A merited and slightly delayed shout out for the VW Polo - based a few rentals within the last year

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This vehicle, the VW Polo, deserves a shout out for being so competent in so many areas.  I was once assigned one that was a slight upgrade within the automatic category overseas.  Then, I was assigned one two more times, and it matched the icon I’d be renting.  I should have written this up several months ago; however, the product remains largely unchanged.

The Polo’s immediate strength is its taut road manners.  Handling is addressed and so is smoothness.  Sound control is good, too.

The engine is a turbocharged 3-cylinder that is shared by the VW family of companies and also makes its way into Seat and Skoda products.  One would never think this is the powerplant, especially if from North America, most likely thinking it has a larger 4-cylinder engine under the hood. 

The transmission is also the VW family umbrella’s 7 speed DSG and it is now very refined … and probably reliable, too, if not mistreated and properly maintained.  Shifts from 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 are smooth, heard, seen on the tach, but not really felt.  Pushing down on the accelerator can change that.  Subsequent shifts go by unnoticed.  Again, downshifts are also understood, and that’s about it.  It’s a composed unit.

The Polo’s interior is nicely trimmed out.  More than a Seat or a Skoda equivalent, the simple dashboard with some subtle cants is both pleasing to the eye and easy to use and live with.  As for the dashboard’s main instrument cluster, it’s clean and simple, though one thing stood out to me.  I’m used to two large central gauges, usually the speedometer and the tachometer.  In this car, the tachometer is the one big gauge in the middle, with a digital speed readout slotted into the middle of it.  This can also depend on the dash settings you select.  It worked well and doesn’t take long to get used to.  At each of the 4 corners of this big gauge are important pieces of information such as gear, time, and other of the most critical pieces of information.  To each side of this tachometer is a linear bar graph type fuel gauge and temperature gauge.  When a temperature gauge is included, I’m a “happy camper.”

Space utilization is good.  To me, this is a 5-door hatchback.  This may have looked quirky to North Americans a while back, almost whisking them back to Chey products such as the Malibu Maxx, or even back to the dowdy Citation.  However, this compactly packaged 5-door is more of a sedan with a squared off back in my mind.  I personally prefer it to the VW Golf, with its larger rear sail panel.  It’s also a very common typology in Europe and other international locations at this time.  Visibility all around the Polo from inside the cabin is mostly good.

For its price point, the VW Polo is close to perfect on limited access tollways, really at home on winding 2 lane roads, and easy to live with in most tight spaces.  It’s also not too difficult to park.  It is especially confident, nimble, and hushed enough at 100 to 120 kmh (~62 to 74 mph) on the more important and smoothly paved major tolled highways, achieving better than average fuel economy compared to its peers from my stops at the fuel pumps.

The relationship between price point and quality is not always linear and ratable.  What I mean is that you get closer to the roadability of a BMW 2 series sedan … not quite all the way up and, though not as much of a bank vault on highways and as planted on 2 lane roads, it definitely inspires confidence … without having to spend the rest of the sticker to get up to the price tag of that entry level BMW.

If you have sensible motoring needs that mix up roadability, reliability, space, economy, and an attractive enough package with good build quality, the VW Polo is a vehicle to consider.  I have always been happy to be assigned one as a rental and have looked forward to take it out daily to experience different types of road demands. Their good Android Auto cluster for maps and music make this even more fun and achievable.  They are seen everywhere and there must be a good reason for that.

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PHOTOS FORTHCOMING

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EXTERIOR PHOTOS

Side view - driver's side - on roadway up to Monte Santa Luzia in Viana do Castelo, PT

Side view - passenger side - on roadway adjacent to river and port in Viana do Castelo, PT

Angled front view - on roadway down from Monte Santa Luzia in Viana do Castelo, PT

How does one open the rear hatch or trunk?  Like this.

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INTERIOR PHOTOS

This is the overall view of the front of the cabin and dashboard upon opening the driver's door and it has a pleasing and balanced feel.

This is the central instrument cluster for the driver, with a digital speedometer inside the tachometer.  On the 4 corners are the time, exterior temperature, range, and odometer, with the gear slightly above that.  Coolant temperature and fuel levels are shown in linear form.

This is the touch screen, which is fairly easy to use, and is housed under the cowl, hence no "laptop left open" look, which I tend to dislike.

This is the entirety of the center stack, with air vents below the touch screen, a sensible climate control panel, a storage and USB cubby, and some driving control buttons on the console to the left of the gear selector, which is nicely finished and feels good to the touch when moving through the gear selections.

The USB ports are of the C-cable variety, with the opportunity to use the older style by plugging it into a cigarette lighter in or near the console box.

Steering wheel controls are somewhat easy to use, with volume and track selector on the silver buttons symmetrically placed on each side.

Clearly, the preferred position is "A" for automatic, and it's an easy thing to overlook if not your daily driver.

The rear seating area seems to be sufficient for this type of vehicle.

Visibility over the shoulder and toward the rear is fairly good.

This is the available storage space with the rear seat up and, as you can see, there is the cover that comes down over the exposed space, which is something that is almost necessary.

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MECHANICAL PHOTO

The plumbing and intakes show that it is both turbocharged and that the air cleaner assembly is large and reachable.  The manifold count shows 3 cylinders which, under one cylinder head, is considered dynamically balanced for NHV.  Service points for fluids and the location of the battery are identifiable and accessible.

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END OF PHOTOS