Volkswagen Polo – What Made It Special? » MotorOctane

The Volkswagen Polo is an Indian icon. Thanks to this small hatchback, Indians got their first taste of German engineering on a budget. However, nostalgia may cloud the perspective on how good the Polo actually was during its production years. Today, we will look at this particular 2013 Volkswagen Polo to understand why Indians loved it. 
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Buying Experience 

This is a 2013 Volkswagen Polo Highline. It was bought in 2022 as a pre-owned vehicle. Before purchase, the car had around 50,000 kilometres on the odometer. At the time of purchase, the car was in pristine condition, but it has picked up a few scars (due to clumsy driving) since then. The asking price of the prior owner was Rs 3.4 lakh and seemed pretty reasonable.

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Looks

The Volkswagen Polo looks as good as ever. That is what made the Polo so special. It is a simple-looking hatchback with perfect proportions for a city car. It doesn’t try to hard to look like something that it isn’t( Volkswagen tried that with the Cross-Polo a few years later and failed miserably). 

Otherwise, the design is contemporary and basic. And that is why it still looks good in the current market of over-designed SUVs. If the Polo were sold today, it would still be the best-looking sub-10 lakh car in the market. 

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Interior

“Germans have no sense of humour” seems like a true statement when you step inside the cabin. There is absolutely no creativity on display here. The interior is bare bones. The cabin design has been made as intuitive as possible. 

You can count the number of features on one hand. Some of these features include rear sensors, automatic climate control, powered windows, Bluetooth connectivity and steering-mounted controls. You get a simple analogue instrument cluster with a minuscule display to show the car’s poor mileage. Moreover, touch-screen displays were pretty rare back then, and that is why you get this simple infotainment display. The interior seems prehistoric when compared to some modern cars.  

Things get particularly dire when you head into the rear seats. The legroom is ridiculously bad, and if you were taller than 5”11, you would bang your head on the roof. It’s not like you get any luxuries to compensate for it either. Powered windows and the tiny storage pockets seem generous in this regard. 

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Engine 

The engine is a 1.2-litre 3-cylinder engine (74 bhp & 110 Nm)  and not the fabled 1.0-litre TSI. The engine is painstakingly slow when compared to the GT. While it is incredibly vocal, the noise does not translate into power. Acceleration seems like a chore, and there is no pull past 2nd gear. But the 1.2-litre was never meant to be driven to the redline. It is meant for traffic-ridden city drives, and 74 bhp is more than enough for that. 

It is not all bad news, though. The chassis is a delight, and you realise why the Polo is a successful rally car in WRC. At higher speeds, the Polo remains stable and composed. The car handles beautifully and leans into corners willingly. The steering is perfectly weighted, making the car fun to drive. The 5-speed manual gearbox only adds to the experience. If you are looking for a fun car as a beginner, this could be a solid pick. 

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Ownership

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of buying a Polo is the maintenance. It was one of the main reasons for not getting the Polo GT since it had the notorious DSG gearbox. The manual Polo seemed like a better financial decision on paper.  Luckily, this one didn’t create much of a fuss. Over the span of 6 years of ownership, it only faced one major niggle – a worn-out clutch. The authorised service centre quoted Rs 35,000 for clutch replacement. To cut costs, the replacement was done by a trusted mechanic for Rs 9,000. 

Another issue is the atrocious city mileage. Despite thorough engine checks and regular oil changes, the city mileage never exceeds 12 kmpl. In fact, you would be lucky to touch double figures in city conditions. The highway mileage is a significant improvement over these figures since you can squeeze out 20-25 kmpl with ease. 

Overall, it has its flaws, and modern cars offer much better value for money. But if you are a sucker for great build quality and great driving dynamics, it seems like a fair deal. And for Rs 3.4 lakhs, it is as good as it gets.

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