Volkswagon polo

[square_wave]

Any car nuts out here ? I am in the market for a premium hatchback. I was looking at the Volkswagon polo for city use and short runs. My use is not more than 750kms per month. They have three versions. New polo, Polo GT and Cross polo. And they all come with a wide variety of engines, gear systems etc. I am a little lost. Is there some high level guideline ? Also anything to watch out for ? Anyone who has a lot of experience with the Polo should know..

 

[gp_freak]

Any car nuts out here ? I am in the market for a premium hatchback. I was looking at the Volkswagon polo for city use and short runs. My use is not more than 750kms per month. They have three versions. New polo, Polo GT and Cross polo. And they all come with a wide variety of engines, gear systems etc. I am a little lost. Is there some high level guideline ? Also anything to watch out for ? Anyone who has a lot of experience with the Polo should know..

You are yet to share the Budget. If you are really in to driving, there are only two hatches that will interest. One in the Polo GT with 1.2 TSI turbo charged petrol engine with dual sequential gear box and the Punto 90 BHP.

With Polo you get a rocket of engine with 105 BHP, the highest in the Hatch as of now with paddle shifts. The diesel is also okay, but little noiser and unrefined but with great torque.

With Punto you get ride quality which is the best in the class and the strongest built car and a superb Steering. They are bliss to drive in highway. Although in city use, they don't fare well when compared to competition.

I would pick up the TSI for City and Punto 90 for highway and freeways.

 

[square_wave]

Thanks GP freak.

I am trying to keep the budget a little flexible. The deciding factor is based on the value I will get.

I will opt for petrol version since the drive is limited to about 700 km per month. The additional expenditure on diesel does not make sense at all.

I can see the biggest difference between the new polo and GT models is the engine. GT has a 4 Cylinder petrol engine vs 3 cylinder petrol in the new polo. Apart from this, are there any major changes apart from some of the feature add ons.

What demographic is the cross polo model targeted ?

Also, the GT TSI seems to be automatic which pushes the price high. I am a manual shift guy. Is there a model with the GT TSI petrol 4 cyl engine which is manual ?

 

[Santy]

No. GT TSI does not come with manual shifting. It is indeed surprising.

For options in the same series of any car maker, it would ultimately boil down to the budget and requirement; more money = more features or better looks or more power or better safety.

Strictly speaking, the best VFM for this car could be the base mode =New Polo Trendline if you are ok without rear powered windows, fog lamp and other 'I can live without it' features.

If safety is very important, you can look at Highline as it has ABS. Comes with Alloy wheels too.

Comfortline hits the sweet spot between these two models.

If you like to rip and zoom ahead often, then GT is the best in its class (IMO).

Cross could appeal to a few in looks department but I personally feel its not worth the additional cost from Highline.

If you have kept the budget flexible, and still look for VFM, I would suggest to go for Comfortline.

 

[square_wave]

No. GT TSI does not come with manual shifting. It is indeed surprising.

For options in the same series of any car maker, it would ultimately boil down to the budget and requirement; more money = more features or better looks or more power or better safety.

Strictly speaking, the best VFM for this car could be the base mode =New Polo Trendline if you are ok without rear powered windows, fog lamp and other 'I can live without it' features.

If safety is very important, you can look at Highline as it has ABS. Comes with Alloy wheels too.

Comfortline hits the sweet spot between these two models.

If you like to rip and zoom ahead often, then GT is the best in its class (IMO).

Cross could appeal to a few in looks department but I personally feel its not worth the additional cost from Highline.

If you have kept the budget flexible, and still look for VFM, I would suggest to go for Comfortline.

Hey Santy,

The pricing for the GT model is almost the same as the Vento ( sedan). They are charging all that money for the SOTA engine and gear box.

The New Polo comfortline has ABS.

 

[reignofchaos]

Buy the GT TSi or nothing. Its one hell of a car - super fun to drive.

 

[Santy]

The New Polo comfortline has ABS.

In that case it would be the best VFM in the series according to me.

 

[Nikhil]

Compare Volkswagen Polo - CarWale

From the comparison above the differences between Comfortline and Highline are Alloy Wheels and Auto Climate Control.
Personally I recommend alloy wheels and ACC if budget allows but otherwise the Comfortline is the car to go for.

ABS is a must. ++

 

[GeorgeO]

I agree with Nikhil-ABS is definitely a must. You can also look at preowned cars that have been very sparingly used and still under warranty, you can get some very good deals.

 

[rikhav]

Hi sqaure_wave

The polo gt tsi engine is not just an engine which has an extra cylinder then normal polo

Its a direct injection , turbo charged petrol. More complex then a normal petrol engine and mainly it has dsg gearbox which has lightning quick shifts which contributes to more faster 0 to 60 and 0 to 100 times. So yeah, its surely the most fun to drive hatch in india and is pretty well build and a mostly sorted suspension
But i guess benchmark for best build , steering and suspension would be punto but its let down by the engines

As a complete package polo should be the choice but it also has its share of negatives

First and most important bad reliability of the 7 speed dsg which is ultra expensive to repair out of warranty.
Its more to known to fail in cars driven in city traffic due to heating.
No rear disc brakes and overall average stopping power comparing the power it has
Horrible company fitted tyres
Rear bench is not good for tall people

 

[rikhav]

Compare Volkswagen Polo - CarWale

From the comparison above the differences between Comfortline and Highline are Alloy Wheels and Auto Climate Control.
Personally I recommend alloy wheels and ACC if budget allows but otherwise the Comfortline is the car to go for.

ABS is a must. ++

ABS is surely a must and helps a lot under emergency braking

But IMO, before that what is required is tyre that grips well and has adequate width. There would be a slight drop in efficiency but I guess efficiency cannot be more important then safety. There are other ways to improve efficiency

If the contact patch is not wide enough and tyres not grippy the braking will be less then needed

God knows when car companies will understand that. Atleast give wider tyres as an option

Instead they ban warranty if tyre size is changed then the stock tyre