Maturity, solidity and trusty old conservatism are all things that you'd associate with the Volkswagen Polo. You wouldn’t think virtues like that would sell a supermini – a part of the new car market fuelled by fashionable style and colourful originality.
But they’re exactly the virtues that continue to sell one of the class’s longest-established entrants, and make the Volkswagen a permanent feature of both the segment’s top sales ranks and of Autocar’s road test top five.
Now in its fifth generation, the Volkswagen Polo looks more like a shrunken Volkswagen Golf than ever.
And that pretty neatly sums up what Volkswagen has tried to offer with this current version: all the positive attributes of the Golf, just in a smaller, more affordable package. The derivative styling and bigger dimensions are designed to make the Polo feel even more mature, while the Volkswagen Scirocco-inspired nose and lights add the merest touch of flair.
The next generation Polo looks to build on that concept, with it expected to be larger and lighter than the current generation and it will only be available as a five-door car. It is also the first car of the VW group to built on the new MQB A0 chassis layout which will also be used as the underpinnings of the next Audi A1, Seat Ibiza and Skoda Fabia.
With established market presence comes complexity, of course – and the Volkswagen Polo range is more complex than most. Volkswagen offers the car in three or five-door forms, with a vast array of petrol or diesel engines, which include an ultra-efficient 80mpg-plus BlueMotion model and a be-spoilered 178bhp Volkswagen Polo GTI.