First look: Volkswagen Polo

Well folks, the much awaited Volkswagen Polo is finally here! Manufactured in our very own country at VW's large facility in Chakan, Maharashtra which can currently churn out 110,000 cars every year. After the unveiling at the Auto Expo in Delhi early last month it has already garnered much attention among car enthusiasts and a lot of people who have been looking at purchasing a hatchback have put their decisions on hold in anticipation of this 'little' VW. 

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Some of you who are familiar with VW's history may remember that the first Polo was launched way back in 1975. Since then, there have been five generations of the Polo and we get the current generation car - the Mark-V (five). The Mark-V Polo is larger than the outgoing car and is a good 36 mm longer and 32 mm wider and has a little more boot space as well.

The car also is 7.5% lighter than its predecessor, which is great for economy, and continues the tradition of being a safe hatchback with a five-star Euro NCAP crash impact rating. Incidentally, this new VW group platform, the PQ25 is common to this Mark-V Polo, the Audi A1 as well as the Seat Ibiza MkIV.

All this is excellent news, but just how good is the car in the Indian context since it has to battle with the current market leaders in the toughest segment of the Indian car market. This is no easy task, considering that consumers in this segment look for that mix of style, quality, features and a value proposition which is largely determined by the final cost of purchase and ownership.

So after a day spent behind the wheel of both the petrol & diesel variants, we bring you this first impression on the Polo.

Text: Carwale.com

Image courtesy: PTI / AFP / Carwale.com

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