Volkswagen Polo Review & Prices

Much like a designer sofa, the Volkswagen Polo takes an everyday item and puts a posh spin on it. It’s comfortable and has a bit more pedigree than its alternatives; while other small hatchbacks are more fun to drive, the Polo is the one you’d rather be seen in.

Not that it’s the best of the bunch, because there are plenty of great hatchbacks on sale such as the Renault Clio and Peugeot 208, or electric and hybrid alternatives such as the Renault 5 and Toyota Yaris.

It’s a smart looking thing, if not particularly exciting. There are loads of sharp lines around the small hatchback, with funky creases running down the Polo’s flanks, and intricately detailed LED lights on the front and back. It’s definitely more stately than sporty, and there’s more than a whiff of ‘honey I shrunk the Volkswagen Golf’ about it.

Though when you sit inside, it feels anything but small. It’s more spacious than a lot of cars this size, with a wide dashboard and a glossy trim that wraps around onto the door cards. Material quality is high, with loads of soft-touch plastics and only a few scratchier surfaces lower down in the cabin. Unfortunately it is a little dour inside, as the only colours you can choose from are black and dark grey. Boo.

The Polo is easy to get comfortable in thanks to its highly adjustable front seats and steering wheel. There’s plenty of space in the back with enough headroom and legroom for rear passengers to remain comfortable on long drives - no mean feat in a small hatchback.

You get a good amount of standard kit in the Volkswagen Polo, such as a swish digital driver display and an Apple CarPlay/Android Auto-enabled touchscreen infotainment screen in the dashboard. The lack of physical shortcut buttons means it can be a pain to use on the move though, and its glossy screen is a magnet for finger prints.

There are no diesel options available for the Polo, just a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine with a few different power outputs. The entry level 80hp model is fine for pottering around town, but you’ll want the 95hp or 115hp version if you regularly travel on the motorway or on country lanes.

Regardless of which engine you chose, the Polo is a comfortable car in town. It does a great job of absorbing lumps and bumps in the road, but its soft suspension means it doesn’t feel particularly agile on a country lane. Motorways are a breeze too, but it’s a shame you can only have a manual model with a five-speed gearbox as you do get a bit more engine noise and a bit less efficiency than you would with an extra gear.

If B-road bashing is important to you then the Volkswagen Polo GTI (which we’ve reviewed separately) might be the best choice, with a much more powerful 2.0-litre turbocharged engine and stiffer, sportier suspension.

Have a look at Volkswagen Polo deals on Carwow, or Polo lease deals for an alternative way to get behind the wheel of this posh little hatchback. You can also check out used Volkswagen Polos from our trusted dealer network, as well as other used Volkswagens if you’re open to a bigger car. When it’s time to change, Carwow can even help you sell your current car.

The Volkswagen Polo is slightly more expensive than its Seat Ibiza and Skoda Fabia relatives and a chunk cheaper than a Renault Clio. That being said, with its soft touch plastics and leather trims, it definitely feels more premium than the Ibiza and Fabia. Although you get some great features as standard, you can only get the Ascot Grey paint, so you’ll have to pay more for other colours. Unless you go for the GTI, the Polo comes with a three-cylinder 1.0-litre petrol, so it's economical on fuel, and reasonable to insure and tax.

The Volkswagen Polo is a breeze to drive around town and reasonably quiet on the motorway but you couldn’t call it exciting and its entry-level petrol engine is weedy

In town

The Volkswagen Polo is easy to drive around town thanks to its light steering and good visibility. The relatively slim pillars don’t block your view out at junctions and its large rear windscreen helps make parking a doddle, too. There aren’t many small cars out there that are comfier on the road than the Polo. It won’t jostle you over lumps and bumps like some of its alternatives will.

Even in models with larger alloy wheels you won’t be shaken too much by monster potholes and it doesn’t lean excessively in tight corners either. The seven-speed automatic gearbox can be a little jerky at lower speeds so isn’t ideal for parking. Speaking of which, there are plenty of driver assistance options, including parking assist. So even if you’re prone to parallel parking anxiety, you’ll soon find it a breeze.

On the motorway

At motorway speeds, the Polo does a good job of muting both wind and tyre noise and it feels impressively stable for a small car. The mid and top-range engines have good punch so are good for overtaking on the motorway, although you’ll struggle with the entry level non-turbo petrol.

The five-speed manual gearbox is rather frustrating on the motorway as it could definitely do with an extra gear. Unfortunately a six-speed manual isn’t available, but a seven-speed automatic gearbox is. All models include cruise control though, and you can even upgrade to adaptive cruise control for easier motorway miles.

On a twisty road

It may not be as fun to drive as a Toyota Yaris, but the Polo’s stable nature does mean you’ll feel confident on twisty roads. Sports suspension is available as an option, but it’s rather unnecessary and you might as well go for the Polo GTI.

The standard Polo definitely doesn’t feel sporty. However, there is a fair amount of feedback through the wheel, and the brake pedal is not too sensitive.

You can only choose a petrol engine for your Volkswagen Polo. There’s a choice of 1.0-litre three-cylinder motors, of which our pick is the higher-powered, turbocharged 95hp unit. The manual gearbox is precise and feels solid, it’s just a shame you can only choose a five-speed unit. Overall though, the Polo definitely feels competent and easy to drive.

It might look small on the outside, but the Volkswagen Polo is impressively roomy on the inside. The boot’s very spacious too, but you’ll still have to remove a bike’s front wheel before it’ll fit

The latest Volkswagen Polo is much more spacious inside than the old model. It’s so spacious in fact that it runs the larger Volkswagen Golf very close in terms of outright roominess.

