Photo: Automedia
The Volkswagen Polo is without a doubt one of the most successful cars in VW's arsenal. The supermini survived four generations and sold millions over its almost 40 year history.
In 2009, the Mark V (Type 6R) arrived onto the scene, bringing with it a slew of changes. It was visibly bigger and lower than the Mark IV, but also lighter and thanks to a slew of TDI and TSI engines also more economical. Shortly after its debut, it won the title of European Car of the Year and World Car of the Year.
Despite not having the modern looks of some of its competitors, German build quality means it's still at the very top of its game, four years after its debut.
Still, the sexy new French girls and their cuteness are taking a way sales, and a facelift is needed by the good-ol' Polo.
We have the very first photos of a Polo test vehicle which seemingly indicates a facelift is on the way. The "Design DNA" soul of the car has been preserved intact. Most of the car is exactly like we know it with the exception of the front bumper, which is playing mind games with us.
The only problem is, we're inclined to thing this is not a facelift as suggested by our spy photographers. Thinking back to the Golf 6, that car only lasted on the market for 5 years, never receiving a facelift, before being replaced by its MQB-based relative, which makes the Polo quite old.
So, let's take a closer look at the test vehicle and see what it tells us. The "Bremsprobe" sticker on the back tells us they are testing the breaks. The strange thing is the body is sitting way to low onto the wheels, lower even than on a Polo GTI, and there seems to be a small offset in the wheelbase.
Even if we're to believe this is still the current Polo, there are no new engines that Volkswagen can put on the car which would require brake calibration. The one engine that's missing in the lineup would be a sub-1-liter TSI turbo, but there's no indication of one being on the way and the semi-sporty rear exhaust belongs to a bigger 1.2 TSI engine.
Taking all that into account, we'd say there's a 75% chance this is actually a test mule for the next generation. Volkswagen has pulled this trick on us before by testing the next-gen Passat under the skin of a totally boring current generation Variant.
The next generation Polo will use the new MQB platform, same as the Golf, which will make it about 7% lighter than the current model. It should be ready by the end of 2014, which is still a long time away.
Despite not having the modern looks of some of its competitors, German build quality means it's still at the very top of its game, four years after its debut.
Still, the sexy new French girls and their cuteness are taking a way sales, and a facelift is needed by the good-ol' Polo.
We have the very first photos of a Polo test vehicle which seemingly indicates a facelift is on the way. The "Design DNA" soul of the car has been preserved intact. Most of the car is exactly like we know it with the exception of the front bumper, which is playing mind games with us.
The only problem is, we're inclined to thing this is not a facelift as suggested by our spy photographers. Thinking back to the Golf 6, that car only lasted on the market for 5 years, never receiving a facelift, before being replaced by its MQB-based relative, which makes the Polo quite old.
So, let's take a closer look at the test vehicle and see what it tells us. The "Bremsprobe" sticker on the back tells us they are testing the breaks. The strange thing is the body is sitting way to low onto the wheels, lower even than on a Polo GTI, and there seems to be a small offset in the wheelbase.
Even if we're to believe this is still the current Polo, there are no new engines that Volkswagen can put on the car which would require brake calibration. The one engine that's missing in the lineup would be a sub-1-liter TSI turbo, but there's no indication of one being on the way and the semi-sporty rear exhaust belongs to a bigger 1.2 TSI engine.
Taking all that into account, we'd say there's a 75% chance this is actually a test mule for the next generation. Volkswagen has pulled this trick on us before by testing the next-gen Passat under the skin of a totally boring current generation Variant.
The next generation Polo will use the new MQB platform, same as the Golf, which will make it about 7% lighter than the current model. It should be ready by the end of 2014, which is still a long time away.
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