Polo at ten

Volkswagen’s popular hatchback, the Polo, celebrates ten years in India

IT HAS BEEN TEN YEARS SINCE THE Volkswagen Polo made its way to India. The car, after first being produced in India in 2009, quickly became synonymous with being fun-to-drive and found favour with a generation that was deprived of fun, performance-oriented hatchbacks. The Polo also brought VW's build quality to the table and quickly enough, became a hot seller for the brand. With a timeless design that has changed little over the last decade, the Polo became a symbol of German quality and technology in Indian households.

Since 2009, the Indian market has seen various iterations of the Polo right from diesels to the 189bhp Polo GTI, and class-leading features have often debuted in the Polo. For a considerable amount of time, the Polo was the only premium hatchback to have dual airbags and ABS as standard. It gained a reputation for being a safe, well-engineered car for customers on a budget.

The Polo has aged well, and 10 years on,

Volkwagen still see potential with it. With the imepending introduction of BS 6 in the country, Steffen Knapp, Head of Vokswagen Passenger Cars India confirmed that Volkswagen India is ready for the shift and they will focus on TSI engines for the moment. After all, there is still a large demand for the Polo TSI and delivery times are still fairly long. This, combined with the fact that the entire market is making a shift from diesel to petrol, means Volkswagen is placing its bets on petrols. Volkswagen will be widening the TSI range in the process, and will make it more affordable by launching a manual.

The upgrade to BS 6 should happen relatively smoothly according to company officials, especially since Volkswagen already complies with the Euro 6 norms that BS 6 is based on. Volkswagen also confirmed that there is a new TSI engine coming in the near future – a 1-litre direct injection turbo petrol. Once again, it will debut on the Polo before making its way to other small cars from the Group including those from Skoda.

Interestingly, even during this downturn for the auto industry, Volkswagen has continued to grow. And the car driving that growth, not surprsingly, has been the Polo.

Off the roads, the Polo has been raced and rallied and has contributed hugely to India's motorsport culture. It kicked off India's premier one-make tin-top race series, and revolutionised the Indian rally scene. Quite a mark has been left by this little car, hasn't it?

A 1-LITRE DIRECT INJECTION TURBO PETROL WILL DEBUT ON THE POLO