[CARDEEP]

ACI have put up a scoop report on the VW CrossPolo, their hatchback off-roader, not a 4X4 (much like the Skoda Fabia Scout), but otherwise a Polo with a rugged off-road kit & raised ground clearance (by 15 mm).

Here's the link to ACI Report:

http://www.autocarindia.com/News/325...-to-india.aspx

Other features include:
- 1.5L diesel mill
- 17" wheels
- Roof rails that are capable of bearing weights upto 75kgs
- Tailgate mounted spare wheel
- Toroidal (doughnut shaped) CNG cylinder for the petrol variant.

[StarrySky]

I would say it's an interesting experiment. But I don't understand what is the need for this variant. Skoda had offered something similar with the Fabia (Scout?) some time back and it didn't do very well.

[2cents]

I don't think they've bothered to increase GC even a wee bit. 17" means they would severely compromise profile to impractical levels on Indian roads. They seem to have learnt nothing from the Scout experience.

Every time I get a hint of their new plans, I wonder if they've learnt anything at all in their 10 years or so in India! First, they go out of their way in killing Skoda which (by a stroke of luck perhaps) had established itself as a premium brand, purportedly to promote VW. But if the recent sales figures are anything to go by, they seem to be killing both.

[Enigmatic]

Why bother ??

It would end up being a normal polo with some body cladding and an inflated price tag much like the Fabia scout.
Although the Scout in international market is a different vehicle all together:-


All we get over here is this :-

[Omtoatom]

Originally Posted by 2cents

I don't think they've bothered to increase GC even a wee bit. 17" means they would severely compromise profile to impractical levels on Indian roads. They seem to have learnt nothing from the Scout experience.

Every time I get a hint of their new plans, I wonder if they've learnt anything at all in their 10 years or so in India! First, they go out of their way in killing Skoda which (by a stroke of luck perhaps) had established itself as a premium brand, purportedly to promote VW. But if the recent sales figures are anything to go by, they seem to be killing both.

Agree. 17" is a bit of an overkill for our roads.

To quote ACI, "If VW prices the CrossPolo cleverly and packs it with enough kit, it could crack open an interesting niche." Notice the clever use of the words/phrases, "if VW prices", "could crack open" and "interesting niche". Too many odds, too much hedging huh

To me what stands out even more is VW's decision to put the UP project in India on hold. That to me was a much more all-encompassing and practical strategy rather than cracking open interesting niches.

[agspins]

Sounds interesting, lets see how much it costs. Wishing it doesn't end up like Fiat Adventure. Here is ref pic of Cross Polo from SA.

[prithvi53]

I just don't understand what vw is trying to do here. They are increasing the ground clearence of the car which definitely suits the bad indian roads but then again they are equipping the car which is supposed to be made for bad roads with 17 inch rims and extremely low profile tyres. VW seems to be extremely confused here.
Knowing that the fabia scout has failed very badly at the market I cant seem to find a reason for them to introduce the cross polo.

[arup.misra]

Strange are the ways of VW. First they abandon UP and then think of getting a crosspolo. Reminds me of Golf variant - Gold Country. That had an all wheel drive to tackle light off roading but crosspolo, going by reports, don't seems to be an all-wheel drive. So how exactly is this different?

Increasing ground clearance and then fitting a 17" rim. How do they suppose the low profile tyre will be adept in tackling light off roading.

Rough road package was an accessory provided by Skoda. And if I am not wrong, Fabia's are equipped with it anyway as a standard package.

[CARDEEP]

IMO, the CrossPolo or the Fabia Scout that we get in India is a waste of money by the customers as well as by the company on PR/ Adverts. They could have used the concept to promote the Station Wagon Platform & it would have find more takers than the rugged hatch.

I am pretty surprised with the strategy of the VAG group overall. They have good small & big SUV's (including a 7 seater cheap SUV for north America & Russia) lined up for other markets, but, nothing for India. At one stage they had the Octavia Comb (Station-Wagon), but nothing similar for the Laura or Jetta. Their dealers & A.S.S. are happy picking pockets of of the customers & the group has no plans for India .

