[himanshumor]

My Flash Red Polo Trendline 2020 1.0 MPI comes home!!



This is my first ownership experience blog on Team-Bhp. I am learning from fellow BHPians and may not be highly expressive in my explanations, will let my pictures and videos do the majority of talking.

My Requirements for this purchase:
1) A value for money car with all safety features
2) Fun to drive in relaxed manner
3) Good Looks
4) Budget 5 lacs on-road (but later I extended it to 6 lacs on road due to lack of options)

Cars Considered:

1) Ford Freestyle Trend:
This car is meeting all requirements of fun to drive factor (steering feedback is just amazing), engine is very good and peppy to drive, spacious on the inside, Major advantage of High Ground Clearance above all other cars considered.

Price is going a bit high up to 6.5 or 7 lacs. Never got a clear idea of the schemes and available discounts because Ford Noida, Ford Gurgaon, Ford Rohtak, all these 3 showrooms never showed interest and always told me that they just have one variant available and that is Titanium. Upon asking, they do not have Titanium Plus or Ambiente or Trend for no reason and I always heard this argument “Sir we only have Freestyle Titanium coming from the Plant”, for other variants you have to wait for months(no specific number of months).

I loved everything about Freestyle but the fact that price was clearly going above 6 lacs made me leave this option.

2) Wagon R 1.2 ZXI:
Big spacious roomy cabin, nice interiors, peppy 1.2 L engine, all factory fitted features (except reverse camera and showrooms say that no camera can be added to the OEM Head unit of Wagon R).
Everything good but Wagon R is strictly not made for speeds above 80, we can drive up to 100-120 from engine capability standpoint but there is no confidence is the ride quality. Ignis has much better ride quality and I already have one Ignis in the family, so left this option.

3) Santro Asta:
Above everything else, the interior fit and finish along with interior space and all-round visibility impressed me a lot for Santro. There was nothing wrong with Santro but then I could see the option of Polo Trendline which drives and handles much better than Santro made me leave this option too.

4) Grand i10 Sports:
Getting all the features factory fitted like Remote key, touchscreen ICE, reverse camera, Electric foldable ORVMs, peppy 1.2 Kappa Engine.
Only the better ride quality of Polo over the Grans i10 sports made me leave this option despite all the factory fitted features

5) VW Polo Trendline:
From the day I took the test drive of VW Polo 1.0 Mpi engine, I was almost certain to buy Polo.

Polo trendline met all the features requirements for me from safety standpoint and I was ok to not have a remote key in my car, also ok to not have factory fitted music system in my car for the fact that I am getting amazing looking car with great handling.
I was really confused while choosing the variants of Polo as 1.25 lacs extra for the Comfortline did not feel worth to be for just the extra features (if Comfortline had 1.0 TSi, I would have bought Comfortline).

Going with Highline Plus needed 2.5 lacs extra(which is definitely worth for the powerhouse of Engine and loads of features) but considering the fact that my 95% of driving is going to be in relaxed manner, I found it sensible to stay within my allocated budget.

Decision: The Flash Red Polo Trendline is coming home. Booked the car from VW Noida after two test drives of Polo Comfortline to ensure there is no such thing as lack of power in the engine from a relaxed driving style perspective. The Polo Trendline RED color available with the showroom has manufactured in Feb (checked form the VIN Number), I requested my sales advisor to order a new car from the latest stock. I got a little try from VW Noida to consider the available car as it is like new, but they were not offering any extra discounts, so I requested for a new order and they placed the new order easily afterwards.

It’s the day of my RED Stunner’s delivery and I was super happy plus excited, long story short captured in my below video

https://youtu.be/IxiLpqADgpY

Exterior:
Being a 10 years old car, the Polo still looks amazing. From 2019, VW has updated the front bumper to the one that once came in Polo GTi and this adds further to the sporty feel of Polo.

Polo is like a true sports car in budget. So, under 10 lacs, Polo GT & Polo Highline Plus are proper sports cars for common people. Going further to lower budget segment under 6 lacs, Polo Trendline is probably the only car that gives the feel of a sports car (next to Polo comes the Tata Altroz according to me in terms of sporty looks).

