Volkswagen Polo review

This is the sixth generation of the Volkswagen Polo, if you can believe it: it’ll be knocking on for 50 if it’s still around in 2025. Yikes. This version was launched back in 2017 – making it fairly old by car industry standards – and facelifted in 2021 with some of the latest mod cons, including updated infotainment and LED lights.

The fancier versions even get that weird full-width DRL treatment that Volkswagen is a bit obsessed with. Polarises opinion, that, but you don’t have to look at it when you’re in the car at least.

Basically a baby Golf, isn’t it?

That seems to be how the Polo has evolved: it’s all very sensible and conservative in there, and the car has all the sophistication and refined road manners of its larger sibling. It just has a bit less space. 

Having said that, the Golf has lost its way a little in its eighth-generation guise, so the Polo might actually have more to recommend it these days. Just bear in mind that this is an unrepentant combustion only zone, with the barest of bare minimum done to appease the natural world. There’s no electric or hybrid option, but the small petrol engines do come with a stop/start system that takes the edge off fuel consumption by cutting out the engine while you’re sitting at the lights.

What trims are available?

There are seven trim levels at the time of writing: Life, Match, R-Line, Style, Black Edition, GTI and GTI Edition 25. The Life kicks off proceedings at £20,975 and the range has what Volkswagen calls a ‘simple Y structure’, which just means that after the Match model you can go for the identically priced Style (the comfort oriented one) or R-Line (slightly sportier) models before cracking on towards the range-topping GTI models that start at £30,195.

What’s it like inside? 

After its almost half a century on sale the Polo has grown to the point where it’s actually not far off the size of an early Noughties Golf. It’s comfortable up front and there’s decent space in the back to carry two people. The 351 litres of bootspace are only 30 litres off the current Golf and on par with the MkVI.

The interior decor is a little dour: the Skoda Fabia does a nicer job with the same basic underpinnings and the Peugeot 208 is much more stylish. If you go for the entry-level Life spec car then you get an 8.0in infotainment touchscreen that offers Apple and Android connectivity along with an 8.0in digital instrument panel (which grows to a smarter 10.25in version on fancier trims and there's a 9.2in infotainment screen too).

On all cars you do get two front and two rear USB-C sockets, electric folding heated door mirrors and auto wipers as standard, which is nice.

And does it come with actual buttons?

Volkswagen is among the worst of carmaker culprits for pointlessly ditched physical buttons, and there’s good and bad news here. The Polo's touchscreen is flanked by touch sensitive buttons on either side and knobs for the volume and zoom controls.

The graphics are good, the touchscreen is responsive and it’s easy to navigate your way around, while Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are supported as standard. This set-up doesn’t get satnav in Life or Match trims, but it does on the other cars. An optional extra on Style and R-Line cars is a larger 9.2in Discover Pro version of the infotainment in the same space that goes fully touch controlled and isn’t quite as useful.

The climate controls are also entirely separate, sitting lower down the dash; thankfully different to other Volkswagen Group cars that bury the aircon in the menus. Life and Match cars get easy to use buttons and twisty knobs, but above that these are replaced by a horrid little touch button panel that’s quite frustrating to use. So we’d recommend not upgrading the aircon.

What about powertrains?

There are two petrol engines available for the Polo, a 1.0-litre 3cyl unit that does all the heavy lifting in three states of tune and a more powerful 2.0-litre 4cyl bad boy that powers the GTI. 

The slightly wheezy, entry level 1.0 is naturally aspirated and produces 79bhp: that only comes with a five-speed manual in Life spec. The turbocharged 93bhp option adds an optional seven-speed DSG automatic that costs around £1.4k more and is available in every trim apart from GTI.

Then there’s a perky 108bhp version of the engine that can only be had in the R-Line car, while the GTI’s 2.0-litre develops 204bhp. The latter two are DSG only. 

We like the 93bhp version best for its blend of 3cyl fizz and economy (54.3mpg and 118g/km CO2 emissions), but have a look at the Buying tab to check out the full details.

How about rivals?

There are increasingly fewer rivals around for the Polo in what is a tough end of the market to make any money, but it’s still very competitive. You’ve got the likes of the Peugeot 208, Vauxhall Corsa, Renault Clio, Hyundai i20 and the Polo’s VW Group cousins - the Skoda Fabia and Seat Ibiza - to choose from.

The Peugeot and Vauxhall both offer fully electric options, the Renault Clio has an expensive hybrid version and the Fabia is essentially the same as the Polo but cheaper. We’d definitely be tempted in the latter direction if we didn’t fancy going for an EV. A left-field choice that shades out the Polo GTI would be the Hyundai i20N if you’re looking at the performance option. 

The current Polo is as good as this supermini has ever been, mostly sidestepping the interior mistakes that recent Volkswagen cars have made. It’s a useful, practical all-rounder with a lot to recommend it – it might, dare we say it, even have surpassed the Golf on that front.

It’s not as fun to drive as a Fiesta, but it’s outlived its arch nemesis, so that’s got to be worth something. And while it has awkwardly avoided offering any electrified versions so far, its petrol engine can be frugal as well as peppy and you don’t have to worry about plugging it in or suffering from range anxiety. Put simply, it’s a sensible choice, and one you’ll likely not regret.