Fifty years after the Volkswagen Polo arrived in the UK and now in its sixth generation, it remains the default supermini choice if you're looking for a well-made, competent and economical runabout. There are cheaper rivals (we're looking at you, Skoda Fabia) and ones that are more fun (Seat Ibiza), but only the Polo has that reassuring big-car feel.
The Mk6 Polo was launched in 2018 and facelifted in 2021. Thanks to its modular MQB-A0 platform, it's almost as big as the Mk5 Golf. Meanwhile, it looks remarkably similar to the Mk5 Polo, only a tad sharper-suited with pinched LED lights and a fancy double swage line.
With the facelift, the Mk6 got sharper still with the adoption of even sleeker headlights (matrix LEDs on some top-spec versions), a full-width front LED light bar, restyled bumpers and a reprofiled tailgate, plus upgraded infotainment with touch-sensitive panels in place of knobs and buttons inside and a centre airbag. The Polo's evolution into a baby Golf seems almost complete...
Most Polos are powered by a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine. If you want to save money, go for one of the atmo units, which produce 64bhp, 74bhp or, in later cars, 79bhp. They're cheap but far from cheerful. For that you need one of the turbo engines, badged TSI. Our pick is the 94bhp 1.0 TSI 95. Like the non-turbo engines, it has a five- rather than six-speed gearbox (the 113bhp 1.0 TSI 115 has six speeds), but it's pretty flexible.
Don't think the Polo is a hoot to drive even with that engine, though. As Autocar reported in its 2018 road test, the car "soothes, reassures, isolates, obliges and protects" but a bag of handling laughs it is not.
Actually, that's not totally true. The 2.0-litre Polo GTI is a lot of fun. It arrived in 2018 with 197bhp and gained seven more horses during the 2021 facelift.
There's also a 1.6-litre diesel Polo in 79bhp or 94bhp flavours. Very few were sold before it was withdrawn from sale in 2021. Expect to get close to 60mpg and to pay around £10,000 for a 79bhp 2019 1.6 TDI SE with 45,000 miles.
The Mk6 Polo is a spacious supermini and considerably roomier than a Ford Fiesta. There's plenty of storage for oddments and larger items. The boot is 355 litres with the seats up and a generous 1125 litres with them folded. Cars in SE trim and above have a useful variable-level boot floor too.
Fit and finish is first-class, so don't expect to hear any rattles or creaks on your test drive. Equipment is decent as well. All trims have air-con, automatic emergency braking, electric front windows and an 8.0in colour touchscreen. Move up to best-selling SE and you will find 15in alloys, electric rear windows and smartphone connectivity.
