Volkswagen is launching a new sixth-generation Polo with an entirely new exterior design, a more spacious interior, a new cockpit layout and TSI (petrol), TGI (natural gas) and TDI (diesel) engines, as well as an array of assistance systems previously only fitted to larger Volkswagen cars.

Dr Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Board of Management for the Volkswagen brand: “The Polo is a young, fresh car. It combines charisma with strong technology. No other car offers so much space for its size. This makes our Polo the number one compact, and it will remain number one.”

Dr Frank Welsch, Board Member for Development of the Volkswagen Brand: “The new Polo brings the future to the compact class. A whole lot of space – based on the modular transverse matrix – sustainable engines like a new natural gas TGI, the world premiere of a new generation of the Active Info Display, the latest infotainment systems and forward-thinking assistance systems – these qualities enable this Volkswagen to overcome traditional class boundaries.”

The sixth generation Polo has grown, making it larger than its predecessor in all of its dimensions. This has resulted in more interior space and a significantly increased boot volume, which has grown from 280 to 351 litres. The new Polo, with its length of 4,053 mm, is slightly shorter than the fourth generation Golf, but it surpasses that Golf when it comes to its wheelbase (53 mm longer) and space for the driver, passengers and luggage (21 litres more).

Volkswagen says the positive effects of the modular transverse matrix (MQB) architecture on the car’s proportions, and thereby on its design, are very significant. Klaus Bischoff, Head of Design for the Volkswagen Brand, explains: “The much better proportions create the framework for a grown-up, confident appearance of the sixth generation Polo – charismatic, progressive, contemporary and friendly. We have systematically capitalised on this realignment of dimensions to build a compelling compact car.” The project targets, as defined by Bischoff: All Polo models should be made more sporty, more powerful, fresher, more masculine and more charismatic. According to the Head of Design: “This Volkswagen can immediately be made out as the original of its class, but also as a completely new generation. A Polo with an expressive design which makes the compact – now as a four-door only – sportier, cleaner and unique within the brand range. This is a car that fits in perfectly with our times – both visually and technologically.”

The Polo is launching in three familiar trim lines Trendline, Comfortline and Highline, and in the ‘Beats’ special edition with a sound system configured for contemporary sound. Another version that appears from the start on the new car’s life: the Polo GTI. Several packages are also being offered in the form of R-Line, Black and Style.

Even the base version of the new Polo, the Trendline has standard features such as LED daytime running lights with coming-home and leaving-home functionality, a speed limiter and the Front Assist area monitoring system with City Emergency Braking and Pedestrian Monitoring.

At the Comfortline trim level, additional details are added such as the Composition Colour infotainment system, air conditioning (Climatic), Driver Alert system, centre armrest, seat covers in knitted velvet, front and rear electric windows with one-touch control, and a multi-function steering wheel.

Customers who choose the Highline also get Park Distance Control (PDC), white LED background lighting (front doors and instrument panel), multifunction steering wheel in combination with leather-trimmed gear shift lever and brake lever (‘small leather package’) and 15-inch alloy wheels (‘Salou’).

A new edition of the successful Polo Beats has been designed, which targets younger customer groups. It has a 300-watt sound system by the US headphone producer Beats (Dr. Dre) as well as a host of other features.

Rounding out the model range at the top is the new Polo GTI. This sporty top model will now be powered by a 2.0-litre TSI petrol engine.

The new Polo offers a large range of fresh new colours (a total of 14 exterior colours are available) and twelve wheels (14- to 18-inch, some painted in contrasting colour), dashpads in 13 different decors, two interior trim versions and eleven different seat covers.

The new Polo will arrive on the markets of most European countries in 2017, and it will launch successively with nine Euro-6 engines. For the first time, the Polo is available with a natural gas engine: the newly developed 1.0 TGI with an output of 89 bhp. Four petrol and two diesel engines are also available. The Polo is launching with diesel versions (TDI) with outputs of 79 bhp and 94 bhp. The more powerful engines may be combined with a dual clutch gearbox (DSG).

In the area of connectivity, the Polo features ‘App Connect’ Car-Net applications (with MirrorLink, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay) and ‘Guide & Inform’. It also adds the new ‘We by Volkswagen’ – a digital user platform from Volkswagen for all drivers. One feature is the app-based ‘WePark’, a cashless payment service for parking: in the German capital Berlin, this will already be a reality at the time of the Polo world premiere. Other large German cities such as Hamburg and Cologne will follow.

The sixth-generation Polo is the first to be based on the new Modular Transverse Matrix for compact models (MQB A0). Volkswagen says the positive effects of the MQB on the car’s proportions and, in turn, on its design, are huge, with the car having much more dynamic proportions and a significantly longer silhouette, because the wheelbase, exterior length and width all grew while the car’s height remained nearly identical.