[fluidicjoy]

Originally Posted by SailingSaint

Hello Fluidicjoy,
I have few doubts here. Could you please clarify the below:

1. The 5Q0 sensors and 5Q0 module you mentioned, are these Mqb platform?

2. And the 26H firmware you're talking, is this tpms module firmware or maxidot cluster firmware?

3. What is the highest/latest maxidot cluster firmware available in PQ platform for the 5Q0 module and sensors to work in polo/vento?

Thanks
SailingSaint

• Yes, the 5Q0 module with the 5Q0 firmware works only on the MQB platform.
• The 2H6 is a reference for the TPMS module firmware from a VW Amarok. I wouldn't recommend considering this firmware at all for reasons explained in my previous post.
• 5Q0 module will not work with the PQ platform MaxiDot Cluster. There's no reason to use this firmware if you intend to use on PQ. You can use a 5Q0 module and flash it to 3AA firmware if you do not find a native 3AA TPMS module.
• To the best of my knowledge, the most stable Maxidot cluster firmware on the last lot of Maxidot clusters shipping in from China is 0805. 3AA TPMS works flawlessly on this firmware.

My highly feature rich Discover Media head-unit (Review: Driving home our Sunset Red VW Polo Highline+ TSI Automatic) was also affected by the infamous Digitizer failure seen commonly on many Jettas and other vehicles world-wide with a similar Composition Media, Discover Media head-unit. After a point, it turned into a nuisance with the following symptoms.

The symptoms were as follows:-

• Extreme right corner not working.
• Ghost touches and random calling.

Due to these reasons, I decided to have my Discover Media display repaired, and had it done by Nikhil (N2Autotech) from The Mechanix Automotive.





I bought this replacement display panel about 3 years ago from Aliexpress, and it was close to 15-18k. Fortunately, recently prices have gone down for this spare display unit. An alternative is to only change the digitizer, and this is quite an inexpensive part (2k) but it needs an expert technician to handle this repair. The task was completely within a few hours, and the Screen now works flawlessly. Nikhil was kind enough to even take a few nice pictures of the Polo, since I was missing her.











I must say, the Sunset Red color is just splendid, and even 4 years later, I must say the Polo is a looker

[SailingSaint]

Originally Posted by fluidicjoy

• To the best of my knowledge, the most stable Maxidot cluster firmware on the last lot of Maxidot clusters shipping in from China is 0805. 3AA TPMS works flawlessly on this firmware.

Hello fluidicjoy,

Thanks for your time and clarifying my queries.
0805 firmware you're saying is for petrol maxidot right?

Any thoughts on the latest firmware available for diesel maxidot cluster in pq25? I own a vento tdi
Thanks
SailingSaint

[autoliebe]

Originally Posted by fluidicjoy

Here's a closer look at the Petrol Stone Guard just before it was fitted on the vehicle. Notice the silver coloured thermal insulated region near the exhaust cut-out.

A very detailed yet precise post on the subject, Fluidicjoy! Following up on a quiet an old thread here
Can you share if it could be a straight fit in Skoda Rapid 1.0 TSI AT? I guess it could be and part number would be the same for Skoda as well.

[fluidicjoy]

Originally Posted by autoliebe

A very detailed yet precise post on the subject, Fluidicjoy! Following up on a quiet an old thread here
Can you share if it could be a straight fit in Skoda Rapid 1.0 TSI AT? I guess it could be and part number would be the same for Skoda as well.

Hi autoliebe! It might just fit, but I'm not very sure of the chassis differences between the Polo/Vento and the Rapid. If you ever get a chance, I would suggest you put your car on a workshop ramp and identify if the chassis has provisions to have the same kit fitted

Originally Posted by SailingSaint

Hello fluidicjoy,

Thanks for your time and clarifying my queries.
0805 firmware you're saying is for petrol maxidot right?

Any thoughts on the latest firmware available for diesel maxidot cluster in pq25? I own a vento tdi
Thanks
SailingSaint

Yes, 0805 refers to the Petrol Maxidot cluster. If you own a Diesel Maxidot, it's probably a retrofit cluster with firmware from either a Toledo or a Amarok? Firmwares >1000 are available for these Diesel Maxidot cars, but there might always be a tiny bit of circumferential, odometer error unless the EEPROM and firmware is a perfect edit.

