Volkswagen Polo Track: strongly stripped-down Polo

Rewind to the beginning of 2021. Volkswagen then presented a facelifted version of its then five-year-old Polo to the consumer. The Polo got a new muzzle with new headlights that were actually different in shape than the light units of the original presented in 2017. More striking was the completely new buttocks that the Polo was fitted with. From now on, the taillights continued into the tailgate, making the Polo even more optically a reduced version of its bigger brother. Earlier this year, the Volkswagen Polo was also facelifted for the Brazilian market. But what turned out? The Polo was fitted with a similar new front, but just had to make do with the old rear lights that did not enter the territory of the tailgate. Today, Volkswagen is introducing the Polo Track to the Brazilian car market, which is just as peculiar.

The regular Volkswagen Polo in Brazil has a similar front to the European model, but has the rear of the pre-facelift model.

At first glance, the Volkswagen Polo Track in these photos is ‘just’ a Polo, but that is not quite the case. If you look closely, you will see that the car has a front that not only differs from the European Polo and the version recently facelifted for the South American market, but that is also different from that of the pre-facelift version. The space between the simple halogen headlights is filled by a relatively simple-looking grille and the black and semi-closed mesh in the front bumper does not appear too sparkling either. At the bottom of the rear bumper we see a black piece of plastic in which Volkswagen has pressed a skid plate-like shape.

The cheaper Polo Track has a completely different nose…

But, why is there a second Polo in Brazil? This has everything to do with the Volkswagen Gol, a model that is one step below the Polo in Brazil and that competes with technically simpler hatchbacks such as the Chevrolet Onix and Fiat Argo. The current generation Gol is based in 2008 and although the model was thoroughly modernized in 2012, it will be over and out for the Gol at the end of this year. Volkswagen keeps its hand on the purse strings and does not come up with a completely new model, but adds a new stripped-down member to the Polo family with the Polo Track to replace the Gol.

…and a simple interior with a lot of dull plastic.

As you might expect, the Volkswagen Polo Track is also simpler on the inside than the Polo-without-Track addition. Touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel are strange to the Polo Track and you can also write the touch-sensitive sliders to control the climate control on your stomach. Things like the door panels and large parts of the dashboard itself are made of simple plastic, so no shiny piano lacquer for the Polo Track. The Polo Track does not even have electrically adjustable exterior mirrors. A reversing camera or a digital instrumentation? Forget it. It is all the more peculiar that the stripped-down Polo Track in these photos has a shark fin antenna on the roof, while the regular recently renewed Polo has an ‘old-fashioned’ whip antenna.

The stripped-down Volkswagen Polo Track replaces the aging Gol.

Unlike the regular Polo, Volkswagen puts the Polo Track on 15 instead of 16-inch steel wheels with hubcaps, but as far as safety features are concerned, the undressing damage is not too bad. The Polo Track has four airbags and a stability system as standard. In addition, the ‘bare Polo’ has air conditioning, electrically operated side windows in the front and power steering. Where the regular Brazilian Polo is also available with TSI machines, the Polo Track always has a turboless 1.0 MPI that kicks it up to 77 hp on petrol (ethanol: 84 hp). Switching is always done with a manual five-speed gearbox. The Polo Track – in a special introductory flavor – costs at least €14,625 in Brazil for the time being. The renewed regular Polo – with the same powertrain as the Polo Track – costs a minimum of €15,150. Please note that this is a regular version and not an introduction version.