Volkswagen plans to launch the all-new sixth generation Polo by the end of this year in Europe. Our Italian magazine partners, Quattroruote, have managed to catch the 2018 Polo doing tests rounds. The best thing about this testing mule is that it was barely camouflaged.
At a glance, you are forgiven for mistaking it with the current Polo, but take a step further and you notice the refreshed headlamps with new LED daytime running lamps and designed front bumpers. The side profile more or less looks the same as the current Polo, though the 2018 avatar is longer. Coming to the rear, the new Polo gets a lot flatter rear windshield and the boot merges into the body, as a result, it isn’t as round as the one we have in India.
Volkswagen has finally ditched the PQ25 platform and have opted for the modular MQB A0 on which Audi A1, Seat Ibiza, Audi A1 and Skoda Fabia are all based. Not only will this help Volkswagen cut costs, but it will also substantially increase car’s dimensions. With the current Polo’s wheelbase 2,469mm, the new Polo would be much longer, but still well within 4-metre as the front and rear overhangs will be shorter. This also means that the 2018 Polo’s cabin would be a lot more spacious, especially for the rear passengers.
Head of the VW brand Herbert Diess had recently said that connectivity is one of his main priorities over the next two years, and the 2018 Polo could get some features integrated to the infotainment screen where you can connect to social media apps without using your smartphones. While the base Polo version will feature smart connectivity features like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. As an optional feature, the new Polo could also offer a 9.5-inch touchscreen display. The higher variants could also get all digital instrument cluster similar to Audi and the new Passat.
Volkswagen will launch an array of new engines internationally starting from the naturally aspirated three-cylinder 1-litre petrol powerplant, which will be tuned in three different modes — 64bhp, 73bhp and 143bhp. There will also be four-cylinder 1.5 TSI and 1.6-litre TDI. All these engines will be mated with a five or six-speed manual transmission or a seven-speed DSG automatic.
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