[fluidicjoy]

The seats on the last lot of the Polo sold in India were pretty terrible, especially the ones on the Highline+ TSI AT. The foam was very average, and I was noticing some lower back pain due to inadequate support from the seats. I was exploring options to make them comfier, but something else was on the horizon.

Thanks to my friend Prerak, I got the itch of retrofitting Superb electric seats in the Polo. I must say, it is his efforts that made the Polo electric seat retrofit a very popular affair in the Indian market. These seats were lying idle at scrapyards for years, but thanks to his videos, they started flying off the shelf and became very much in demand. Additionally, he spent a lot of time refining the fit and finish of this retrofit, and even fabricated reliable mountings for installing these seats in the Polo Vento PQ25 platform. I'll leave a link to his video in the end.

He was kind enough to find me a pair of decent seats in Chandigarh from a scrap parts dealer and had them shipped to me. All of this happened while I was in the US, and he sent the seats to The Mechanix Automotive, where I'd usually work on cars. The seats reached before I landed in India, and were shipped by truck from Chandigarh.



The head-rests were shipped to me at home, and I put them on the living room for a while.



We spent quite some time to refurbish the seats, including repairing corroded wiring contacts, soldering broken wires. Everything was being done properly, since it was a retrofit that would stay in for a long time.







Seat Plates
The Polo and Vento platform have smaller seat-rails compared to the PQ35 Jetta, Laura and the elder sibling Superb. So the Superb seats weren't a straight mechanical swap in the Polo and might have either needed drilling in the chassis, or some mechanical fixtures to install in the Polo. Prerak spent a lot of time to perfect these Seat plates and sent me a set of these adapters. I highly recommend buying these adapters from him if you want to do a similar project. In fact, Prerak had flown in to help me install these seats. That was when I got to meet him in person for the first time, but more on that later.









Huge shoutout to Prerak, and Mohseef, Hrithik from The Mechanix Automotive for being a great help for the summer projects we performed on the Polo.



I couldn't have completed a lot of the planned tasks without their enthusiasm. Today, both of them help run the show at The Mechanix Automotive, where they tune, build and maintain a lot of fancy cars. Here's a look at the bottom-side of the stock-seats. The last lot of the Polo had seat contact detection sensors on the Passenger side, a very nice addition.



However, once everything was put back in, we realized there was something wrong with the back-rest motor on the passenger side, and so I decided to revert back to my stock seats, until I figured out the issue. So eventually, the electric seats were brought home for some more exploration, and little did I know that they'd spend the entire summer at home, with nobody sitting on them.





Eventually, I decided to cut my loses and sold the seats at a small loss, but on the flip-side, the seats are in Hrithik's Vento, so I'm glad they finally found a home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z9Y...BTZWF0cw%3D%3D

[fluidicjoy]

I had installed OEM Bi-xenon headlights in our Polo, and I already have a dedicated post with information to all the parts and headlights modules. Here (Review: Driving home our Sunset Red VW Polo Highline+ TSI Automatic) it is. However that time, in the interest of time, I had not wired these as optimally as they should be. The short-cut method ensured full-functionality, but was not BCM controlled. With a BCM Max, the Bi-xenons can unlock a whole new level of functionality.

For OEM Bi-Xenon wiring, the first task was to shift the Cornering Fog-lights to the Bi-Xenon headlight assembly, and to wire the standard Fog-lights as Fog-lights which would be controlled by the switch.



Since a new wiring loom had to be created for this independent fog-light, I thoroughly tested the wiring and had it wired to a standalone fuse in the fusebox.





Next, the Bi-xenon headlights were wired to the proper T10 to T14 adapter, with inputs to the BCM for controlling the DRLs and cornering lights. Again, Prerak and Hrithik helped me wire in the last few connections to the BCM since they were a lot more flexible than I was back then







AFS Wiring Connector
A new AFS module was being installed, and the location was decided to be behind the passenger glovebox. The module latches onto such a bracket.





The T32 connector was assembled to connect the AFS Module.



The AFS sensor sits on the rear axle, and the wire passes under the rear seat bench. Naturally, the wiring plug is weatherproof and has a rubber boot.





This is the existing brake tubing, which will see a small update when the rear-axle sensor is installed.



Till the AFS module is calibrated and connected properly, I was greeted by this error. Moreover, the LED Headlight module does not work with the Bi-Xenon headlight, this was a new discovery.



