Volkswagen Polo VI

Known as the baby Golf in the lineup, the Polo is known to be the most accessible Volkswagen money can buy and being small, it does had some fair share among motorists elsewhere. With the arrival of the new, sixth-generation model, the new Polo tries to win the hearts of motorists in the midst of concerns Volkswagen's facing right now, with its new tech, new engine, and other features that makes it a class apart.

2018 Volkswagen Polo

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, because what you''re looking at here is the all-new Volkswagen Polo and for its sixth-generation, Volkswagen aims this new model to be the best Polo ever built having accumulated over 14 million units sold worldwide since the first one with its new design, new interior, new dynamics, and new packaging that makes it a class apart the rest.

Checking first on the exterior and at first glance, it borrows some styling cues from its big brother, the current-generation Golf, making it sharper looking than before, which is good, but on the back, they haven't bothered at all, which is similar to Suzuki's Baleno, having cars that are sharper up front but bland on the back. Also, it's available exclusively as a five-door only because three door hatchbacks are better off dead (except for some) and five doors are better looking than three doors.

2018 Volkswagen Polo interior

On the inside, it's not half bad to look at and in tune with today's trends, the new Polo is the first Volkswagen and the first Volkswagen Group model ever to offer this new generation of the Active Info Display, which is as vivid as the graphics from the video games donning the 4K era, and at the flick of the switch, the display changes course to suit your preference. Apart from the many gadgets you can toy around, especially the Beats Audio from the Beats variant of this car, the new Polo, being utilized by the Volkswagen Group's MQB-A0 platform, is surprisingly spacious for five people and amazingly, there's room at the back for some stuff you snagged from the estate sale from a neighborhood from far away.

2018 Volkswagen Polo

On a base Polo, you have a choice of efficient TSI (petrol), TGI (natural gas) and TDI (diesel) engines with the one with the most grunt is the one with the 1.5L TSi with 150PS of power output while the most efficient is the one with the 1.6 TDi with 3.7L/100km of fuel efficiency, although some people are better off without the diesel variant due to ongoing headlines surrounding Volkswagen right now. Either way, the new platform and the new chassis results to a much rewarding driving experience compared to the previous Polo. Not much exciting by hatchback standards but it's very accessible indeed to get the most out of it. Speaking of exciting...

2018 Volkswagen Polo GTi

If you think the normal Polo's not spicy enough to turn around, perhaps the new GTi might do the thing. Of course, the new Polo GTi gains electronic transverse differential lock for better handling with slightly less chances of understeer, which is good but what's under the hood might shock you. The old model had a twincharged 1.8L petrol engine but the new model dumped the supercharger, left it turbocharged and direct injected, and increase the size to 2.0L. Despite now being turbocharged only, the added size results to 200PS of power, which is slightly more than its predecessor and with the utterly dramatic 6-speed dual clutch gearbox, it does 0 to 100 km/h in 6.7 seconds and onwards 237kph. That sounds quick but if you want to keep it fun, there's a 6-speed MT but you have to wait until next year, which is a shame for speedo boys so they'll have to make do with the DSG.

No matter the Polo, you will be greeted by a wide array of safety tech offered because Volkswagen wants to make it the smartest Polo ever made that will stand out the rest such as Blind Spot Monitor, Rear Traffic Alert, Driver Alert System, Automatic Post-Collision Braking System, Adaptive Cruise Control, Front Assist area monitoring system, City Emergency Braking, Park Assist, and Tyre Pressure Loss Indicator. Some features are nice but some features, even for speedo boys going for the GTi variant, might drive them mad because it might control their driving experience, but that's the life of a high-tech compact car because you'll have plenty of reasons why you enjoy driving this car no matter the situation.

The all-new, sixth-generation Polo starts at 12,975 Euros plus on road costs, which sounds like fair value, and value aside, there are so many reasons to talk about the new Polo. While the design may not be somewhat a looker as well as the interior, the tech, performance, and packaging is what makes you interested to drive it and live it for everyday use and that is the bottomline.

Photo: Volkswagen