A premium good looking hatch

Exterior The Polo is one of the most good looking hatchbacks in the market. This review is for Trendline Petrol, so it misses the body colored door handles and ORVMs but no issues. I have it in red and the paintwork is good. I will probably upgrade the halogen lights to LED, they're weak.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) I purchased the base model but with a clear idea that I wanted to accessorize it myself (and its cheaper!), and I think I made a good decision. Air conditioning is good, though I sometimes wish they could have thrown in climate control! The glove box is spacious, and plenty of nooks and crannies to store bottles and things. The dash doesn't look cluttered.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Initially the gearbox was tough but its become very comfortable. I'd like to think i'm a patient driver, so my gear shifts are smooth and slow, and I don't need to speed up and overtake constantly. Sometimes I do feel the pick up is slow. The mileage has been good given the horror stories i've heard from many reviewers, and has given me a generous 14-16 km with minimal AC use. In the past two summer months, the mileage has come down to 11-13, but with heavy AC usage.

Ride Quality & Handling Ride quality is quite good, and I am quite satisfied. My previous car didn't have power steering, so i love to have that! The new Polo come with driver height adjustment as well, mine doesnt have it, but i don't miss it at all. I think the view from the drivers seat is quite good overall. The different way to reverse took a little while to bring into habit.

Final Words I am from Mumbai and Mumbaikars it seems have taken a liking to this car, considering the number of Polos I see around me. I did a lot of research when I was buying a hatchback, and frankly, my initial assessment was that rupee to rupee, the Polo offered more options and features compared to the Swift and i20. What actually sealed the deal was the low interest rate offered by VW Finance on my car loan.

Areas of improvement I've had the hatch for 6 months now, and its running smoothly (though it has a few bumps and scratches, with and without my contribution).

I haven't had a chance to take the car to the VW garage yet, and so if there are any horror stories there, i'll revisit my review. VW parts are quite expensive, and considering its built in India, they can consider bringing them down (compete with Maruti :-) ).

Style, large bootLittle crampy in the back