Photo: RM Design
Even though nobody has seen a single test prototype for the all-new Volkswagen Polo yet, members of the French media are saying they know a thing or two about what's going to happen. Take this report with a block of salt, even though it makes for an interesting story.
L'Automobile Magazine's latest report states the new Polo will debut in 2017, probably towards the later part of the year. While it might not be sold in America, this supermini remains crucial for Volkswagen and has been a best-seller in Europe since the introduction of the Mk5 in 2009. Its replacement will reportedly be based on the MQB platform, although it's not yet clear to which extent it will share parts with the Golf, Passat and Tiguan.
We think minimal design changes and a slightly larger body are both safe bets. The 3-door body may be dropped, but the Cross version will continue to be produced in light of the success of the Sandero Stepway and Volkswagen's own Alltrack models.
A year after the Polo comes out, an SUV sister car will arrive. The 2018 subcompact crossover model will have its own styling, probably inspired by the recent T-Cross Breeze, a concept which Volkswagen showed with production intent.
This sister car of the Audi Q2 will have technologies that we can't even imagine having on a regular car right now. The engine range will be centered around the 1.0 TSI 3-cylinder unit and 1.5-liter TSI with a variable geometry turbocharger. What's more, you may be able to ask the radio to change stations using only hand gestures, just like in the BMW 7 Series.
Yesterday, SEAT confirmed the arrival of a "baby Ateca" model in 2017. So Volkswagen Group is doing its thing by developing several cars for different brands and thusly reducing costs. Knowing them, the hard part is getting people to buy them 100,000 at a time, not engineering and fabrication.
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