Nevertheless, the Bi-Xenon headlights worked better than ever, and AFS was another few days away

Final results:-



Attachment 2710725

[fluidicjoy]

This is where I last left the Polo AFS project, and in this post, I'll share my experiences as I completed the task.

AFS Module

I purchased the latest module available 357C, only to realize it wasn't compatible with the Bi-Xenon headlights. I tried a lot to flash it, but realized I wouldn't be able to seek the proper parameter. To save myself the time and pain, I purchased the appropriate Polo 6R module.





AFS Sensor Mounting

Here is what the AFS Axle sensor looks like when bolted onto the bracket holder.





I took my car to VW BU Bhandari Pune, where a close family friend of ours was in-charge of the body-shop. Mr. Atul Deodhar, has helped me time and again for the numerous Polo and Tiguan projects I've done. Sadly, he is no more, and now the place doesn't feel the same anymore. When he was around, nobody dared to mess with our car. No up-selling, since he was always involved and alert about the tasks at hand. Whenever I go to BU Bhandari, I find the cars in the body-shop fascinating. All of them seem to have held their own in serious accidents.





To retrofit the AFS, this tiny bracket needs to be welded onto the rear axle. If you do not do this, you need to buy the entire rear-axle with disc brake ears, but I didn't want to go through the ordeal of doing rear-brakes, and so my friend Prerak came to the rescue and sent me this bracket from a Polo's dead-axle.



This is the stock Polo 6R brake-tube and holder. Notice the dangling, taped AFS socket I had left during the wiring endeavors from last time.





The welded ear helped me easily mount the AFS sensor onto the rear axle.



Specific bolts were ordered to complete the install.





Brake Bleeding



Since the brake line has to be temporarily disconnected to remove the brake holder, the brakes had to be bled. I was assigned a master technician, Sudarshan Johri, to complete this task. He was impressed to see all the changes done to the car. The brake bleeding task at the dealership is quite precise, and the pedal feel is always spot-on after their pressure bleed.









Testing AFS

Once I got home, I tested the AFS system on my wall, and re-adjusted the headlights manually at 25 feet, to ensure a proper cut-off and no glare to incoming traffic.







This concludes the AFS retrofit, and now the OEM Bi-Xenon system is truly complete! Leaving this post with a shot from BU Bhandari's porch, with a lot of Polos.

[fluidicjoy]

Polo 6R Vanity Lamps
This was something I wanted to do for a couple of reasons, the stronger one being that the Jetta had it, and the second one being it would sit well with my mother, sister and girlfriend who'd find it useful

I procured sun-visors with sliding mirrors and contact switches, and prepared the wiring which would be tapped from the W8 cabin light. Everything was bench-tested, but I didn't have the heart to cut open the head-liner, and this soon became an incomplete retrofit.





Bonnet Contact Switch
Before I left for US, my friend Sheethal gifted me this contact switch, but alas, I couldn't install it. It would have been sweet, since it shows up on the Maxidot cluster.



PQ25 Kessy Retrofit

This was another exciting feature which became popular in India, and it seemed to work really well. So I bit the bullet and procured a PQ25 KESSY kit. A retrofit that seemed to level-up the capabilities of the Polo, but had its share of complications.





It used a few aftermarket modules, and needed some wire changes, which would need huge wire cutting around the ignition switch, along with proper adaption of a few used tools, like the ELV.









For a car that needs to be reliable for daily driving, I decided to pause this retrofit, and never ended up fully installing it. All I did, was lay in the wiring. and recently, I had it taken out, so I could give it to a friend, who will surely install it.



Polo In Pieces
In my 4 years owning this car, I've seen these visuals way too many times. Seats taken out, trims opened up, radio not on the dashboard, steering not in place, airbags on the seat and so on. Each time, it feels like a struggle, but once everything is put back, you can't even tell it was all taken out, because the Polo is so brilliantly engineered that it all fits in like a puzzle.







Making Wirings, Catching Feelings



I've made plenty of retrofit wirings from scratch for this car, and they've all taught me so much about VW cars.



Definitely an experience of a life-time for me. It is sheerly because of these beautiful experiences, modifying this car, that I've felt a stronger connect with this brand, not to forget, the brilliant driving experience, and the grunt from this 1.0 TSI! I've no regrets for wanting to push the PQ25 platform to its limits, and even though I couldn't do everything I once sought to, looking back, I've actually done quite a lot of stuff, and this thread will be a testimony to those milestones that I can look back onto.

