It looks like Volkswagen’s facelifted Polo hatchback is all set to hit showrooms, going by this completely undisguised car that we’ve managed to get a few photographs of.
What does this car tell us about the updated Polo? The most obvious is this striking new orange paint shade and the new design for the alloy wheels, but the bigger news is that not all the changes from the international model have made it to the Indian car. Let’s take a closer look.
For starters, let’s look at what changes have been made. There’s a new design for the headlamps, which still feature a black housing for the reflectors, but now come with attractive matte silver detailing as well. However, they are missing the LED daytime-running lights of the global car, which would have been quite a hit with Indian customers; the indicators in the wing mirrors are absent as well. The grille now just gets one bar of chrome, rather than three, but the front bumper is all new, featuring a larger black air dam with a thick band of chrome running through it, encasing the new foglamps. This brings it closer in line to larger and more recent VW global offerings like the Golf hatchback. The sides of the car are virtually unchanged, and at the rear, there is a slightly more sculpted bumper and slightly different detailing in the tail-lamps.
It’s a similar story on the inside of the facelifted VW Polo. The matte silver finish on the centre console does give the dashboard a bit more character, and the brand new steering wheel with its piano black detailing looks far more premium than the current unit. The new button layout on the wheel also seems to offer more functionality. However, these seem to be all the changes that have made it to India. The gearlever is the same one used on the current car and the audio system appears unchanged as well. However, a very noticeable omission is the global car’s new instrument cluster. The same, rather plain flat dials of the current return, instead of the fantastic looking 3D-effect dials in their chrome hooded binnacle, as seen on the global car.
Of course, the biggest change for India in the facelifted VW Polo will be under the hood. While this car is the base 1.2 petrol version, and the 1.2 TSI turbo-petrol is also likely to return, the diesel engine will be all-new. The newly developed 1.5-litre TDI engine will be available in two states of tune – 89bhp and 104bhp – with the latter reserved for the Polo GT TDI model.
With the Polo facelift doing its rounds in seemingly showroom-spec with zero camouflage, it can’t be too long before it arrives at a VW dealership near you.