Should you buy one?

‘Wholeheartedly, yes,’ concluded Parkers tester Ted Welford after spending a month with a Volkswagen Polo. ‘It’s a car that punches well above its weight in the way it drives, the quality of its interior and for interior space. It demonstrates that there is most certainly still a place for small and efficient petrol hatchbacks.’

However, the Polo isn’t for everyone. It’s a practical car for sensible people. It sacrifices driving fun for refinement, a rock-solid image, good fuel economy and strong residual values.

If you’re the sort of driver who likes to take the long way home to enjoy your favourite B-roads, you’ll find little to interest you. The Polo is simply rather bland to drive, and we reckon the Renault Clio or SEAT Ibiza serve enthusiastic drivers much better.

But if you’re not that way inclined, the Polo is a great option. It’s easy to drive, well-equipped and it has plenty of passenger space for its size. Just spec it carefully. The Polo can look vibrant and fun in a bright colour and a top-grade trim-level, but a low-spec model in a dowdy finish can suck the life out of any drive.

What we like

The comfort, the refinement and the technology. It’s close to setting new standards for the class, and most of the equipment is easy to use. There are also lots of trim levels to choose from, each bringing slight variations in features and styling, so there’s a configuration to suit almost any need and want.

What we don’t like

The Polo is disappointingly dull to drive. Its controls are almost entirely devoid of life and its engines are rather lethargic compared to Ford’s excellent 1.0-litre EcoBoost units. Even the high-performance Polo GTi is more of an effective ground-coverer than a thrill machine.

The Polo is also something of a dinosaur in the supermini segment. Rivals such as the Renault Clio and Toyota Yaris offer self-charging hybrid technology, but the Polo stubbornly remains available only with pure-combustion engines.