Volkswagen unveils the all-new 2018 Polo

Volkswagen has been working on the sixth-generation of their successful hatchback, the Polo, which has sold more than 1.4 crore cars across the world in the last four decades. The all-new Polo is based on the MQB platform and also debuts with VW’s new natural-gas run engine.

The new car sits on a longer wheelbase with the overall length now going just beyond four metres. The 2018 Polo is wider than its predecessor but the roofline is lower than that of the current Polo. Built on the MQB platform, the new Polo styling has been inspired by its larger siblings, the Golf and the Scirocco and gets a slimmer grille and wider twin-barrel headlamps with an all-new LED DRL setup. 

The hemline is much more prominent giving the Polo a wider stance along with the flared wheel arches. The tail design does remind us of the current Polo and is entirely new. The interior has been done from the ground up. The dashboard is dominated by an 8-inch touchscreen and it also gets the active display for the instrument cluster, akin to Audi’s virtual cockpit. 

Under the hood, you get six engine options including three petrol, two diesel and one natural gas engine. It gets the 1.0-litre, the 1.2-litre and the 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol engines with the 1.8-litre reserved for the legendary GTI. Amongst diesel engines, you will have the option of the three-cylinder 1.2-litre mill or the 1.5-litre turbodiesels. It also gets an 89bhp 1.0-litre TGI gas engine with option of the five-speed manual or the six-speed automatic across the range of engines.

The all-new Polo will hit the European market by the end of this year. With a length of more than 4 metres and it being built on the expensive MQB platform, the new Polo has slim chances of making into the price-sensitive Indian market. We think, the new Polo for India will be spawned off the new platform being jointly developed by Tata and Volkswagen Group and will resemble the global Polo.