Volkswagen has finally unveiled the 2021 Polo global variant. It is the sixth generation of the hatchback which has received a mid-life facelift in the international market. The German automaker has given the new-gen Polo some refreshed styling to bring it in line with the design language of its bigger siblings, the Golf and the ID 3.
The car comes packed in with a lot of features including an all-new level two autonomous driving capability. The pre-sales of the car will start in May in the international market and will be available in four trims – Standard, Life, Style and R-Line. Let’s take a deeper dive and see what all are on offer in the new 2021 Polo –
• As revealed in the teaser and recent spy shots, the new Polo gets LED strips that flow through the headlamps and run along with the radiator grille giving it a subtle and sharp look.
• The headlights themselves have been redesigned and so have the front and rear bumpers.
• Top of the line models, the Polo Style and R-Line also have new LED Matrix headlights (IQ Light) which were used for the first time in the Touareg luxury SUV.
• The tail-gate and tail-lamps have also been reshaped and the lamps now come with LEDs. There’s now also a Polo lettering below the VW badge at the rear.
• The facelifted hatchback is slightly longer while the wheelbase remains the same.
• The autonomous system on the Polo has been branded as Travel Assist that comes with adaptive cruise control (ACC) and a Lane Assist for partially autonomous driving up to 200kmph. While the Travel Assist is limited onto the top trims, the Lane Assist is standard on all the Polo models.
• Even on the inside, the new Polo now looks more vibrant. It gets VW’s latest infotainment system with a 6.5-inch touchscreen as standard that comes with all the latest connectivity options like Android Auto and Apple Car Play. There’ll also be a larger 10.25-inch Digital Cockpit Pro available as an option on the higher trims featuring image of caller, cover-flow, map view, slide show and background lighting.
• There is also an 8.0-inch fully digital instrument display replacing the analogue dials, as well as a redesigned multifunction steering wheel. The 8-inch infotainment system comes with Ready2Discover, which gives an option of retrofitting the navigation system as a feature on demand.
• The Polo now gets the new touch-activated slider temperature control sitting below the center console that has been carried over from its sibling, Golf. The hatchback also gets wireless charging as standard.
• The 2021 polo gets a standard new addition of a center airbag. Located on the driver side on the side of the rear seat backrest, this airbag opens toward the center in the event of an accident, protecting the driver and front passenger.
• The hatchback also comes with electrically adjusted exterior mirrors and all electric windows as standard throughout the whole Polo line-up.
• The Polo Life comes with additional standard features such as App-Connect, a centre armrest with an additional USB-C port in the middle of the passenger compartment and leather trim on the steering wheel and gear knob. It also gets 15-inch wheels rather than the standard 14-inches.
• The Polo Style includes the distinctive front end with chrome-look crossbars, LED fog lights and the IQ LIGHT LED matrix headlights. It also gets 15-inch Ronda alloy wheels. Other features offered on this trim is the Park Distance Control system. Inside, there are the 10.25-inch Digital Cockpit Pro and the 8-inch Infotainment system.
• The top tier Polo R-Line comes with a sporty exterior. The bumpers are distinguished from those of all other Polo versions by their striking R design. The front bumper gets a high-gloss black painted air intake. The gloss black treatment can also be seen on the diffuser. The rear also has chrome colored exhaust panels in the lower part which distinguishes the R-Line from the standard Polo, Life and Style trims. Like the Style trim, it also gets IQ LIGHT LED matrix headlights and LED fog lights along with the 10.25-inch Digital Cockpit Pro and the 8-inch Ready2Discover Infotainment system. It sports the biggest 16-inch Valencia alloys.
• On the power front, there’s no change on the new 2021 Polo. It comes with the same three engines options of a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine generating 80hp, a mid-spec 1.0-litre TSI making 94bhp and the top of the line 110hp TSI turbo-petrol. For transmission, VW has paired all the engines with the option of a manual or a dual-clutch automatic.
In India, VW still offers the fifth-gen Polo, but as we have previously reported, Volkswagen is currently evaluating the Indian market and considering bringing in a sub-4-meter Volkswagen Polo. The car will be exclusively designed for the Indian market built on the MQB AO IN platform that underpins its siblings, Volkswagen Taigun and Skoda Kushaq. However, it could take some time as the German automaker’s current focus in the country is on the SUV and CUV segment.