There’s loads of space in the front and plenty of adjustment to help you get comfy, even if you’re tall. All the controls are within easy reach and it’s dead easy to tweak the steering wheel position to give you a good view of the digital instrument display. Things are just as roomy in the back seats.

You’ll find a pair of cupholders in between the front seats and some well sized door bins, but not much hidden space for odds and sods bar the glovebox.

Space in the back seats

There’s almost as much leg and headroom as in a Golf and far more space than you’ll find in a Vauxhall Corsa or MG 3. Your taller passengers will have no trouble getting comfy and there’s enough space under the seats in front for them to tuck their feet under, too.

The Volkswagen Polo is one of the best small family cars for carrying three abreast. It’s still a little cosy with three adults on board but the central seat’s reasonably wide and there’s only a small lump in the floor to get in the way of your middle passenger’s feet and it’s a breeze to fit a child seat using the standard ISOFIX anchor points. These anchors are clearly marked but you’ll have to be careful not to lose their removable plastic covers.

Boot space

Luggage space is very competitive too. At 351 litres, the Polo’s boot is larger than the one you’ll get in a Toyota Yaris (286 litres), an MG 3 (up to 291 litres) and a Peugeot 208 (311 litres). The Skoda Fabia and Renault Clio have more luggage capacity at 380 and 390 litres respectively, though.

The Polo has a slight boot lip which can get in the way when you’re loading heavy items but its square shape makes it easy to pack full of large boxes. With the rear seats up there’s enough room to carry a baby buggy or two suitcases and there’s a selection of handy tether points and hooks to keep smaller items secure.

All models get a two-way (60:40) split seat, so you can carry as many as two passengers and some long luggage in the boot at once.

With the rear seats folded, the Volkswagen Polo has an almost flat load bay – there’s no annoying step in the floor like in a Vauxhall Corsa. This makes it easy to slide heavy boxes right up behind the front seats. There’s enough space to carry a bike too, but you’ll have to remove one of its wheels first.

The Volkswagen Polo has a smart, upmarket cabin and feels impressively well built for such a small car. It is a little bland though

The Volkswagen Polo interior feels more grown-up than in a lot of small hatchbacks. Almost every surface you’ll regularly touch (and plenty you won’t) comes with a soft squidgy finish and all the controls feel just as solid as the larger (and more expensive) Golf.

Every Volkswagen Polo comes with a touchscreen infotainment display - even the entry-level Life model gets a 6.5-inch unit - nestled neatly in a glossy black bezel on the dashboard. They’re bright and easy to read but don't have any physical shortcut buttons so it’s a little tricky to switch between key features on the move.

They all use a slightly older operating system than what you get in the latest Volkswagens, but it’s still sharp, responsive and easy to use. In fact, we think it’s a bit more intuitive than the newer system you’ll find in the Golf.

All models get a digital driver’s display with a high-resolution screen behind the steering wheel – just like in the Golf. It can display a range of info, from your mpg to a huge sat-nav map. Lower-rung models get an 8.0-inch screen but you can also get a 10.0-inch screen on higher trim levels, which looks very nearly as good as the Virtual Cockpit available in expensive Audis.

As far as gadgets are concerned, the Volkswagen Polo has your bases covered.

It’s much more user friendly than the system in a Renault Clio, but it would benefit from a set of physical buttons rather than the fiddly touch sensitive ones to help you skip between key features without taking your eyes off the road. The entry-level Life model at least gets physical dials for the climate control.

Its menus are sensibly laid out but its glossy screen shows up every last greasy finger mark. Similarly, the glossy plastic bezel around the screen looks nice but scratches easily – not ideal for something you’ll poke and prod regularly.

You get satellite navigation in posher trims, but it’s a £620 option on the lower-spec cars; it has easy-to-follow directions and crisp, clear maps. If you’re not a fan, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring features are standard across the range. These let you use a variety of your phone’s apps (including navigation and music streaming) through the car’s built-in display.

The mid-range 95hp version of the 1.0-litre engine is more efficient than the entry level 80hp engine so it’s worth spending the extra money, but if you mainly drive around town the 80hp option will get you around just fine - if very slowly.

The seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox is slightly less economical than the manual – again it's a bit of shame that a six-speed manual isn’t available as this would be even more efficient on the motorway. The Renault Clio offers a six-speed manual with a 1.0-litre petrol engine, and is more economical to run.

CO2 figures between 117-129g/km mean company car users will pay between 29-31% benefit in kind (BIK) tax on the Polo depending on the engine, so you might want to look at a hybrid or electric alternative instead.

The Polo is one of the safest cars you can buy and gets a full five-star Euro NCAP rating. It offers great protection in the front seats, but like most cars, is slightly worse in the back.

As standard you get a suite of airbags and three ISOFIX child seat mounting points (two in the back and one in the front seat) which is great for added peace of mind when carrying tiny passengers. The Polo also comes with standard-fit lane keep assist and a front crash monitoring system, which contributes to its five-star safety rating.

Typically, the Volkswagen Polo is a reliable car, however there have been some recalls in the past because of faulty seat belt fittings, handbrake levers and towing kits. As much as the Polo feels well built and sturdy, Volkswagen came a lowly 29th out of 32 manufacturers for reliability in the 2024 Driver Power survey.

Volkswagen offers a three-year warranty or up to 60,000 miles, whichever comes first. If you think you’ll go over the mileage, you can always buy an extended warranty for peace of mind. Whilst the Polo is a great car, its warranty can be a little discouraging compared to some alternatives. The Hyundai i20 for example covers up to 100,000 miles or five years, while the Toyota Yaris has a warranty that can be extended up to 10 years or 100,000 miles with yearly main dealer servicing.