[fluidicjoy]

Here are some of the different windshield washer fluid cap options all in one place. Initially, I was super excited by the funnel-like Skoda windshield fluid cap, and I bought way too many of these, to distribute to my friends, but considering how finicky it felt like, I switched back to the strong and sturdy Audi one, and didn't end up distributing them either. Not all that glitters is gold

https://youtu.be/RXtLDcGyanM

[fluidicjoy]

A few weeks before I left Pune, I took out the Polo for a spin and drove towards Wakad, the parts of town with nicer roads (ahem highways). I remembered Arundev Acharya, the YouTuber I had met many years ago and thought I'd stop by his garage. He was fortunately in, and thrilled to see the Polo and all the upgrades made to it. I am attaching his video and channel link for curious viewers. He loves to work on VW group cars and has a good knack for diagnosing complex issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4RaCrVaK1o&t=1002s

Audi Gear-Knob



Another item that falls in the things I did not install list. This time, I misplaced one of the springs on the gear-lever and accidentally pressed down on the lever, causing the knob to be stuck!

Little Trees


I finally tried out the Little Trees car-fragrance. Quite an interesting car accessory, that I did not use right the first time. It came in a plastic bag with the instructions, "Cut open slightly and adjust the cut to adjust the fragrance." However, the scent itself was nice and there are quite a few interesting fragrances to choose from. Definitely a contrast from the typical "Ambi-Pur" that I had used before.

Turtle-Wax Rain Repellent
I saw a reel from Sirish Chandran (Evo India) where he showcased the TurtleWax Rain Repellent. I ordered it from Amazon, for close to Rs. 300, and I continue to use it even today. The application requires you to apply it to the glass, let the chemical form a haze, and then have it wiped down again. The end result is a very cool rain-beading on the windshield, and an added plus is that the rain-drops fly away when driving over 40km/h or so. You can literally drive with the wipers off, since the hydrophobicity of the chemical causes the drops to fly away.





Driving To Khadakwasla


It was always a pleasure driving our Polo to Khadakwasla, where the smooth windy stretches of tarmac delight on early mornings on weekends!











2020 MK8 Steering Wheel
Even before we got the Taigun, Virtus in India, I had ordered this steering assembly from Russia, but never got to installing it on the Polo. Laziness trumps the reason why, and this steering is still sitting at home, along with many others.







Many of these wheels look the same from the front-view, but have different button-sets, different modules for steering buttons, wheel contact detection, heating, and also have different air-bag clipping mechanisms. Similar physical button wheels in China have an entirely different airbag. In fact, it is quite difficult to trust steering wheels from China due to the heavy localization, loose quality control and plenty of car-parts sellers selling some of these rejected components at premium prices. This is partly the reason, I preferred to order this wheel from Europe, where the supply chain was a lot more reliable.

Rear-Disc Brake Kit

This is another project I was working on the sides, but there was no real reason to complete it, since the Polo with a Front Big Brake Kit already was a good stopper! However, I still spent time and money to procure a decently used caliper carrier set, along with some seals and mounting parts to install this, if the time arose.

Changing to a rear-disc brake setup in factory way, would require a different rear axle (older Polos in India were offered with a European axle with the Disc Brake mount), different wheel bearings, brake cables and so on.

Visits From The Mechanix Automotive


When I first heard of the Mechanix in 2018 or so, they were in their Aundh-Baner Link road location and by 2021, I'd frequent this place a lot with the Polo and the Jetta. This place is where I met a lot of Polo, Vento, Jetta owners, and could learn more about the performance mods they were working on.





Shortly after, The Mechanix Automotive, grew into a beast, and had to relocate to a much larger location, where they really stepped up their game. Here's a picture of me with Anirudh's steed back then. This fleet keeps changing, and every time I visit, there's a new vehicle they're making headlines with.



Hours Spent Coding, Troubleshooting
Thanks to the numerous retrofits and their complications, I've spent a lot of time with the Polo, diagnosis issues, flashing firmwares in our parking lot. Here's a casual picture of one of my late evening sessions.





BU Bhandari VW Part Runs
Be it heavy rains or sunny days, it was always a pleasure driving the 1.0 TSI hard to get to BU Bhandari VW Wakad, for a parts run!


Farewell Gift From Nikhil

My friend Nikhil gave this to me as a small parting gift when I was leaving for the US for my Masters. A very iconic and thoughtful gift that is very dear to me!



