Photo: original image by autoevolution
Half a decade has passed since we drove the fifth-generation Volkswagen Polo and boy has the supermini class changed meanwhile. Nowadays, it's punch lines like "customize for your customers" that help sell these cars, so the Polo has to adjust its B-segment attitude.
And it did so, but then it got bored and started doing its thing. The Polo has always stolen tricks from its big brother and with the Golf 7 making an important technological leap, the 2014 Polo Facelift followed. We'll start by mentioning the Polo introduces the front-grille mounted radar, so you can have your supermini follow the car in front.
If you feel like you don't need this, you can order two safety features relying on the radar as separate options. We're talking about the Front Assist, which can brake the car on its own, as well as about the Emergency City Braking, basically the first's urban version.
Speaking of the city, a prolonged drive here shows the Polo's premium side. Compared to the Renault Clio and even to the Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen's offering feels like a more serious vehicle. This means you are well isolated from the urban buzz. Don't owrry though, you can still open the window and smile at that pretty bicyclist.
This "serious car" character of the Volkswagen Polo also brings bonus points out on the open road, where the Polo can be used for long trips. Alas, the sporty front seats included in the Fresh package, one of the facelift's party tricks, aren't exactly comfortable on such journeys.
And such trips also expose the handling limits of the Polo's PQ25 platform. The actual issue here is that the architecture doesn't excel when it comes to the ride either. The refresh comes to save the day though, as it offers optional electronically-controlled dampers. Thus, the driver gets to choose between two modes.
The entire engine range was revised and, in the quest to meet Euro 6 emission regulations, the frugality factor has increased. Our Polo 1.2 TSI manual tester still came with official efficiency figures that were below those of the Renault Clio 0.9 tCe and the Ford Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost. However, in the real world, we'd choose the Volkswagen.
That's because the 1.2 TSI four-pot treated us with a linear power delivery, whereas the tCe and the Ecoboost three-cylinder ask you to work in order to extract the efficiency.
You may have noticed that we added "optional" for every special goodies brought by the facelift. Yes, the pricing is an issue here, as you can find out in our 2014 Volkswagen Polo facelift review.
If you feel like you don't need this, you can order two safety features relying on the radar as separate options. We're talking about the Front Assist, which can brake the car on its own, as well as about the Emergency City Braking, basically the first's urban version.
Speaking of the city, a prolonged drive here shows the Polo's premium side. Compared to the Renault Clio and even to the Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen's offering feels like a more serious vehicle. This means you are well isolated from the urban buzz. Don't owrry though, you can still open the window and smile at that pretty bicyclist.
This "serious car" character of the Volkswagen Polo also brings bonus points out on the open road, where the Polo can be used for long trips. Alas, the sporty front seats included in the Fresh package, one of the facelift's party tricks, aren't exactly comfortable on such journeys.
And such trips also expose the handling limits of the Polo's PQ25 platform. The actual issue here is that the architecture doesn't excel when it comes to the ride either. The refresh comes to save the day though, as it offers optional electronically-controlled dampers. Thus, the driver gets to choose between two modes.
The entire engine range was revised and, in the quest to meet Euro 6 emission regulations, the frugality factor has increased. Our Polo 1.2 TSI manual tester still came with official efficiency figures that were below those of the Renault Clio 0.9 tCe and the Ford Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost. However, in the real world, we'd choose the Volkswagen.
That's because the 1.2 TSI four-pot treated us with a linear power delivery, whereas the tCe and the Ecoboost three-cylinder ask you to work in order to extract the efficiency.
You may have noticed that we added "optional" for every special goodies brought by the facelift. Yes, the pricing is an issue here, as you can find out in our 2014 Volkswagen Polo facelift review.
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