Awesome New Polo

I bought the New Polo as soon as its launched and its been about 15 days i am driving my Polo...so far its been amazing and I couldn't ask for better. Will write another review after a few months of use.

Exterior

DESIGN: The coolest design, yet very robust. No wanna-be-sporty at all...it IS sporty and cool! 6 years anti corrosion warranty and 3 years paint warranty and the sales people told me there is no need to go for silly teflon coating etc...no other company has the balls to give such warranties! The best thing they did is to give minor touches to the already cool exterior...no unnecessary curves/cuts that makes the car gaudy...I should say its a marvel of engineering design..its for the people who have an eye for minimalistic-functional-cool without effort kind of design, with a dash of old fashion. No silly stuff like push start button etc...such buttons are for kids...i love the joy of igniting the car with a key (some old fashioned things are better not changed!)

No ugly tags on the back of the car saying which variant it is (Asta, Sportz, Vx, lx etc) and then tags about engine (VTVT, CRDI...blah blah) There is just VW logo (which is used to click open the boot) and Polo written on the back. Its what all premium car makers like BMW, Merc do. No showy buisness.

BUILD: All the hatches have black stips running on the roof - reason being the roof is welded to the C pillar and they put the black strips to conceal the ugly weld. Not VW! They laser weld it, so that ugly weld is not seen. What is the functional benefit? It makes the cabin strong in times of impact.

Under belly protection is not offered by any hatch...many sedans dont offer it...but Polo does.

You just observe Polos doors and the other hatches, you'll know the difference in quality of the build!

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

SPACE: Good news folks, the back seat leg room is increased because of scooping the front seats and making the backseat upholstry curved inwards. Now there should be no complain about space. If you need more space than this then you are either surrounded by basketball players or you need a sedan/suv.

COMFORT: The fabric has a fine finish and cushioning is really good...i dont think VW will make any mistake in these trivial matters. Plastics are best in class - i saw i20, grnad i10, swift etc etc...no comparison! No single lever or switch or any material used doesn't feel 'sasta' - everything is finished with attention to detail and love for the design.

FEATURES: No silly ones like 'cooled glove box' or 'or rear a/c vents' - what the hell am i going to do with them! It has ample features that help you for a comfortable drive without frivolous features that are nothing more than marketing tools. Bluetooth connectivity, voice command control, steering mounted controls, rear parking sensors, digital meters that give you required info - all the features that aid you for a good ride.

Special mention to the kind of thought that went into making this car - the music consol is slightly tilted towrds driver so that he doesn't have to turn head to operate while driving...now thats fine thinking. All power windows are one touch operating with anti pinch ofcourse. After a drive when you switch off the car, the power windows still work without the need to insert the key. 

There is a sense of maturity in all the elements - no wanna be attitude or no marketing stunts!

SAFETY: It is the safest hatch of India, period! All variants come with airbags. Everything is galvanized steel. You feel you're sitting inside a tough cabin...there is no single element in the car that makes you feel you're sitting inside a 'tin ka dabba'!

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

POWER: Quite contrary to the popular belief, even in 1.2L petrol engine, there is no problem with 1st & 2nd gear power - you should know where the clutch comes into action. Compared to Maruti & Hyundai, Polo's clutch has a longer action so you need to press it all the way and release it all the way - it gets power somewhere in between, not as immediate as the other cars. Once you know that point you dont feel lack of power anywhere!

PERFORMANCE: Just amazing! I drove at 130-140 and it feels like you're going at 70-80...its that stable! On Mumbai-Pune exp highway I was able to race innovas, arias cheaply...the only vehicle that could compete was a bmw! At high speeds too there is no wobble...the car gives you amazing confidence! And at no point you'll feel that the power is not coming through...it keeps delivering power constantly...just amazing!

For city drive too, once you get used to the clutch action - there is no stress in driving, its smooth as honey!

GEAR BOX: With gentle nudges the gears can be shifted...a lovely muffled smooth sound is heard to confirm the gear shift. Feels like a sprts car. Very smooth!

FUEL ECONOMY: In bumper to bumper traffic 10kmpl with a/c so far. On highway 16.6kmpl with a/c. With flowing traffic in city 12 kmpl, with a/c ofcourse.

Ride Quality & Handling

No match to its ride quality and handling. The steering is smooth in city and tightens at high speed, so that you can manuever difficult curves on highway at high speeds. I drove through ghat road to panchgani at 1 in the night with road full of fog...never i was underconfident, its all because of this awesome machine!

The suspension deserve a special - they are not soft like Maruti & Hyundai which get compressed with the load. 165 mm ground clearance is offered even with 3 people with luggage in the car. And you can go over ditches without a care. The only other car which came close to Polo in terms of suspension is Renault Pulse.

BRAKING: It is just mind blowing. I had to brake from 90-100kmph to 10-20kmph within a distance of 20mts and I hit the brakes hoping the car would stop...it did! And not just that...it stopped with such poise that i did not feel the sudden braking impact. It was mind blowing!

Final Words

If you have lust for features, you may prefer Hyundai. If you're concerned about spare parts/dealer network and cheaper price you'll prefer maruti...but if you have an eye for aesthetics and want to buy a good, stable, cool car which comes from a car maker who thinks about the car before its marketing, then you buy Polo.

Areas of improvement  

Take Indian Polo closer to its European model...then no one can beat it!

Great Engineering, cool yet robust design, ride quality, handling, finish, drivers carMay be slightly better fuel economy would be good on pocket