With that, I close my Polo memories till 2023! I have one/few more posts before I conclude my Polo ownership and hand it over!

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by fluidicjoy

I had installed OEM Bi-xenon headlights in our Polo, and I already have a dedicated post with information to all the parts and headlights modules. Here (Review: Driving home our Sunset Red VW Polo Highline+ TSI Automatic) it is. However that time, in the interest of time, I had not wired these as optimally as they should be. The short-cut method ensured full-functionality, but was not BCM controlled. With a BCM Max, the Bi-xenons can unlock a whole new level of functionality.

Its always a "JOY" to go through your threads FJ, and I can spend hours on them. One lucky POLO that is .

Specifically regarding this particular project of getting the OE bi-xenon lamps with AFS installed, what is your overall opinion on the gains? The reason why I ask - I have a Polo GT with dual barrel headlamps, and a Jetta Mk6 with the bi-xenons and AFS pretty much similar to what you have installed.

Now personally - I find the net illumination of the Polo with good LED bulbs far superior to what the Jetta is able to provide, for a very simple reason. With the Polo - I have 2 dedicated pairs of bulbs throwing full power out. Whereas in case of the Jetta bi-xenon - Effectively only PARTIAL light of the bulb is available for use in low-beam, which is just "opened" up for highbeam - in an area where its not necessarily needed for regular driving (higher up). So - the net light output - is actually less in the Jetta, and the AFS doesn't really compensate for it at all considering we can't put higher wattage bulbs in the Jetta either, since they cause CAN errors.

What's your take on this?

[fluidicjoy]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Its always a "JOY" to go through your threads FJ, and I can spend hours on them. One lucky POLO that is .

Specifically regarding this particular project of getting the OE bi-xenon lamps with AFS installed, what is your overall opinion on the gains? The reason why I ask - I have a Polo GT with dual barrel headlamps, and a Jetta Mk6 with the bi-xenons and AFS pretty much similar to what you have installed.

Now personally - I find the net illumination of the Polo with good LED bulbs far superior to what the Jetta is able to provide, for a very simple reason. With the Polo - I have 2 dedicated pairs of bulbs throwing full power out. Whereas in case of the Jetta bi-xenon - Effectively only PARTIAL light of the bulb is available for use in low-beam, which is just "opened" up for highbeam - in an area where its not necessarily needed for regular driving (higher up). So - the net light output - is actually less in the Jetta, and the AFS doesn't really compensate for it at all considering we can't put higher wattage bulbs in the Jetta either, since they cause CAN errors.

What's your take on this?

Thank you for the kind words! On the Polo, I personally found the dual halogen setup to be strictly average, but with a good pair of LED bulbs, the headlights could be a lot more useable. With the Bi-xenons on Polo, there is one Low-Beam Projector with a shutter as you rightly said, which releases the full Xenon blast when the shutter is opened (High-Beam) and you're right, most of it is not in the usable spectrum, since it is higher. Even with some wastage in the high-beam, the low-beam is mighty bright with the Xenon bulb. Definitely more than the stock halogen Polo low-beam bulb.

The second barrel on the Bi-xenon however has a trick up its sleeve. They serve as dynamic cornering lights, which throw light (from any H7 bulb of your choice) into the corners from the headlight itself. Again, AFS is more like a party trick to make the Xenons road legal, and doesn't contribute to keeping the high-beam on the road. Hope this helps!

[autoliebe]

Originally Posted by fluidicjoy

With that, I close my Polo memories till 2023! I have one/few more posts before I conclude my Polo ownership and hand it over!

Shows the kind of bond you have with your Sunset Red Polo. You’ve really loved it and I am sure the car is worth all that.

On a separate note - on my Skoda Rapid TSI 1.0 Ambition I am struggling to get the locking/unlocking sound through the Dual Trumpet Horns installed. It instead comes through the alarm siren which is too meek a sound. Can you suggest / recommend some tweak through VCDS / OBD11? The coder with whom I worked said he has enabled everything and since my vehicle has got BCM 89, it will sound through the alarm only and not horns. I am not able to believe on this. Since you are hands-on with this platform, your word or recommendation would be the final one for me.

