Car prices in Russia have recently skyrocketed, and what was relatively affordable until recently is now worth quite a lot of money. But if the car is needed here and now, then the buyer has no choice but to lower the bar of his requests or look at the used car market, but the second is a completely different story. Today I propose to look at the lower limit of new foreign cars, namely, to consider the Volkswagen Polo in detail in order to understand what you can count on when buying such a car.
In general, the car market has been changing rapidly in recent years, and the “budget” segment has acquired options that, it would seem, were only yesterday available for cars of a higher class. For example, in the new Volkswagen Polo (we are now considering the maximum Exclusive package with additional packages), the user can get the option of keyless entry. The solution is convenient, you do not need to get the key either to access the cabin or to start the engine. Moreover, it is worth noting that keyless access in Polo does without buttons on the door handles, and, like “adults”, sensors are used for these purposes.
Getting behind the wheel of the Polo, you immediately notice the presence of a new 10.25-inch digital instrument panel with HD resolution. Moreover, if Korean and Chinese automakers have virtual tidy – this is more a tribute to fashion than a really convenient tool, then the Germans tried to pull out a maximum of useful options for it. So, on the go, you can easily work on such a dashboard with call lists, playlists or lists of radio stations. The work process is quick and clear, and you do not need to be distracted by the central display and take your hands off the steering wheel, since all the information is in front of your eyes, and convenient keys on the steering wheel are used for work. Of course, in addition to this, on the dashboard you can view the on-board computer data in a convenient format, as well as immediately change themes on the go to suit your preferences at one time or another. Yes, someone can say that the screen instead of classic devices is pampering, and working with data on it is absolutely unnecessary. But I think there are many drivers, especially those who spend a lot of time behind the wheel, for whom this way of interacting with information will not only be convenient, but also useful in everyday life.
The central display of the Volkswagen Polo in the maximum configuration is 8 inches with a resolution of 800×480 pixels, the picture on it is bright and contrasting. The screen is touch-sensitive, with a good response and a decent oleophobic coating. It was slightly lowered down the front panel, but not turned to the driver. The system is unpretentious in its capabilities, without built-in navigation, but with support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay platforms, which work only by wire. The latter cover all the needs of users in terms of navigation and access to additional programs that may be needed on the road. There is only one minus here: with the systems involved, you lose the ability to work with call lists and playlists on the dashboard. At the same time, incoming calls will still be displayed on the tidy screen in a convenient format and even pull up user photos from the phone book. But to make an outgoing call, you will have to access the main display or use the voice assistant.
To connect smartphones and recharge gadgets in the car, there are four modern USB-C connectors, two in the front and two in the back. Taking into account the fact that the car is taken for more than one year, and even now everything is gradually, but still switching to this type of USB, such a solution will be relevant for several years to come. Well, it’s nice that the rear passengers were not deprived of connectors, as happens in some relatively inexpensive cars.
The set of driver assistants in the lower price segment of cars is not yet so extensive, but in the future, of course, it will be replenished. In the meantime, we can be content with conventional cruise control with a speed limiter. Parking sensors help you in the front and rear, as well as a rear-view camera. Moreover, in Polo, these assistants are made at a decent level. So, information from parking sensors in graphical form is superimposed on the image from the camera, which is very convenient. And the camera lens itself is hidden under the logo on the trunk lid and opens when reverse gear is engaged, that is, it will be clean in any weather. The picture from the camera is a little soapy, but in general it helps to navigate while parking, especially when paired with parking sensors. Polo also has light and rain sensors, the latter are sometimes absent in competitor models. With regards to light, the model has very good projection-type LED headlights with an all-weather lighting function, as well as LED taillights.
What I personally lack from the assistants in the Volkswagen Polo for comfortable trips is the blind spot monitoring system, since the side mirrors are still too small. Yes, I would also like to get adaptive cruise control to feel more comfortable on the track.
According to the interior trim materials, of course, you should not expect any expensive materials here. Plastic is used everywhere hard, but not the cheapest, and even with a visually pleasing texture. In the list of options for the Polo, you can also see atmospheric lighting, but so far this is only the illumination of the leg area in the front with the ability to adjust its brightness. In general, the interior of the initial Volkswagen looks quite nice, although a little old-fashioned, but here it all depends on tastes.
The climate system so far in this class of cars is only single-zone, and even without separate air ducts for the second row, there the airflow goes only to the legs. But at least the climate control is automatic, not manual, as we recently saw in Opel, and it works quite well in Volkswagen, not allowing too much air flow on a constant basis, which affordable Koreans usually sin. The only strange thing is that the climate control unit in the Polo has red button illumination, when it is white in other places of the cabin. Did you save money by installing a universal or old solution?
What else will you have to put up with when purchasing a “budget” liftback? Yes, Polo is no longer a sedan. You will have to put up with some tightness in the cabin, and this also applies to the width of the car, where the driver and front passenger are always fighting for a narrow central armrest, and for obese people, I’m afraid, the car will even reap shoulders. Plus, there is not much free space left for a tall driver, only a child and, perhaps, a short adult can comfortably accommodate there. But the car has a chic trunk of 530 liters, which they decided not to sacrifice for the sake of the rear passengers. Plus, you can fold the backs of the rear sofa separately and thereby get 1,460 liters of usable space. In addition, there is a hatch for long vehicles in the trunk, and a full-size spare tire is hidden in the underground.
The Volkswagen Polo rides very interestingly, especially if you have a version with a 1.4-liter turbocharged engine, which comes in conjunction with a seven-speed robot. Engine power is enough even for a quiet exit to overtake on the track, and the robot always quickly and predictably, without jerks, switches to the desired gear. Also, the advantage of such a car is a relatively low fuel consumption, an average of 5 liters per 100 km on the highway and about 8 liters in the city. The downside is the recommendation to fill the car with 100th gasoline, although 95th is also allowed. Also, the accessible German is not particularly happy in driving, the steering wheel is empty at speed, and there are noticeable rolls in corners. On the other hand, in a calm driving mode, you won’t even feel it. In addition, it steers better than its Korean counterparts, and it wins in terms of silence in the cabin and suspension work.
As I wrote at the beginning of the article, car prices in Russia are now rushing into space, and the Volkswagen Polo is no exception. So, on the official website of the manufacturer, the price starts at 1,620,900 rubles, and the maximum configuration will cost a little more than 2,000,000 rubles.