alongside the person I have suddenly wished death on inside a flaming pit. And if I repeat the sentences of what was yelled at that jack***es face, I'll be on insta-ban here in milliseconds. He yells over, "Man, I'm sorry...I didn't see ya!" Well, ***face, learn what a stop sign means and scan the scene first. And get something that you can see over and in front instead of the blind spots that hide everyone under the age of 14 in front of the truck. So, I'm all for forcing these overdone, oversized, overfed, overstyled, guzzling, tiny-genital compensating redneck wannabe road monsters taken out back and put to rest and we return to normalcy. Made it home hurting like hell and tests were done today to check for further injury. And that Mazda can turn and spin on a dime... Try that move in that Sierra AT4XBZQZW8! whatever.
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DKW (a German car maker long since defunct) had a model they called the “3=6″ (three equals six, which of course is mathematically questionable) The Das Klein Wonder DKM uses a 3 cyl 2 stroke engine, 2 str fires on every revolution so it fires = to a 6. There're draw backs to 2 cyl, they cannot use engine braking, as no oil is running thru the crank case. No oil sump either, no oil change. But u need to add oil 50:1 mix or certain formula. Saab 92 not sure the 92 or not uses the same engine, it has a switch for free wheel too. Just like a bicycle, one can back pedal and not slow down the bike. This free wheel is there to protect the engine from burning out as people forgot and uses engine braking with a 4 stroke engine. The down side should the brake fail, then you're as good as the tranny popped into neutral! Sadly to say Chinese manufacturer think one step ahead, You can fool all the people all the time. A very expensive lesson to be learned, from tainted Pet food, to leaded Barbie to accordeon folding type of body in cars. How about ship us some leaded Gas we haven't got any for such a long time.