Don’t disappoint me

[fluidicjoy]

Vehicle Info

• Polo 1.0 TSI Highline + Automatic (09G Gearbox)
• Distance driven: 14500km or so.
• Standard features as applicable on the Highline + TSI variant + Retrofits

Additional features retrofitted:-

• 8K OPS Park Assist system with optional Auto-Detect OPS module.
• OEM Flip Reverse Camera.
• OEM Maxidot Cluster - displays Direct TPMS, Brake Pad Wear, Washer Fluid Sensor, Audio Info*, Navigation*, Oil Temperature
• OEM BCM Max 7E0 supports Automatic Headlights, TPMS, BlindSpot Monitoring
• OEM Automatic Headlight System
• OEM Bi-Xenon Headlight System with DRL, OEM Dynamic Cornering Lights
• OEM Interior Backlight Dimmer Switch
• OEM AFS Automatic Headlight Range Control
• OEM Direct TPMS System
• OEM Dual Tone Horn - High Tone, Low Tone Horn
• OEM MIB 2 Discover Media Radio with In-built NAV, DVD, Bluetooth etc.
• OEM Sharkin Antenna for Discover Media Radio with GPS, GSM.
• OEM External USB Port for App-Connect in the Glovebox
• OEM A-Pillar Tweeters with Speakers.
• OEM Tiguan Paddle Shifter Steering Wheel with optional Cruise Control module#

Interior Additions

• OEM Frameless Auto-Dimming Rear
• OEM Spring Loaded Grab Handles
• OEM Passat Dome Light with Red Backlight
• OEM LED Boot-Light
• OEM Skoda Ticket Holder
• OEM VW Hazard Triangle
• OEM Polo 6C Gear-shift Knob

Engine Bay, Running Gear Upgrades

• OEM 1.0 TSI Audi Airbox
• OEM 288mm Big Brake Kit with ATE Ceramic Brake Pads
• RacingLine Turbo Inlet Elbow
• EuroSpec Cold Air Intake
• OEM Underbody Stone Guard
• OEM Bonnet Strut

Additional provisions/Wirings

• OEM Blindspot Monitoring System
• OEM Keyless Entry System
• OEM Vanity Mirrors with LED Light
• OEM MK8 Steering Wheel

I am aware, many call this a ridiculous set of feature upgrades on the Polo, and somewhere I agree. It is crazy, to put so much in a Polo. However, I also believe you cannot put a price on passion, and this Polo was purely a passion project of mine! When I look at some of the most advanced Polo 6Rs on the planet, I am humbled because I realize I could only do 50% of the things they've done! Feel free to comb through this thread and many other threads by a few other magicians to learn more about these upgrades.

The goal for me, was to make this as comfortable and technologically advanced as possible, and while I did succeed on some fronts, I started to see the finish line for this platform, in terms of comfort and driving dynamics. The best part of this journey, was that this was quite organic, and whenever something didn’t feel right, we didn’t push harder. Most of the upgrades on this car augment the user experience, but in a purely OEM way.



Here's me preparing to send Prerak (@ThatRed4771) a box of parts for Blindspot monitoring and Keyless Entry, as a belated Christmas gift. I hope to see his videos on these upgrades soon. It feels nice to contribute to the success of a friend's retrofit.

Map Upgrade
I also updated the Maps SD card to the 2024-25 Maps from the VW Maps website. This is an easy process, but file transfer speeds to the SD card still leave a lot to be desired. I even demoed the new map and onboard navigation to the new owner

[fluidicjoy]

Purpose of the thread:
The purpose of writing down and sharing a lot of information on this thread was because I was sincerely inspired by the previous work by Polo owners on this forum. Gannu, Graaja, TheLizardKing and so many others had undoubtedly set the bar very high for the PQ platform cars. I would enjoy learning more about their work and the level of details that they'd share things would make me feel like I was there, even when I didn't even have a Polo.


It was purely this inspiration, that made me want to share most of the work I had done. Here is a collage I made playing around with color temperatures to generate a Polo with 4 different paint codes. Just something I did sheerly out of boredom one Sunday.



I know their writings caused my curiosity to peak, and I learnt so much from their work, that I knew I had to explore further and share my findings. From my threads, I wanted to further inspire the Polo community to continue pushing the boundaries of the Polo platform, and thanks to this thread and the few videos I made, I was able to connect with so many like-minded petrol-heads who loved their Volkswagen. It was humbling to make so many new friends, and have so many people reach out for some help on their cars. The purpose for me, was to encourage people to DIY on their VW cars, and I continue to try and help as and when I can.

