The Volkswagen Polo has been renewed. The current generation Polo, which was launched in 2017, will be given a facelift, mainly with a new look. It does not stop there, there is also news regarding the interior of the Polo. The facelifted Volkswagen Polo will be at Dutch dealers this year.
Volkswagen is carrying out a facelift on the Polo that visually brings the model a lot closer to big brother Golf. Volkswagen is generally not known for the thorough design changes it introduces during facelifts. It is all the more remarkable that the Volkswagen Polo is tackled relatively thoroughly on the outside.
Volkswagen Polo R-Line
The renewed Volkswagen Polo gets a completely new look for the model, which is very similar to that of the Golf. The now standard LED headlamps are new in shape and have a spur at the bottom. The LED daytime running light consists of several layers and is housed at the bottom of the unit. The line of the LED daytime running lights is continued by a wide LED strip on the underside of the new and much flatter grille. We already know that wide LED strip, only interrupted by the Volkswagen logo, from the Golf. Striking: the updated Polo gets matrix LED headlights from the Style version. Polos with this most extensive illumination also have dynamic turn signals and the aforementioned wide LED strip that appears to become a chrome strip on the versions with regular LED headlights. Lower on the nose, all versions have a new front bumper, although the exact design of the bumper differs per version.
Volkswagen Polo R-Line
Also at the back of the Polo things are going to be overhauled. And here, too, the most striking innovation relates to lighting. It’s done with the original’s fairly plain, square tail lights. The renewed Polo gets new rear lights that – you guessed it – continue in the completely newly formed tailgate, just like the Volkswagen Golf. A striking design detail is the crease that dips up from the corners of the rear lights into the C-pillar and continues into the crease that was already there. As before, the Volkswagen logo is located centrally on the tailgate. What is new, however, is the written out model name of the car that we read underneath. Just like at the front, the bumper at the back of the Polo has also been revised. The recess for the license plate is much wider and runs into horizontal reflectors on both sides. The black insert in the bumper itself has also been redrawn. Volkswagen is also bringing new light metal to the Polo, among other things.
Volkswagen Polo
Interior
Innovations have also been implemented in the Polo. For example, Volkswagen is reviewing the infotainment systems. The previously maximum 8-inch infotainment screen is now up to 9.2-inch. The 8-inch variant will remain. The system supports, among other things, a wireless Android Auto and Apple Carplay connection. Under the centrally placed ventilation grilles – if the Polo is equipped with automatic air conditioning – there is a completely new control element. The push and turn buttons of yesteryear give way to touch-sensitive buttons and sliders. We also know this from cars such as the Golf, Passat, ID3 and ID4. Depending on the chosen version, behind the wheel is an 8 or 10 inch (Pro) large version of Digital Cockpit, the digital instruments of the Volkswagen Group. Analog clocks are therefore no longer available. A radio with a 6.5-inch large screen is also standard from now on.
Versions and R-Line
The Volkswagen Polo will of course be available again in a version called R-Line. This sporty version not only has more dynamic-looking bumpers, but also chrome-colored elements at the bottom of the rear bumper that should resemble two sets of twin tailpipes. In Europe, the Polo will also be available as a nameless basic version, as Life, Style and as a sporty GTI that we will see in the summer. The Trendline, Comfortline and Highline versions will no longer return.
Volkswagen Polo
The standard equipment of the Polo has been expanded after the secondary session. For example, the unnamed basic version of the Polo will soon have manual air conditioning, electrically operated windows at the front and rear, electrically adjustable and heated exterior mirrors, a multifunctional steering wheel and mirror caps that, like the handles, are in body color.
Security systems
Like the renewed Seat Ibiza, the facelifted Polo also benefits from new passive and active safety systems. There is an extra special feature for the Polo. Just like the Toyota Yaris, the Polo gets a pop bag between the front seats to prevent the front occupants from collapsing in a collision. Volkswagen offers the Polo optional IQ Drive Travel Assist, a system that enables semi-autonomous driving (level 2) on the motorway. Polo shirts with Travel Assist will have a steering wheel with touch-sensitive buttons instead of push buttons. In addition, Side Assist has been improved and Lane Assist is now standard. From now on, the adaptive cruise control automatically adjusts its speed for cornering. The Polo also has extensive Front Assist and Rear Traffic Alert, among other things.
engines
The renewed Polo will be available in Europe as before with an 80 hp 1.0 MPI and with 95 and 110 hp 1.0 TSIs. The 95 hp version has a manual gearbox as standard and is optionally available with a DSG7 automatic transmission. This automatic transmission is standard on the 110 hp Polo. Volkswagen is also bringing a 90 hp 1.0 TGI to the Polo, a machine that likes natural gas, but of which it remains to be seen whether it will also come to the Netherlands. Diesel engines were no longer available in the Polo and they will not return. Another striking absentee: the 150 hp 1.5 TSI, which was cut out simultaneously with the diesels from the Polo range in 2020, will not return to the Polo. The renewed Polo does not yet have mild hybrid petrol engines. Volkswagen does tell Techzle that it may later examine per market whether mild hybrid engines are welcome.
Prices and specific information for the Dutch market will follow in the run-up to the market launch that will take place later this year.