Note: I need to mention that looks are totally subjective and all views for looks of the Polo in this blog are my personal because stunning for someone can be bad for others and vice versa!

Front Profile: Elegant, composed, compact as well as sporty, I do not want anything more from the looks in this price point. The bumper is missing fog lamps, but from a look’s standpoint, the RED bumper with Black grille inserts look just amazing.


Low beam reflector with parking bulb (inside the high beam barrel)


All lights in action: Low Beam, High Beam, Parking bulb and Turn indicator


Honeycomb mesh pattern grille


Larger Honeycomb pattern mesh continues inside the bumper inserts between the GTi inspired bumper lines


Plastic cladding below the bumper with amazing quality


Notice the front bumper nose extension from the center part of bumper. This is the only part which I feel can get brushed from below while moving the polo from front on a steep inclined ramp (so far it has passed the large and heavily incline ramp of VW showroom as well as my home)


Rear Profile


Rear profile with all lights in action


Side profile: That solid underbody plastic cladding extends throughout the body


A closer look at the side cladding


The ORVMs have turn indicators, they are manually foldable by hand and feel sturdy


Tires: Goodyear Duraplus 175/70 R14 Tires with Wheel caps and mud flaps installed as part of complementary accessory kit provided by showroom


Boot space: enough boot space of 295 liters from a hatchback standard, no parcel tray in trendline variant though


Spare tire of size 175/70 R14 (same size spare tire has been provided across all polo variants Trendline, Comfortline, Highline plus MT/AT, GT Tsi)


Emergency boot opener using car key in boot door


Fuel lid with no parking of Petrol


Recommended fuel and tire pressure inside fuel lid opener


Interiors: Full black interiors with Red lighting in the AC switches. I personally like the overall black theme, but it surely gives a claustrophobic appeal to the cabin


Front Passenger seat pushed all the way forward


Very useful warnings in the side of Front passenger seat B Pillar to remain careful with Child seat and carrying no luggage in lap due to airbag


Center Dashboard console with blank space for 1-din or 2-din music system. Trendline variant comes with radio preparation, 4 door speakers along with wiring


Speedometer with limited options in MID: 1 Trip meter, ODO meter, Outside Temperature, Service interval, Clock (no option to see DTE & Fuel efficiency)


Ignition ON warning sign along with continuous beep if you leave the car key in Ignition ON position and open the door


Nice Piano black finish around AC vents: same finish continues around gear lever, handbrake lever tip as well


Day/Night IRVM with manual adjuster: IRVM covers the rear windscreen just in size (neither too big nor too small)


Glove box with decent useful space: No AC vent, a dedicated pocket for holding sunglasses


Some practical recommendations to use AC in case of Hot Cabin


Some more instructions for Front windscreen defogging, usage of rear defogger (there is no rear defogger in Trendline variant though), Opening closing of doors and safe cabin details

[himanshumor]

Instructions for effective gear changes: The card is not updated for 1.0 MPi or 1.0 TSi though


The flat-bottom Steering wheel is nice to hold.


The ORVMs are manually adjustable from inside, the manual adjuster joystick feels premium and nice to hold.


Rear Seat of VW Polo: The rear seat of polo is good for two adults with height 5’8’’ and the backrest angle is sufficiently reclined. Third passenger is unwelcome due to center tunnel. If the front passenger is 6 feet in height, rear seat is just adequate for 5’8’’ person. If the front passenger and rear passenger are all 6 footers, rear passengers will not be ok to travel at all. Because there is no center arm rest installed in this Polo Trendline, it provides a little bit more sense of space for rear passengers

Minimum and maximum legroom in the rear seat of polo.


Polo 1.0 mpi Engine performance

My First impressions about the Polo Trendline and its 1.0 MPi engine captured in below video:

https://youtu.be/wreVTJH6kPs

The numbers of this engine feel low on paper at 75 bhp and 95 Nm but it does not feel that way to me while driving. Just by looking at the numbers and considering the weight of Polo, I also felt that this engine will be underpowered, but it felt adequate to my surprise. This engine is just adequate for a normal relaxed driving but does everything at higher rpms as opposed to the 4-cylinder engines of Maruti (Ignis/Swift), Hyundai (Grand i10/Nios).

