2010 Volkswagen Polo

 A pair of three-cylinder engines – a 1.2 petrol and a 1.2 turbo-diesel (coming only in May) – power the Polo. A 1.6 four-cylinder petrol is also expected later in the year. The 1.2 petrol is based on the same three-pot motor that powers the Fabia but it’s been substantially upgraded (see box) to develop more power and torque. This three-cylinder motor now produces 74bhp and 11.2kgm of torque, which on paper are quite modest. However, the petrol Polo surprised us with its driveability and refinement. It’s still not a smooth as a four-cylinder motor and you can feel it rock on its mounts during idle but it’s not really obtrusive. Increase the revs and the engine instantly smoothens out and as long as you don’t rev it hard, this motor is pretty silent too. Unlike the Fabia’s motor which has a very weak bottom end , there is no hesitation or tendency to stall at slow speeds and the engine pulls cleanly from even low speeds. As in the Fabia, the midrange is the engine’s strongest bit and now it’s more responsive and slightly punchier too. If the revs drop too low, the Polo gets lethargic and a downshift is useful to get a move on but that’s not a bad thing. The light, crisp and short-throw gearbox has the best shift quality of any hatchback.

The 0-100kph time of 16.5 seconds suggests that performance is at best modest and on the highway you feel the need for more power, especially with a full load of passengers and
the entire luggage the Polo’s big boot can swallow. Overtaking isn’t effortless but the Polo does the job. It’s just that we have come to expect more pep from today’s premium hatchbacks. While the petrol motor is a derivative of the Fabia’s motor, the 1.2 common-rail three-cylinder diesel is brand new and in fact makes its global debut in the Indian Polo. This new diesel hails from the same family of engines as the 1.6 common-rail diesel but with a cylinder lopped off. Again, it’s fairly quiet when it’s not revved too hard but it can’t match the refinement or performance of the four-cylinder motors from Fiat and Ford. The diesel Polo is a pretty relaxed cruiser but under load it’s quite audible and at times you do feel VW could have done a better job of insulation. But the big issue with this motor is the severe turbo-lag it suffers from – it goes completely off boost below 2000rpm and it takes forever for the turbo to spool up. This problem is exacerbated on twisty uphill roads, where you need to work hard to make sure you are in the right gear all the time. As a result it’s best not to allow the revs to drop substantially and employ a press-on-driving style. However, once you cross 2000rpm, then whoosh, the turbo kicks in strong and fast. The mid-range is strong and the diesel Polo shoots forward quite convincingly when in the right part of the powerband. Once on the boil, the motor provides adequate thrust spinning all the way to 5200rpm. The enthusiasm to rev does wane after 4500rpm and so flat-out acceleration again is not very impressive with a 0-100kph time of 17.6sec only faster than the Fiat Grande Punto. The fact is that both engines deliver only average performance and enthusiasts will have to wait for the 1.6 petrol.