VOLKSWAGEN POLO REVIEW

List price from £11,100 Lease price from £149 The verdict 8

The VW Polo proves you can have efficient engines, lots of equipment and excellent build quality in a small package

The Volkswagen Polo looks like a smaller version of the hugely popular Golf hatchback, and that’s also what it feels like to drive.

As well as a very pleasant interior and some smooth and efficient petrol engines, you can choose from a range of advanced safety features that you rarely see on this class of car.

Space

Room for four

Those in the front of the Polo get ample head and elbow room, plus enough storage spaces for a couple of small drinks bottles, a mobile phone and the inevitable collection of old parking tickets. The glovebox is also a good size, and there are further bottle-shaped recesses in the door pockets. VW has fitted three-door versions with “easy-entry seats”, on which the backrests are hinged so that they fold further forwards than they normally would, giving those aiming for the rear seats a bit more space to squeeze through.

Once there, passengers will find a good amount of headroom, but will wish they had more space for their legs.

Despite quite a high lip to lug your shopping over, boot space is on a par with the FordFiesta, if slightly smaller than a Hyundaii20. Folding the rear seats involves first lifting the seat base and then dropping the backrest (and split folding rear seats only come with SE spec and above).

There’s room for a full-size spare under the boot floor.

Comfort

Soft suspension takes the sting out of bumpy roads

Finding a good driving position in the Polo is easy, thanks to plenty of adjustment in the seat and steering wheel. Relatively big windows also help to make the interior feel light and spacious.

Engine noise from petrol models is well suppressed; the thrum from the 1.0-litre three-cylinder unit is actually quite endearing. The diesel engine is much noisier in town driving, and only really settles into the background at motorway speeds.

Avoid the 17-inch wheels, which remove too much compliancy, and ride comfort is very good, with the Polo taking rough edges off bumps at both town speeds and when cruising on the motorway. At 70mph there’s some noise from the wind whistling around the wing mirrors, but otherwise the Polo continues to live up to its grown-up reputation.

Dashboard layout

Feels like a premium product

It might not be the most exciting dash to look at, but it's hard to fault the quality or usability of the Polo’s design. Many of the controls have been lifted from other, more expensive models in the company’s line-up, giving the Polo the feel of a car from the class above.

All models are fitted with a touchscreen, through which you control audio and, if specified, satnav functions. The heater controls are located separately, beneath the screen, and are wonderfully tactile to use. The dials are clear and there are inputs for USB and auxiliary cables in front of the gear lever.

Easy to drive

Light steering, but some versions are very slow

Visibility out of the Polo is excellent, and being a narrow car it’s easy to thread through city streets.

The most popular engine with buyers is the 1.0-litre, three-cylinder petrol with 60bhp. While fine for town driving, though, it takes an age to get up to motorway speeds, so if you plan on taking your Polo on longer trips, you should consider upgrading to the 75bhp version of the same engine, or better still the 90bhp 1.2.

A well-weighted clutch and light steering help to make the Polo very easy to park. It’s worth noting, however, that the five-speed manual gearbox on petrol models is much lighter and more pleasant to use than the one in diesel versions, which can be rather stiff to slot into gear. An automatic gearbox is only available for the 1.2- and 1.4-litre petrol models.

Fun to drive

Many rivals are better here

Unlike the Ford Fiesta, the Polo isn’t a car that encourages you to throw it into corners. The steering is a bit too light and lacks any feedback to be truly rewarding, and there’s more body lean than you get in the Ford, too.

The petrol engines are more willing partners than the three-cylinder diesel; the latter is prone to feeling rather sluggish, forcing you to make lots of gearchanges.

Reliability

Some rivals come with longer warranties

Despite its quality feel, the Polo didn’t perform especially well in the 2014 JD Power customer satisfaction survey; it finished 59th out of 116 cars. That still put it ahead of the VauxhallCorsa and Seat Ibiza, but it was beaten by the Hyundai i20 and Ford Fiesta.

Like all new Volkswagens, the Polo comes with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty. This is in line with the warranties offered by Ford, Seat and Skoda, but it falls short of the five-year, 100,000-mile warranty provided by Toyota and the five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty of Hyundai.

Fuel economy

All engines are economical

All Polos feature what VW calls “Bluemotion Technology”, which is shorthand for items such as a stop/start system that cuts the engine in traffic. This all contributes to impressive fuel economy, whether you go for a petrol engine or a diesel; the former return more than 50mpg in official EU tests and the latter top 80mpg, although those figures will be slightly lower in real-world driving.

Affordability

Cheaper than you might expect, both to buy and own

The Polo certainly isn’t the cheapest small hatchback out there, but it costs the same sort of money as a Ford Fiesta and holds on to its value better than virtually all its rivals. Insurance and leasing costs are competitive, too.

Safety

Lots of tech to keep you safe

The Polo achieved the maximum five-star rating when it was crash tested by car safety specialists Euro NCAP, although it’s worth noting that a curtain airbag system for rear seat passengers is an optional extra.

All Polos feature a stability system that will help you to regain control of the car if it starts to skid, plus a device that applies the brakes after a collision, reducing the chance of a secondary impact.

In addition, the Polo is available with the kind of advanced safety features you usually only see on models from the class above, such as a radar for the cruise control that allows you to maintain a set distance from the car in front. Volkswagen’s City Emergency Braking, which will bring the car to a stop if it senses a frontal collision, is also available as an option.

Standard spec

Worth upgrading to SE spec

Even the entry-level Polo, the S, comes with a touchscreen and DAB digital radio. However, if you want air-conditioning you’ll need to upgrade to at least S A/C specification.

The next jump to SE adds body-coloured door handles, electrically adjustable wing mirrors, a leather-trimmed steering wheel, remote locking and a larger touchscreen.

SE Design adds 16in alloy wheels and higher grade materials for the interior, while SEL includes front and rear parking sensors and cruise control.

The top-of-the-range Polo is the BlueGT, which is only available with VW’s 1.4-litre petrol engine, and includes sporty styling additions and lowered suspension.