Volkswagen launched their new Polo on the eve of the Geneva motor show. The Polo drive was held in Sardinia. There were about 40 cars lined up at the Olbia airport parking lot for the international media drive. The Polo has the family Volkswagen face with the genius designer Walter de Silva’s touch. The design mantra of simplicity has been adapted to the Polo with its flat grille and band of headlights that has typified the brand ever since the Scirocco. It not only emphasizes the car’s additional width but in fact conveys an image of the Polo’s low centre of gravity. Harmoniously integrated in this face are the Polo’s body coloured bumpers under the black grille. The lateral profile line is , among other things , dominated by the distinctive sporty overhang and an extremely short rear overhang. The character line and the low roof slope towards the rear. The prominent shoulder line emphasizes the Polo’s masculine appearance from the side. The rear end of the car is characterized by sportiness. The Polo looks fabulous as soon as you lay eyes on it. To sum it up , the car is so well proportioned in every way that it looks just right from all angles. The Polo definitely looks good and is not One of those vehicles which you have to get used to or a car that has to grow on you.

Enough about the looks and design. Let’s get down to driving this little beauty and see how it behaves on the roads of this picture postcard island of Sardinia. The minute you get into the car you can feel the excellent build quality , right from the dashboard plastics , the switch gear to the material used for the seats. The Polo does not feel like a small hatch , instead it feels like a car a couple of segments above it. The design of the seats is such that it offers a lot of comfort and support to your lower back and also from the side. Turn on the ignition and the engine comes to life. The car’s 1.2 TSI engine pushes out 105PS and is mated to a seven-speed DSG ‘box or a six-speed manual. The latter variant will eventually find its way to India , but the DSG ‘box may not be introduced here as it would mean an extra 75 , 000 to 80 , 000 rupees over the manual. The 1.2 TSI engine is a real flyer and also delivers a good amount of torque right from 1200rpm onwards. It is extremely fuel efficient as VW claim 20kmpl. i also had the opportunity to drive the 1.6 TDI engine which is an all-new motor especially designed for the Polo. It is mated to a DSG or a five-speed manual ‘box.

Driving the little Polo on the Sardinian streets was great fun as the roads really suited this car. They were smooth with lots of fast flowing corners as well as tight and twisty bends. The Polo’s handling is absolutely impeccable as you only need to select a line around the corner and the car goes around it like it is on rails. The amount of confidence the Polo gives you , as compared to other cars in its segment , has to be seen to be believed. The little Polo is a flying machine which would put larger cars with bigger engines to shame on the windy Sardinian roads. It is like a little pocket rocket.

Volkswagen have built a complete car which is not only fast but also handles well and stops in its tracks as it is equipped with discs all around with ABS. The little Polo will give some big cars a complex with its tyres. She runs on 215 x 40 x17 inch tyres. This translates into phenomenal road holding and feedback to the driver. But it is okay to run the 40 profile tyres on European roads. The ride quality is good for those conditions , but I am sure that when the Polo comes to India , it will be equipped with 14-inch wheels and higher profile tyres.

The quality of the interior material in all three variants , the Trendline , the Comfortline and the Highline , is the same except for the equipment level. Volkswagen have vowed to maintain this high level of quality in India as well. The Polo is a definite winner from the VW stable. We only hope that the car is not overpriced.