Volkswagen Polo Facelift vs Old Polo – What’s The Difference?

The changes are very subtle and you might even miss the Volkswagen Polo facelift for the older one. We thought we could make it easier for you to identify.

Volkswagen launched the facelifted Polo and Vento in India yesterday. And while its just a facelift, Volkswagen is still holding up the launch of the next-gen Polo and Vento available in the international markets in India. However, talking about the facelift itself, it will take a trained eye to really spot the differences. Chances are you might just mistake the new one for the old one as the differences are really that subtle. But we will make it easier for you as here we have compiled all that’s new about the new Volkswagen Polo facelift.

Exterior Design
The Volkswagen Polo facelift gets a new gloss-black honeycomb grille with a chrome strip and new bumpers with new fog lamps that have been inspired from the Polo GTI. That was the most easy to spot new feature. Others are way to subtle. The Polo facelift also gets new LED tail lamps and a diffuser at the rear that has also been inspired from the GTI.

The new Polo gets additional black side skirts on the front and the sides along with a new Sunset Red paint option. The top-spec GT-Line (basically the GT TSI and GT TDI) gets some additional visual drama in the form of GT-Line decals and GT-Line badge on the fender along with blacked out ORVMs and roof. There’s also a new wheel design finished in gun-metal grey.

Interiors
Well, there’s absolutely no change here. None. The interiors of the Polo have started showing their age a little but we will say it still has aged well. Fit and finish and quality of materials still remains top-notch. So that kind off compensates for the lack of modernity. Its not dated per se but it could do better. The only change perhaps will be a new fabric option for the seats but that still remains to be confirmed.

However, it gets a new feature called Volkswagen Connect in the infotainment system with various features like service appointment through smartphone, fuel consumption monitoring, breakdown call, portability between other Volkswagen cars and more. It also alerts the dealer in case of an engine malfunction. Some notable features which have been continued from the pre-facelift are cooled glovebox, cruise control, height-adjustable driver’s seat and automatic climate control and the touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. It also gets ESP (GT TSI), 16-inch alloy wheels, and hill-hold assist (GT TSI). 

Engine and Transmission
The Volkswagen Polo facelift remains absolutely the same mechanically. That means it continues with the 1.0L, three-cylinder petrol engine and 1.5L, TDI diesel engine for the standard Polo. The former develops 76PS of power and 95Nm of peak torque while the diesel engine puts out 96PS and 230Nm. These engines come mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox.

As for the GT-Line, the Polo GT TSI gets a 1.2L, four cylinder petrol engine which puts out 104PS and 175Nm. The 1.5L, TDI diesel engine in the GT TDI comes in a higher state of tune producing 110PS and 250Nm of torque. Both the engines come paired to a 7-speed DSG gearbox.

Also Read : Volkswagen To Debut A New Logo At The 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show

Pricing

As for the pricing, Volkswagen is charging a premium of about Rs. 10,000-16,000 for the standard petrol and diesel variants of the Polo. The GT-Line Polos also command a premium of Rs. 16,000. Volkswagen is yet to reveal the complete variant wise price break-up but all trims are expected to carry more or less the same amount of premium.

Also Read : 2019 Volkswagen Polo And Vento Facelift Launched – Price & Details

And that’s fine. The bump in price is not much considering the updates and all the new features do add up to make the Polo look more sporty and premium. However, its been ten years since the same car is doing rounds in India while the MK6 Polo has already been available internationally since 2017. We are really waiting to see the new Polo come to India.