Polo Position

What we like:

Superb refinement for a supermini

Extensive equipment

What we dislike:

Subwoofer installation robs boot space

smaller-than-average rear doors

The 1.0-litre turbo three banger softly clatters to life, is quite responsive to throttle inputs and it delivers pretty good pull once revved past the 2,000 rpm mark. The DSG does its best to keep shift RPMs to a low range, which makes it good for a town crawl.

Trying to overtake on the expressway is a bit trickier. Since the transmission tries to keep the engine at the lowest revs possible, it responds to any command of acceleration with a slight delay, and then a sudden power shunt when it figures out that you want extra power. Using the flappy paddles to command an instant downshift is the smoothest way to get extra speed.

Where this supermini aces is the level of refinement. The engine may be a little rough at idle or low rpms, but the cabin is well insulated against all noises. On the highway, the only noises that are loud enough to cause some level of displeasure are: Badly worn down roads and a soft whisper of wind noise at speed. Both easily overcome with the Beats audio system any time.

The Polo is not as teutonic as you might imagine. It has a pretty light steering which does weigh up considerably at speed for some decent amount of road feedback. Slow and twisty corners are a joy to navigate with the combination of a light, yet sharp steering response. Having a new chassis and wider track, body control is delightfully controlled. 

With the dampers on the firm side, the ride is far from being harsh with bumps being soaked up without upsetting its composure. Fuel economy is good too - with a fair bit of highway cruising, inner CBD crawl and shopping mall carpark lot dashing - we achieved a 5.7l/100km for fuel efficiency.

The Beats trim also adds Park Assist, which is useful when the parking is tight, or for those who find either parallel or perpendicular parking a challenge. It only takes care of the steering work, but really, for a car this good - we wouldn’t want to not be in control at all times.

The supermini game has a new contender with a gels a refined drive, good handling and pretty much all the features you won’t expect from a car that goes for less than S$100,000 and wears a continental badge.

The Polo isn’t alone in this segment though, it faces tough competition from the adjacent showroom in the form of the Skoda Rapid, as well as the venerable Japanese and Korean offerings at the same price point.

We feel that the Polo’s biggest competitor is… the Golf. At S$99,400, the Polo Beats costs more than a Golf Comfortline 1.4 TSI. However, it is way better equipped, has ample space for a small family and can comfortably transport people on long distance drives. Furthermore, since it has grown to become Golf-sized offering, calling it a mini-Golf is just being unfair...

Credits: Krado Low