Volkswagen Polo Facelift

 

Expected Launch: August 2014

Expected Price: 5 - 8.50 lakhs

Volkswagen Polo Facelift is not launched in India yet. Information on this page is tentative.

Volkswagen Polo Facelift Preview

Volkswagen unveiled the facelifted Polo hatchback at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show and it has been on sale in various European markets since March, this year. The car retains the same overall shape and design elements but gets multiple changes all over. This is a mid-life facelift and we expect that the German automaker will launch a completely new car sometime in 2015. The new Polo in the European markets is also being offered with a new 1.4-litre diesel engine as well as a new 1.0-litre turbo petrol.

Exterior

The facelifted Volkswagen Polo retains the same overall design as the current car but gets a new fascia in the form of a more aggressive bumper, reworked grille that now features three slats and housing for the fog lamps. The chrome line in the modified grille faces upwards instead of down as is the case with the outgoing model. LED lights are now an optional feature on the higher spec variants.

The side profile remains the same as the outgoing model but now appears to be bigger thanks to an increase in the height of the vehicle. However, the flared wheel arches and aerodynamic creases give the Polo a squat stance and hides the fact that it is much bigger than it actually looks. The wheel sizes appear to be larger than the ones found on the current car but we expect that Volkswagen will offer the large wheels only on special editions and the top most diesel and petrol variants as an optional extra.

The overall design of the tail lamp cluster remains the same as before but now the rear looks far more aggressive thanks to the modified bumper which works with the flared wheel arches to further enhance the hatchback’s squat stance. It possible that on the higher spec variants, VW may offer LED tail lamps along with LED headlights as a package when the car is launched in the Indian market.

Interior

The facelifted Volkswagen Polo gets a slightly revised steering wheel which by the look of it is now leaning towards the flat bottom units found in much larger cars in the VW stable. The graphics of the instrument cluster have changed along with an updated infotainment system which can optionally be fitted as a touch system. Also new to the option list is the rear camera. On the safety front Volkswagen is now offering post collision braking system, city emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. The rest of the interiors including seat fabrics, buttons, switches, stalks as well as the cubby holes have been carried over from the outgoing model.

Engines

The current model in the Indian market is offered with the option of a 1.2-litre petrol/1.2-litre diesel that produces 74bhp/110Nm and 74bhp/180Nm respectively. There is also the 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol mill that produces 105bhp/175Nm (GT TSI) as well as the 1.6-litre four-cylinder diesel mill (GT TDI) that produces 105bhp and 250Nm of torque.

We expect that all the three cylinder engines will continue without any changes but the 1.6-litre mill from the GT TDI will be replaced by the 1.4-litre unit that produces exactly the same amount of power. Such a move will also allow VW to reduce the price of the GT TDI in the Indian market as it will comply with our sub four-metre policy. The standard transmission is a five-speed manual across all engines with the exception of the GT TSI which will continue with seven-speed DSG automatic.

Price and competition

We expect that VW will price the Polo facelift in the range of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 8.5 lakh for the top of the line GT TDI. It competes in the B+segment with the Maruti Suzuki Swift, Hyundai i20, Skoda Fabia, Tata Indica Vista (soon to be replaced by the Bolt hatchback) and the Fiat Punto.