Volkswagen Polo
We’re about to see if a year-old Polo is better than a new Up for the same money
Mileage on arrival 2276 List price when new £15,505 Value now £11,650 Test economy 52.9mpg
“EXCUSE ME, DO you have any spare change?” asked a van driver. I was a little surprised by this, since I was sitting in our ‘new’ one-year-old Volkswagen Polo, reading What Car? magazine and sipping a coffee. It’s not as if the Polo screams ‘flush with cash’ – particularly this previous-generation model, which can now be bought for the same price as a new VW Up.
If that seems like good value, that’s because it is. The Up is a cute little city car that feels solidly built and is good to drive, but the Polo gives you a lot more space and is altogether more grown-up. You can thank the fact that there’s now an all-new Polo for the similarities in price. Our car has only 2276 miles on it, but you can find plenty of equally low-mileage examples for sale in our classifieds.
We picked ours up from West London Volkswagen, a huge dealership arranged over two floors. It’s so big that it even has a gift shop. Sales executive Matthew Naughton talked me through the finer points of the Polo after doing the obligatory reveal.
Being a Match Edition means that this Polo comes loaded with equipment. In fact, the only options fitted to our car by its first owner were Blue Silk metallic paint for £555 and floor mats, which came in at a rather steep £90. Plenty of other noteworthy features come as standard, including cruise control, automatic lights and wipers, an automatic dipping rear-view mirror, electric folding door mirrors, a DAB radio, four electric windows, tinted glass and a 6.5in infotainment system.
The infotainment system in question may not have a particularly big screen – the
new Polo gets an 8.0in colour touchscreen as standard – but it’s still remarkably easy to use and responds quickly to commands. It even recognises when a hand is within close proximity to the screen to expand additional on-screen functions.
It doesn’t have sat-nav fitted, but the system does come with Apple Carplay, Android Auto and Mirrorlink, allowing the car’s display to mirror your smartphone’s screen. So, provided you have mobile data, you can use your phone’s sat-nav app, such as Waze or Google Maps, instead.
Our Polo doesn’t just have a similar price to an Up; it also uses the same 1.0-litre threecylinder petrol engine with 74bhp. In the Up, it feels rather underpowered. In the heavier Polo, that’s even more pronounced, although the first three gears have been set up in such a way that, up to 40mph, acceleration is acceptable enough to keep up with traffic. It’s only after that point that the engine starts to struggle.
The peak torque of 70lb ft is available at 3000-4300rpm, and at 70mph the engine is spinning away at 3700rpm to make the most of what it has. The downside is a constant thrumming in the background at high speeds, even if this can easily be drowned out by turning up the stereo. However, I have found plenty of other things to admire about the Polo. For example, the five-speed manual gearbox has a pleasingly short throw to it and is slick to use. The pedals don’t transmit any nasty three-cylinder vibrations through your feet and the steering is very pleasant, with consistent weighting. There’s also a pleasingly analogue feel to this Polo, because it doesn’t come with a suite of driver aids that shriek false warnings as you drive down a busy street. It even has a manual handbrake – a novelty in this age of electronic parking brakes. Road noise isn’t much of an issue, either, probably thanks to the small 15in alloy wheels that come as standard on the Match Edition. Therefore, long journeys in the Polo are not to be feared, as I discovered on a trip to Yorkshire recently (it was on the return leg when I encountered our changehunting van driver). Mind you, the driver’s seat has already started to creak, a development that’s a little concerning considering how few miles this Polo has done. At least it’ll give me a chance to find out how extensive the warranty is. I’m also looking forward to finding out how our Polo copes with my commute and the occasional cross-country dash. Time will tell whether you’re better off sticking with a new Up, or if this used Polo is the better option.
WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT
To nd out if a previous-generation Volkswagen Polo makes more sense than a brand new Up for the same cash ‘Being a Match Edition means that this VW Polo comes loaded with equipment’