Engine Sound: It starts to get noticeably vocal post 2000 rpm, considerably vocal post 3000 rpms, and very-very vocal post 4000 rpms. As I drive this engine in relaxed manner, my gear changes stay at 1800-2000 rpm and some minor overtakes at 3000 rpms. With this driving style, co-passengers do not feel anything problematic with the engine sound to complain about as they don’t notice anything unusual unless I drive the car post 3000 rpms.

One good thing I found about the Tuning of this engine done by VW is that its gear ratios are longer-
1st gear takes me easily till 20.
2nd gear can take be from a stand-still start and can go up to 40kph easily. With full throttle to 6000 rpms, 2nd gear can also take me up to 80 but that will be driving in race mode.
3rd gear can easily let me cruise from 25kph and goes up to 60-70.
4th gear goes from 35 up to 80.
5th gear goes from as low as 40 up to 80-90.
When I mentioned easily in above gears, I meant the rpms were up to 3000-3200.

For a car that comes well under 6 lacs on-road, I find this level of engine performance adequate for a relaxed driving.

This engine is not meant to be driven in race mode. To give a reference, the Ignis 1.2, i20 1.2 Kappa, Ford Freestyle Petrol all feel more peppier to drive that this polo 1.0 Mpi when driven hard. But again, the point is that what are you buying this segment car for? Relaxed driving or race mode driving? It is more than enough for relaxed driving and for those expecting race-mode driving, Highline Plus 1.0 TSi is there that can easily put Honda City iVTEC to shame in its outright acceleration. Engines like, the Ignis 1.2, i20 1.2 Kappa, Ford Freestyle Petrol don’t stand a chance in front of 1.0 TSI If racing is the expectation.

Considering the 1.0 MPi engine, my verdict about who should and should not buy this Polo Trendline 1.0 MPi -

Who should buy:
1) Someone who is looking for a relaxed and comfortable driving.
2) Someone who is looking for a car that feels sturdy to drive, stays rock solid at high speeds, feels amazing at the corners.
3) Someone who is looking for a hot looking hatchback that is fun to drive under 6 lacs segment (6 lacs are approximate on-road price and will vary based on insurance chosen and city of registration) because fun to drive does not ONLY mean High Acceleration & Speed but Fun to Drive also includes these characteristics of the car: Steering feedback from Wheels to your Hand, Cornering stability, high speed stability, confidence while cornering the car, confidence while handling and tackling unwanted situations at high speeds of 80-100 or even more, confidence that your car is staying glued to the ground even at 120 and high speed winds will not blow away your car.
4) Someone who is looking for a budget car but need no compromise with basic safety features like Rear adjustable headrests, Height adjustable driver’s seat, Tilt & Telescopic adjust steering, speed sensitive auto door locks, Seat belts wit load limiters (because in most of the cars, you need to buy top variant just to get these very basic essential features in the car).

Who should not buy:
1) Someone who needs a very spacious hatchback and has more than one 6 footers in the family.
2) Someone who always want to drive hard and can’t enjoy the driving unless the engine is throwing you backward in the driver’s seat.
3) Someone who needs a car with higher ground clearance (GC is not that bad with Polo, I could never brush it against any of the big potholes or speed bumps of NCR till now but those looking for a clearly high above the ground car should consider Ford Freestyle as the first choice and Maruti Ignis as their second choice under hatchbacks segment).
4) Someone who enjoys when seated higher in the car, because sitting inside polo makes you feel you are driving the lowest height car on road.

Engine bay feels quite empty.


A look from some distance.


No underbody protection as we can clearly see the ground from engine bay, prone to underbody damage from stones etc.


ECM Made in Romania.


Sturdy release-lever for the Bonnet.


Made in Hungary.


