A well built car. Review on Volkswagen Polo

I own a Polo Comfortline 1.2 Petrol for a year and half now. The journey of 20, 000km thus far has been great, with its ups and downs, however, Volkswagen has been up to the mark to support its customers!

I live in Pune and as any other city in India, the traffic is getting worse! I am a sedate driver and hence the Polo has been more than grateful to return a modest mileage.

What I liked about the Polo:

1) Build Quality: Unlike my old Alto, the Polo hasn't aged that bad. in fact it has no issues with its build quality! It has been simply superb! No rattles, except a minor squeaky sound from the air vent, which however is not persistent and isn't nagging either. The suspensions soak in the tarmac(if any) properly and ensure the drive is comfortable.

2) Mileage: I drive my Polo very gently, which translates in a fuel economy of approx 14kmpl in a city like Pune with a/c. I guess, that's decent if now good! I am happy with it!

3) After Sales Service: I must say, B.U. Bhandari Volkswagen, Pune, has been living up to its reputation when it comes to service.

I must highlight that 3 months after my 1st annual service, I was alarmed to see the'Engine Malfunction' lamp on my dashboard!

I immediately contacted the helpline and they informed me about my Road Side assistance package, all explanation provided and even guided me over to the nearest showroom.

The workshop, well, the engineer who had worked on my car was helpful again and apologetic too. He immediately attended my car and also gave me a realistic time line to fix the car, which was about 2-3 hours.

As promised, car was handed to me within that time period and the issue has not occurred since.

Dislikes:

1) Rear Seats: Now, this isn't personal, however, may vary as per each user. However, my family members do complain about the lack of lumbar support on the Polo's rear passenger seats on long drives! I haven't been able to spend as much time on the passenger seats as I enjoy the drivers seat with seat-height adjust and recline options!

2) Lack of a dead pedal: On long drives, I have sorely missed the dead pedal. however, it isn't as bad and one can live without it.

3) The spare wheel: Volkwagen please make a note! Placing the wheel upside down causes inconvenience while re-filling/checking tyre pressure of the spare wheel! I have been given a mouthful by the local tyre refill vendor(Or Volkswagen in this case) on how time-consuming it is to check air pressure and re-fit the wheel back in its place and then place the tool-kit over it!

something must be done!

4) Engine Sound(Noise) while in cabin: To some enthusiasts like me, I like the grunt the Polo petrol makes even at 2000-3000rpm. I personally love it! Other's have often asked if my Polo has a diesel mill under the hood? And when I answered, "No, its a petrol", they were zapped at the sound level inside the cabin with all windows rolled up!

Some of you may find that annoying. but you'll love it eventually!;)

5) Wheels: It comes with Apollo's. however, I ain't a fan of these wheels. they tend to shed rubber from the edges and despite no pulling of veering or any alignment issues, I still find a weak tyre which cannot hold on to its stipulated tyre pressure, resulting in frequent visits to the "hawa wala"!:-/

My Comfortline also didn't come with Alloys, so I guess, my next major investment would be to upgrade its wheels to alloys!

This concludes my review! Do buy the Polo. especially the 250Nm version which must be a whacker to drive!

Regards,

Siddharth.