Volkswagen Polo 2014 review

The Mk5 Volkswagen Polo took a few leaves out of its Mk6 Golf sibling's book when it arrived in Australia in 2010, bringing surprising levels of refinement, technology and efficiency to the highly competitive light hatch segment. 

Four years on, the Polo has the even-better Mk7 Golf to draw on for its mid-cycle facelift, with new drivetrain, safety and interior technologies along with subtly tweaked styling and a streamlined model lineup.

VALUE

The biggest news for the new model is drive-away pricing to help introduce the range. Continuing with the Trendline and Comfortline trim levels, the entry Trendline manual now kicks off at $15,990 drive-away, with a $16,290 list price some $700 less than before. 

Drive-away pricing will be applied across the lineup for the first three months (or while stocks last) of the new model’s life, but VW are yet to announce the ‘no more to pay’ figures for the rest of the range. 

Comfortline list pricing has been cut by $950, now starting at $18,290 and the DSG dual-clutch auto still commands its standard $2500 premium on either trim level.

The Trendline comes with the five inch touchscreen display with SD card, USB and Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, plus cruise control, a height-adjustable driver’s seat and rake and reach adjustable steering.

The Comfortline adds extra chrome trim to the nose, 15-inch alloys, a Think Blue. Trainer efficiency coach function to the display, multifunction controls and leather trim to the steering wheel, heated wing mirrors, aluminium interior details, passenger seat height adjustment and storage pockets on the back of the front seats. 

Comfortline models are available with a $1500 optional Driving Comfort Package, which adds a reversing camera, auto headlights, wipers and rearview mirror dimming, adaptive cruise control, auto emergency braking, climate control aircon, tyre pressure monitoring and driver fatigue detection. 

Rear parking sensors are available for both models, but are a dealer-fit optional extra. 

Comfortline models are also available with the $1500 optional Sport pack, which adds 17 inch alloys, lowered sports suspension, tinted rear windows, front fog and cornering lights, and tyre pressure monitoring.

DESIGN

The 2014 Polo also sees the introduction of several technologies form its Mk7 Golf, but the styling has also been tweaked to bring the Polo in line with its bigger brother. New head and taillights, grille, and front and rear bumpers complete a typically Volkswagen discrete but effective makeover.

The Trendline can be identified by a new hubcap design on 15 inch steel wheels, while the Comfortline gets a new ‘Estrada’ design 15 inch alloy wheel as standard and a new ‘Mirabeau’ design 17 inch wheel with the optional Sport package.

The new Polo also sees three new exterior colours added to the chart, with Pure White, Sunset Red Metallic and Corn Flower Blue joining the existing Deep Black Pearl Effect, Reflex Silver Metallic and Pepper Grey Metallic.

On the inside, the Polo scores the Mk7 Golf’s steering wheel, fresh trim materials plus a revised 3D instrument layout and a new centre stack and controls that incorporate the Golf’s MIB multimedia interface within a five inch touchscreen.

In the back, there are Isofix child-seat mounts for the outward rear positions and a dual-layer boot floor offers a maximum cargo capacity of 280-litres with the seats up, and 952-litres with the seats folded.

All variants come with a full size steel spare wheel aside from the Comfortline Sport, where the same spare is limited to 80km/h due to the Sport’s larger alloys. 

ENGINES / TRANMSISSIONS

The previous Trendline’s non-turbo 63kW/132Nm 1.4-litre petrol has been dropped in favour of an all-new 66kW/160Nm 1.2-litre petrol turbo used in low-cost versions of the Golf overseas, and Comfortline models step up from the old 77kW/175Nm 1.2-litre turbo to an 81kW/175Nm version of the same new engine.

Both engines make max torque from just 1400rpm, with the 66kW engine stretching out to 3500rpm, and the 81kW engine promising excellent tractability all the way too 4000rpm.

Gone is the previous  - and expensive -  Comfortline diesel variant, with both new petrol engines coming within 0.2L/100km of the old oiler’s combined fuel figure. 

The default transmissions remain a five speed manual in the Trendline and a six-speed manual in the Comfortline, and the seven-speed DSG dual-clutch auto continues as a $2500 option for either trim level. 

Combined fuel consumption is now 4.8L/100km for all variants aside from the manual Comfortline which uses just 0.1L/100km more, down from the 5.5-6.1L/100km of the previous Polo. 

Both engines continue to require Premium 95RON unleaded, but efficiency is aided by Bluemotion tech like stop/start and a smart alternator that boosts charge efficiency under braking to minimise load under acceleration.

SAFETY

The new Polo continues with the 5 star ANCAP safety rating its predecessor carried since 2010, with six airbags and comprehensive stability control functions, but adds the Multi-Collision braking system from the bigger Golf that automatically applies the brakes after a collision to help prevent secondary impacts. 

DRIVING

Any perception that the Mk5 Polo as an ageing design dissolves the moment you sit behind the wheel. The previous model’s premium feel has been improved with the excellent steering wheel from the Mk7 Golf. Comfortline variants get soft leather and gloss black detailing, but the Trendline’s plastic tiller still fits well in your hand with a surprisingly pleasant texture. 

The rest of the interior may still lack the exciting shapes and colours of the Renault Clio, but there’s a quality and maturity to the materials used that would trouble several more expensive models.

The five inch MIB touchscreen fitted to both trim levels is a touch small by current industry standards, but still acceptable for the Polo’s class where such screens are still a rarity. 

It’s a shame the reversing camera cannot be specified individually, but the Driving Comfort Package it’s comprised within is worth considering.

 It is also impressive that adaptive cruise control and its associated safety features have filtered down to a mainstream light hatch like the Polo. 

Rolling into traffic in either of the 15 inch wheeled Trendline and Comfortline variants, the suspension’s low-speed compliance is a surprise in such a lightweight mainstream model, and this chassis refinement does not deteriorate with speed. 

The 17 inch wheels and lower sports suspension of the Comfortline Sport pack do detract from this refinement slightly, but is still significantly smoother than the previous GTI variant fitted with the same sized wheel and tyre combo.

Like the Golf, the new Polo balances ride and handling exceptionally well, and the Polo’s torsion beam rear suspension is rarely troubled by mid-corner bumps.   

The new Polo also adopts the Mk7 Golf’s excellent electromechanical steering system, replacing the previous model’s electrohydraulic setup, and the new-generation system delivers the expected similar results. 

The steering is light regardless of speed, but offers good feel through corners and reacts well to swift steering movements.

Cabin noise suppression around town is excellent for the segment, but we found a degree of wind rustle around the door mirrors at highway speeds, and the 15 inch Continental Premium Contact 2 tyres fitted to both trim levels as standard tended to grumble over coarse chip rural roads. 

Cabin ambience is also aided by the smoother and quieter new 1.2-litre engine, which is a responsive little unit in either power level, and their broad torque bands make gear selection far less critical than you’d expect for such a small engine.

They may require Premium unleaded, but the 1.2 litre units in the Polo are perhaps the most effective examples of VW’s reduced displacement strategy to date. Compared with the previous non-turbo 1.4 and turbo 1.2, they deliver better outputs and efficiency, and are equally easier to extract the best out of them.

This driveability helps to mask the Trendline manual’s ratio deficit compared with the six-speed Comfortline, and the seven-speed DSG dual-clutch autos work well with the smaller engine.   

With two passengers aboard, both engines handled highway speeds and hills surprisingly well during VW’s local launch event, but the Comfortline’s extra 15kW and 15Nm would likely be more handy with a full load.