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 After much fanfare, Volkswagen has launched the Polo. Belonging to the premium B (hatchback) segment, which sold a good 225000 units in the 2009 calendar year, and commands 78 per cent of the total passenger car sales according to Neeraj Garg, Member of Board and Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India, the Polo is built at the company's gigantic plant at Chakan near Pune. The plant spread over 575 acres, signals the biggest investment of Rs 3800 crore by a German company in India, according to Lutz Kothe, Chief General Manager – Marketing & PR at Volkswagen (India). Measuring 3970mm in length and 1682mm in width, the Polo is comparable in size to most premium B segment hatchbacks currently available in the Indian market. What tilts the tables in favour of the Polo is the aggressive market reach pursued by Volkswagen in India.
Made in petrol and diesel configurations, the Polo shares the production line with its platform mate and a group company hatch – the Skoda Fabia. Signalling the arrival of German engineering in a volume oriented package according to Kothe, the Polo speaks about Volkswagen's flexible manufacturing strategy that translates into mass manufacture of Fabia and Polo at Chakan and a range of Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi cars at Skoda's plant at Aurangabad. The plant at Chakan is a 'complete' manufacturing facility – starting with blanking to the roll out of vehicles. Out of the two configurations the Polo will be available in, the petrol version is powered by a 75bhp, 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine. Mated to the engine is a five-speed manual transmission, which is the only one to choose from at present. Volkswagen may launch an auto transmission. It has one in Europe on the Polo. In India, according to Neeraj, the survey carried out showed that manual transmission was preferable. Transversely mounted at front, the petrol engine supplies the power to the front wheels.
 In its fifth generation, the Polo was born in 1975 as a small car in Germany. Manufactured at various locations across the globe including Germany, the car flaunts a monocoque body structure made of high strength steel, extending Volkswagen's technological DNA closer to the masses. Part of the company's top down strategy in India, which started with the launch of the Passat nearly two years ago, the Polo may be the least costly. It is however not the least carrier of technology. Designed by a team headed by Walter de Silva, the Polo has an excellent value of static torsional rigidity at 180,000 Nm/°. The high static rigidity of the new Polo is attained, among other things, by high-strength and very high-strength steels and the right structural design for loading and reinforcement of body nodal points. At the rear are very rigid nodal components with envelope-type profile construction, which extend quite far into the contact area of the tailgate hinges. In addition, adhesive joints are used.
This construction method optimises the approach of using a nodal system for rigidity and produces a homogeneous distribution of rigidity in upper body sections. Similar examples of profile-intensive lightweight envelope construction can be found throughout the Polo’s body structure. Surprising is the fact that despite the safety gains, the body of this Volkswagen is 7.5
per cent lighter than that of the previous model.
In the footwell area alone, intrusion – related to the car body’s resistance to deformation in a frontal crash – was lowered by 50 per cent! In the case of a side impact, the intrusion value was reduced by 20 per cent. Equipped with dual airbags and ABS on the Highline trim, the interior of the Polo reflects the mature and confident external appearance. Displaying superior build quality, the interior plastics extend a good feel, and this includes the two-tone dashboard. Probably the only car in its category to sport green-tinted heat blocking glass made by Asahi India, the car offers plenty of storage spaces. While seating at the front is comfortable with good amount of room, space at the rear is not as plenty. Tall passengers could find themselves looking for more space. Where the Polo scores is in the storage area – a good 280-litres with the rear seats in place. Riding on 15-inch alloys (standard on top-end Highline version) the diesel Polo, available from May 2010 onwards, is powered by a 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder direct-injection turbo diesel motor that does 75PS at 4200 rpm and 180 Nm of torque at 2000 rpm. Power to the front wheels is routed through a five-speed gearbox and trans-axle on this configuration too. Having a 50 per cent local content as of now, the suspension set up of both the petrol and diesel Polo includes independent McPherson struts at front and twist-beam at the rear. Brakes have discs at front and drums at the rear.
 Available with 6 years anti corrosion warranty, the Polo could be had in three trim levels-Trendline, Comfortline and Highline, which is mentioned above. The Highline, in addition to dual airbags at front, ABS and 15-inch alloys, is equipped with fog lamps, keyless entry, CD/MP3 player with 4 speakers, and a chrome trim inserts. Electronic engine immobiliser is standard across the range.
With prices starting from Rs 4.34 lakh for the Trendline petrol Polo and climbing up to Rs 6.70 lakh for the Trendline diesel (ex-showroom Delhi), the Polo rides on the support of 40 Volkswagen dealerships. Part of the network is an interesting concept called 'modular dealership', which involves construction of the dealership structure that can be assembled or disassembled in a few hours, and can be shifted to a new location. One such dealership is located at Raipur. With a reach that includes smaller cities like Raipur, the company is expected to sell good numbers this year. Neeraj is however noncommittal. All he reveals is that the company has a 45,000 to 50,000 car sales capability per year through 40 dealerships.
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