The Official New combined name of both brands in India.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Rajeevraj]

Nice review. Thanks for sharing. Did not realise that you could buy the Polo at 6 Lakhs on road.

Kudos for being very crisp and clear in your requirements and sticking to them. Most people will get tempted by jazzy features and would end up pushing up the budget significantly( I have been guilty of doing this) or compromise some of the initial requirements to get some of these features.

Have you fixed a Head Unit or narrowed down on options for the same?

Wish you many happy miles of ownership.

[M.Dua]

Congratulations for you Shopping, I am glad you were more decisive than confused for the Polo contrary to many who get confused with the maintenance of the car.

Did you buy any extended warranty/service package with the car? if yes, at what price & period. If no, why not?

I was in the same boat to buy this segment car last year but we opted for the Glanza CVT over the Polo GT since the service cost and ownership reviews were a scare for the DSG gearbox and i am already maintaining a Swedish car, so decided otherwise but every time i see a GT on road i curse myself for not taking the plunge

[shashi792]

Congratulation on your purchase. It's indeed a keeper car with this new 1.0 engine. Like @Rajeevraj mentioned, I also did not know that you could get a nice hatch for 6L on-road.

You can take some inspirations from Gannu's posts on modding a Polo.

Happy motoring.

[RockingHorse]

Congratulations on your new car.
Any particular reasons you did not go for Tata altroz? I would think it would have met your safety criteria and also is a more spacious a car? By the way, Polo still wins the beauty contest in my opinion.

[cryptarchy]

I bought Polo 1.0 mpi for very similar reasons because of real features like reach adjustable steering, rear wiper, adjustable headrest, 4 star safety rating etc. that no other car in that budget provided.

[Carpainter]

Congratulations for your new drive.

Reading your post reminds me of my good old days when I got my red Polo 1.2 comfortline 10 years ago. Frankly speaking I still miss that car. Polo is probably still the best hatchback to drive in its segment. Although I have never driven the 1.0Mpi Polo, but my car used to feel a little underpowered specially with the AC on. The engine note was kinda sporty to be honest for a 3 cylinder engine. The best part was its ride and handling. Polo feels rock solid and stable at high speed and you can carry some speed into corners and still feel planted. It was breeze to drive though not a pocket rocket. Since you're a relaxed driver I'm sure you'll enjoy driving it. Wishing you many happy miles.

[Asif 6959]

Congratulations on your new steed.
Very well written and more so the understanding of your requirements in making the purchase decision. I myself am struggling to do this for the past year or so.

Incase you are planning to make some upgrades please refer to the below Youtube channel who has done some tasteful mods to his Polo MPI.

https://www.youtube.com/user/PRADEEP9732

[eyeman]

Congratulations on your new purchase. We have a POLO GT TSI in our family for the past five years, and after nearly 90000 kms, I can confidently say that you are very unlikely to regret your decision in buying one. I agree with all your views in favor of the POLO. It is a real keeper, that car. Wishing you many many smiles of happy motoring!

[AYP]

Congrats on the new buy! I came close to plonking my money on the Ameo TDi Trendline back in 2017.

A VW has its own typical strengths which is difficult to get on other mass market cars.

[McLaren Rulez]

Congrats on the Polo! I was also very tempted by the Trendline back in 2015 but it came without ABS back then so I had to drop it. That's now been fixed by VW making it tremendous value for money! It's a rare case when head and heart both end up in the same place

[hridaygandhi]

What a surprise it was to find that you can still buy a Polo under 6L. I have always admired the Polo and have considered quite a few times in terms of a lateral upgrade from my Honda Jazz.

It is nice to know you were very clear with what you wanted and choosing an option which ticked the boxes you wanted. With flashy features from other cars (which often compromise on the fundamentals), it is easy to get carried away.

Wishing you many happy miles ahead. Congratulations.

[dreamliner17]

Congrats on your new Polo!

What I appreciate the most, is the way you have reasoned all the pros and cons in a very pragmatic way. At a time when most buyers would simply go with the top models without really looking at their requirements, you have targeted the car vis-a-vis your requirements clearly. Wishing you the very best!