With the arrival of the facelifted Volkswagen Polo, we dived into the history of the model that saw the light of day in 1975. It was a good decision by Volkswagen to adopt the Audi 50 and introduce the Polo as a new entry-level model under the Golf. Only it left the buyers unashamed to bite the bullet at first. Because the first VW Polo was bald!
In Autotest 1976, the oldest in the series of yearbooks in which the Volkswagen Polo introduced in 1975 appears, there is a series of numbers at the end of each technical table that indicates the standard equipment; on the basis of this, the readers can look up what is on and on the described cars in a separate table with 50 items. As an indication: with the Golf GTI there are 22 facilities, while a little further on, with the luxurious Volvo 264 DL, 28 items are mentioned. In the basic version of the Polo there are exactly six.
The Polo in this photo does have a fuel gauge.
Buyers had to make do with a choke warning light, adjustable backrests, steering lock, hazard lights, a folding rear seat and fabric upholstery. No more. Now it’s fair to say that the tiny VW wasn’t fitted with the number 46 (vinyl roof) or 50 (air-conditioning), and the absence of a rev counter or radio was no shame either. But the fact that VW had even saved on a not entirely unimportant part such as a fuel gauge was too much for the testers even in 1975. And what about windscreen wipers that do not return to the zero position after switching off, or a rear-view mirror without anti-dazzle mode? The tailgate didn’t even have a gas damper to keep it up, something for which you had to swerve to the almost 900 guilders more expensive Polo L. Then you also only got windscreen wipers with two speeds, carpet and ‘luxury interior trim with sound-absorbing material’.
Apparently the difference with the equally large, but considerably more expensive Audi 50 LS had to be large enough. There was also an engine that had been reduced from 1.093 to 895 cc, which, by the way, did a good job of fulfilling its task. It was a diligent little machine, coupled to a fine four-speed gearbox, which, together with the simple, but excellently tuned chassis, provided a remarkable amount of driving pleasure. Nevertheless, the price difference with the more spacious Golf was so small that the balance tipped to that larger model, the editors argued. “Unless you really want a savings car, then there is no objection to the Polo.”
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl