The small Volkswagen Polo, introduced in 1975 to accompany the Golf that had debuted a year earlier, remains a vehicle of global importance for Wolfsburg, having shifted over 14 million units over its life span. But it’s never been exported to the United States. Volkswagen has just unveiled the sixth generation of its successful supermini, and no, Jeff, it?s not coming to America.
Now based on the compact version of Volkswagen Group?s ubiquitous MQB platform (MQB A0), the new Polo features a 3.7-inch wheelbase stretch over the outgoing car. The car offers more passenger room and cargo space (12.4 cubic feet) than the slightly smaller previous model, not to mention the fourth-generation Golf of twenty years ago?a car that is four inches longer than this new Polo. It?s handsome, too, offering a more pugnacious, slit-eyed take on the still attractive seventh-generation Golf aesthetic. Quoth VW: ?The sixth-generation Polo has become a masculine car, which generates charisma from all perspectives.? We could come up with a lame kicker here, but trust that you?ll have more fun just reading the preceding sentence out loud to yourself in your best Arte Johnson German accent.
Available powertrains include a range of six gasoline engines displacing 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 liters with outputs ranging from 64 to 197 horsepower. The two lowest-output mills are available only with a five-speed manual transmission, while the 69-hp 1.0L offers a choice of a five-speed stick or a seven-sp...