This is driving their sales down, but, does Nero car about Rome burning... NAH.

[one-77]

Maybe VW wants to beat Ford to the micro(?)-SUV launch, but doesn't have the time to design a new body shell, so they just decided to add some cladding, roof rails and a tailgate mounted spare wheel to the Polo.
If Ford can add some muscle to the Fiesta hatch and call it an off-roader, why not VW?

[serious_maniac]

The new versions like Fabia Scout (the one launched) are used more for "category excitement" to get people into the showrooms. I do not think that they expected it to sell any numbers. Fabia Scout even failed to create excitement and that was sad.

For same reason, I do not expect Polo to have much changes especially in the engine and mechanics department. Unless they want to sell it in numbers, which looks unlikely.

~maniac

[mempheS.D]

That CrossPolo from SA that someone posted above is jaw-dropping. I'm thinking that VW plans to retain their 3-pots keeping them sub 7lakh while the CrossPolo would be in the 9lakh range for those looking for an adrenaline rush south side of the 10LAKH. A reason why they knocked off the 1.6 maybe?

All said and done- the VW group has been wagging their tongues all over the place. So, I'll believe it when I see IT. Until then, I'd prefer slouching on my couch watching the fun!

[vinair]

Can't get a tiger? paint stripes on a cat!! This seems to be the approach of many car manufacturers to address the need of a small SUV!!

Anything with a scuff plate, blacked out bumpers and side claddings starts to think its a SUV!! Understand if these models were to be given as an option from the start as a 'rough road package' or something.

Trust me, I personally hate painted bumpers and love these blacked out bumpers with on/off road tyres. But then, shouldn't it cost less when they do these?? NO! Now that's something I fail to understand. When you strip a model of its gloss and paint and all that, why would you then want to price it so very exorbitantly to make it almost impossible to move out of the showrooms??

[S@ndy]

Thanks to IndianCarsBikes.in, we have managed to get our hands on the first ever spy pics of the VW Crosspolo, doing rounds near VW's Chakan Plant in pune.

We already know that Volkswagen has a number of variants planned for their Polo. The first one Polo GT TSI has already been launched with the 1.2L TSI Turbocharged petrol mill. The other three which remain are the Polo CNG, Polo GTD with Vento’s diesel mill and Cross Polo.



International markets get the following features:-

• additional body cladding
• roof rails
• muscular front and rear bumpers
• bigger tyres
• higher ground clearance
• higher ground clearance
• spruced up interiors

At this time, we are absolutely unsure of what engine options will CrossPolo come with, but if we are asked, we will definitely want the newer 1.2L TSI motor to propel the car. Running the CrossPolo on the current underpowered 3 cylinder motors of the regular Polo will be plain discouraging!

This addition to Polo’s lineup doesn’t appear to be a master-stroke from the company considering that such kind of products haven’t clicked in India. Apart from that, we will already have products catering to this segment of the crowd in the form of EcoSport and others. Let’s see how Volkswagen can differentiate it and make it an interesting product for us. Meanwhile, we are already on a look out and hope to spot this car for some better quality spyshots along with more info.

Source: http://http://motorbash.com/spied-fi...polo-in-india/

P.S. Mods! Please merge the thread if necessary! Thank you!

[Sherlocked]

Autocar has posted the pictures of Volkswagen CrossPolo which was being tested on the Mumbai-Gujarat highway.

According to their sources, the CrossPolo could even be offered in India with a tailgate-mounted spare wheel.

http://www.autocarindia.com/News/343...-in-india.aspx

The hatchback off-roader, with its rugged off-road kit, trumps any regular hatch in terms of looks. The ride height has been increased by around 15mm and a thick, matte plastic band extends across the chin, the flanks and around the rear. The wheel arches get the same treatment and there’s a scuff plate with a dull silver finish. The CrossPolo also gets silver anodised roof rails where up to 75kg of luggage can be mounted and secured. A silver diffuser at the rear and big 17-inch wheels complete the off-roader look.