Downsides of the thread:
While owner’s being aware is great, this thread, and many others have also led to heavy commercialization of these retrofit parts and knowledge. The knowledge shared here for free was used to make exorbitant amounts of money, and occasionally even deceive people about the quality/origin of parts. Long story short, if you are passionate enough, you can find out all about the retrofit you need from creators all around the world, and the best part is, if you are brave enough, you can DIY!

Acknowledgements
This project car wouldn’t have been complete without the support of my friends in India and around the world. Huge thanks to Nikhil, Shardul, Sheethal, Patil, Sarfraz, Abdul, Sushant, Anirudha, Hrithik, Mohseef, Prerak and many more for their support. A special mention must be made to the greatest Polo owners on the planet like Ciclo, Iichel, Madwarlock, Rofireman and many others on the UKPolo, Drive2 and other international forums for their detailed posts and passionate projects. Do check out their work, it might truly inspire you. If you seek, you shall find! All of their help and support helped me up my skill and led me to complete many retrofits on this platform. I would also like to thank my local dealership BU Bhandari VW and The Mechanix Automotive for supporting many retrofits and helping me source many parts.





Why Did I Let The Polo Go?


The simple reason being I am not in India anymore, and a 3 car setup in a household of 2 drivers, was not proving optimal. I was worried about neglect to the larger horse in the stable, and moving the small pieces on the chessboard seemed to be the only way to make some room on the battlefield.



I contemplated whether selling the Polo was a good move many times, but my father told me we should probably part ways with it so it would be driven new places by someone else. The same happened with our Jetta, although, after 13 beautiful years with it!

The Polo being a low slung car, it was becoming a tiny bit tough to enter and exit for my parents who were starting to experience some lower back issues. The car being a comfortable 2 seater, an occasional average 3-4 seater was also not helping matters, when the Grand i10 back home seats 5 guests a lot more comfortably, while being supple and comfortable for Pune's terrible roads.



That being said, the boot was genuinely usable.



What I Will Miss?
Despite the localization and a slight reduction in quality compared to the first lot of Polos, I will still miss the thud of the doors, the loud horn, the feel of the steering! I will undoubtedly miss the ride quality, which was iconically not a boat like the i10, but not as firm as the Jettas, and of course the engine! Hands down one of the most fun turbo engines under 10L rupees right now! Even if you were to buy this preowned, the 1.0 TSI is a champ, in either manual or auto. The torque converter is fun and loves to roar on the highways, but it is a let-down if you spend 90% of your time in the city.



It’s smoother to up-shift, but clunkier in D3-D2, something which never improved for me. It’s a gearbox meant for cruising for sure, but our driving pattern never involved too much of highway driving.





The Polo, was a car which never let me down on the road. The sheer stance and the grace of this car always commanded respect on the road. I have always experienced the differential treatment I've received from autos and bikes when I've been in the Polo compared to the Grand i10, when many roadsters would try to take chances. However, even on the free-ways, many smaller cars made way for the roaring Polo 1.0 TSI. It sure had a personality, like no other!





The 1.0 TSI turbo has a lag, that annoyed me on speed breakers, but it was still so quick to pick up the pace once you got used to that. The grunt of this engine is something I'll dearly miss, but I won't miss the occasional 3 cylinder thrum while pottering around town.



I will also miss the beautiful road-presence of this car, especially the unique Sunset Red color, which looked beautiful on Pune's iconic streets. Here's a picture along SNDT, Canal Road, where there used to be a Kalyan Bhel outlet.



Letting Go


The day you have to let go of your favorite project car, is undoubtedly a painful one. With a heavy heart, I wish to share that we sold our Polo to a fellow BHPian (very much loved on the forum) who is also a family friend of ours. I hope to continue to live the Polo life vicariously through his ownership threads, and I will be rooting for the Polo under his family ownership. Since he also stays closely, fortunately, that also means I will get to see the car every once in a while.



There’s still so much I have to share, in the form of photos and videos, and I’d love to go on, but I need to draw the line somewhere and maybe now its finally time to move on, to maybe something with double the cylinders. It’s time to let the new owner, continue the thread, wishing him happy and safe miles on this feature packed 1.0 TSI Polo. Hopefully, completing this thread pushes me to start revising the draft of my next car (spoiler, has been another incredible learning curve).



With a beautiful sunset I saw with Nikhil at The Mechanix Automotive, the sun sets for my ownership with our Sunset Red Polo!