Last 700 cars for India

Volkswagen is finally pulling the plug on Polo. The dealerships will stop taking the bookings of the Polo from June this year. To celebrate the success of the Polo, Volkswagen has launched the Legend Edition of the Polo. It has been priced at Rs. 10.25 lakhs ex-showroom. Only 700 units of the Polo Legend Edition will be made.

Polo was first launched back in 2010 so it has been on sale in India for the past 12 years. Over the years, Volkswagen did update the Polo but the changes were mild. The design stayed mostly the same. The elements inside the headlamps and tail lamps were changed. The bumpers were also changed over time as the facelifts were launched. But the design stayed the same more or less.

March 2010

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Volkswagen launched the Polo in March 2010. It was offered with two engines, a petrol and a diesel engine. Both had a displacement of 1.2 litres and were three-cylinder units and were not really powerful or for enthusiasts. The petrol engine produced 74 bhp of max power and 110 Nm of peak torque. The diesel engine produced 74 bhp of max power and 180 Nm of peak torque. Both engines were offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox.

September 2010

Enthusiasts wanted a more powerful engine that can take advantage of the playful chassis of the Polo. So, Volkswagen brought in the 1.6-litre, naturally aspirated petrol engine. It produced 103 bhp of max power and 153 Nm of peak torque. It was also offered with the same 5-speed manual gearbox.

April 2013

2013 would be the favourite year for enthusiasts because Volkswagen replaced the 1.6-litre petrol engine with a new 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine that featured direct injection. The engine came on a new variant that was called GT TSI. The engine produced 103 bhp of max power and 1775 Nm of peak torque. The power output was the same as the 1.6-litre engine but the torque output was more. Moreover, Volkswagen used a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox for the GT TSI.

September 2013

The GT TSI was very successful in the Indian market. So, Volkswagen decided to plonk the 1.6-litre diesel engine from the Vento under the bonnet of the Polo. It was called GT TDI but it was not as successful as the GT TSI. The engine produced 103 bhp of max power and 250 Nm of peak torque. It was offered only with a manual gearbox.

July 2014

The 1.2 and the 1.6 diesel engine was replaced with a new 1.5 diesel engine. It was offered in two states of tune. There was a 90 hp and 230 Nm tune that was offered with most of the variants. The higher state of tune was reserved for the GT TDI variant. It produced 105 hp and 250 Nm. It was offered only with a manual gearbox, there was no automatic transmission on offer.

November 2016

In 2016, Volkswagen introduced the GTI version of the Polo. It was a three-door version brought in as a CBU that was sold in limited numbers. It was priced at Rs. 25.99 lakhs ex-showroom. Volkswagen GTI came with a 1.8-litre TSI petrol engine that produced  190 bhp and 250 Nm.

March 2020

2020 was a bad year for a lot of engines because BS6 emission norms kicked in. Volkswagen discontinued its diesel engines and brought in a new 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine that produced 110 PS of max power and 175 Nm of peak torque. It was offered with a 6-speed manual gearbox or a new 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission. There is also a 1.0-litre MPI on offer for people who were on a budget. It produces 75 PS and 95 Nm.

Polo was the first mass-market car for Volkswagen. They started out with Phaeton, Touareg, Passat, Jetta and Beetle first but it was the Polo that built the brand. The design of Polo has aged finely over the years. It still is one of the better-looking hatchbacks and is probably the best driver’s hatchback. Polo will definitely be missed considering Volkswagen has no plans to bring the next-gen Polo to our country. .

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