Just-unveiled updated Polo a ‘maybe’ for NZ

Distributor weighing up further need for more Golf-like model given strong sales preference for its like-sized and priced crossovers.

CONSUMER swing toward two strong-selling Volkswagen crossovers will weigh on unreconciled decision-making about whether the heavily revised Polo small hatch revealed in Europe today finds its way to New Zealand.

This today from the distributor, with a spokesman for Volkswagen New Zealand commenting: “We are still in discussions with the factory over the Polo facelift for New Zealand for 2022. 

“The current Polo will continue to be sold well into next year.

“Polo is an important vehicle for us, but we are seeing customer demand moving from the hatches into sports utilities such as T-Cross and T-Roc.”

T-Cross is based on the same MBQA platform as the new Polo whereas T-Roc is the next size up and drawn off a Golf underpinning. The two models together account for a substantial chunk of VW NZ registrations, far more than are achieved by Polo, which in present form releases in 1.0-litre base, R-Line and 2.0-litre GTI formats.

The facelift is a massive refresh, basically turning this sixth-generation car into a pint-sized replica of the new Golf, with a swath of technologies first seen in the larger hatch transferring across. In addition, as the images, it achieves a styling update that also cements association with the big brother.

The front end achieves a fresh front bumper and headlight arrangement incorporating a new LED lighting bar that runs from the new-look headlights (available with IQ. Light matrix LED technology for the first time) to the VW badge. 

At the rear, the Polo receives new badging, the LED tail-light clusters have a Golf 8-inspired shape and can be had with dynamic indicators - the ‘wiping’ effect previously only found on more expensive VW Group cars.

The R-Line continues a sporty-looking but standard performance alternate to the genuine GTI and the Style and Life designations given the Golf now apply on Polo as well.

The interior refit is major.  A digital instrument panel is standard, either eight inches or 10.25 inches in the Digital Cockpit Pro version, there’s a new multifunction steering wheel and the central display is also much like that in the Golf, with knobs and buttons replaced with a touch-sensitive panel, albeit only in models with automatic climate control. It achieves two USB-C ports, while a wireless smartphone charging bay is an option. 

In respect to infotainment systems, the base car has a 6.5-inch display while more expensive versions adopt either a 8.0-inch touchscreen system or the highest-level 9.2-inch display. These come with Volkswagen’s We Connect connectivity , designed to deliver real-time traffic info and live music streaming in markets where those services are provisioned (so, not yet NZ). Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto also include.

Semi-autonomous driving assistance comes to the Polo for the first time, with the adoption of the Travel Assist function available in the latest Golf and Passat. It can take over the accelerating, braking and steering of the Polo, from standstill in automatic models all the way to the vehicle’s top speed. It’s a combination of lane-keep assistance and the new predictive adaptive cruise control set-up, though the driver must keep their hands on the wheel at all times. 

The United Kingdom is the only right-hand-drive market cited as certainty for the car at the moment. Engine provision there will consist entirely of 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrols for every mainstream variant; from a naturally-aspirated 59kW /93Nm option married to a five-speed manual gearbox then a pair of turbocharged TSI variants, one developing 70kW and the other making 80kW. If VW NZ does decide to continue with Polo, then the latter will likely be its preference, as it alone matches purely to a direct shift transmission, the only gearbox choice availed here. It’s still a seven speed.

The GTI is also to be continued, but VW won’t show off the new one until 2022. Belief is that it will continue with the current car’s 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine. However, whether it continues to develop 147kW remains to be seen. Industry observers have noted that Volkswagen has had to decrease the power of some of its hot hatchbacks in the past, to comply with more stringent WLTP CO2 homologation.