Photo: Automedia
The Polo is not the newest car in its class, in fact it's one of the oldest of the mainstream superminis sold in Europe. Despite this, it was the fourth best selling car in Europe last year, with 266,994 units sold. This places it behind market leader Ford Fiesta (293,663 units -4,1%) and the Renault Clio (287,111 ma_ini +17,6%), but ahead of the Corsa and Peugeot 208.
The Polo has a number of flaws which on paper make it a little less attractive than its rivals. But Volkswagen is preparing a facelift for the car, which we think will solve some of these issues.
These latest spyshots show the car virtually undisguised, with the exception of some black camo covering the fog lights.
Let's start by examining the front bumper, which is the biggest changed part on the car. Let's be honest in saying it's not very different-looking! the black plastic insert of the intake and fog lights is different than on the current model, but it's actually the same outer shape as on the BlueGT. What's changed is that wavy pattern near the fog lights, which are smaller, and the fact that the wide-U shaped chrome insert around the "mouth of the car is gone". These are cheap changes that have been made with very little effort.
The headlights are the same, as is the whole side of the car, but the taillights have a new, more square center element. It's not a big change that anybody would necessarily notice.
Inside is where things get interesting. This appears to be a well-specced test prototype, judging from the black trim on the flat-bottomed steering wheel. The radio/nav system has a large display and its button layout suggest the RN510 has been replaced by a Golf-based system, which has better menus. The automatic climate control system on this car is not standard on the Polo, but it appears to have a new screen and silver cover. The bad news is there's still no keyless start, which might suggest there's no keyless entry either. Golf 7-like features include the buttons on the wheel and the new indicator switches.
Another thing that keen-eyed Volkswagen fans will notice is the DSG gearbox is a little different. Well… not the gearbox itself but the gate. On the current Polo, Sport is a separate spot below Drive, while manual mode is to the side of Drive. This new setup is like the one on the Golf 7 and has Sport to the side of Drive and Manual mode is a part of it.
There is one bit of kit that's worth noting, the front parking sensors that weren't available until now and are e welcomed feature for inexperienced drivers. There's also a "Sport" button on the dash in between the parking sensors and the right seat warmer, which indicates adaptive suspension, a class first if you exclude the premium models.
These latest spyshots show the car virtually undisguised, with the exception of some black camo covering the fog lights.
Let's start by examining the front bumper, which is the biggest changed part on the car. Let's be honest in saying it's not very different-looking! the black plastic insert of the intake and fog lights is different than on the current model, but it's actually the same outer shape as on the BlueGT. What's changed is that wavy pattern near the fog lights, which are smaller, and the fact that the wide-U shaped chrome insert around the "mouth of the car is gone". These are cheap changes that have been made with very little effort.
The headlights are the same, as is the whole side of the car, but the taillights have a new, more square center element. It's not a big change that anybody would necessarily notice.
Inside is where things get interesting. This appears to be a well-specced test prototype, judging from the black trim on the flat-bottomed steering wheel. The radio/nav system has a large display and its button layout suggest the RN510 has been replaced by a Golf-based system, which has better menus. The automatic climate control system on this car is not standard on the Polo, but it appears to have a new screen and silver cover. The bad news is there's still no keyless start, which might suggest there's no keyless entry either. Golf 7-like features include the buttons on the wheel and the new indicator switches.
Another thing that keen-eyed Volkswagen fans will notice is the DSG gearbox is a little different. Well… not the gearbox itself but the gate. On the current Polo, Sport is a separate spot below Drive, while manual mode is to the side of Drive. This new setup is like the one on the Golf 7 and has Sport to the side of Drive and Manual mode is a part of it.
There is one bit of kit that's worth noting, the front parking sensors that weren't available until now and are e welcomed feature for inexperienced drivers. There's also a "Sport" button on the dash in between the parking sensors and the right seat warmer, which indicates adaptive suspension, a class first if you exclude the premium models.
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