2022 Volkswagen Polo 85TSI Style Review

The Volkswagen Polo might be the smallest car the German manufacturer sells in Australia, but it has impressed buyers with its grown-up cabin and refined feel, feeling more like a mini-Golf than just another tiny hatchback. However, with man buyers moving out of small hatchbacks and into small SUVs, the question has to be asked – does the Polo still have a place in the current market? We tested the 2022 Volkswagen Polo Style to find out.

For the 2022 model year, the Polo received a facelift and a big boost in standard equipment that also – rather predictably for 2022 – attracted quite a price increase. With competitive rivals such as the Kia Rio, Suzuki Swift and the Mazda2, does the Volkswagen have what it takes to come out on top? Let’s find out.

Price & Equipment: 7/10

While the 2022 Volkswagen Polo range kicks off with the manual Polo Life 70TSI, which starts at $25,250 plus on-road costs, the model we have here is the automatic-only 2022 Volkswagen Polo Style 85TSI which is priced from $30,700 plus on-road costs (around $35,000 drive away, depending on your location) – a huge $5,010 more than the model it replaces. The Polo Style 85TSI is the highest specification in the range without choosing the hot hatch Polo GTI.

Where the Polo Style tries to make up for its price is with its standard equipment. It comes with 16-inch alloy wheels with a full-size spare, dual-zone climate control, a leather steering wheel, cloth upholstery, an 8.0-inch touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, four USB-C ports, a six-speaker audio system, digital radio, wireless phone charging, a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display, wireless smartphone charging, automatic LED headlights, LED front and rear fog lights, automatic wipers, an auto-dimming rear view mirror, auto-folding and heated mirrors, single-colour LED interior ambient lighting and six-way manual front seats.

Safety equipment in the Polo Style is also plentiful with seven airbags, tyre pressure monitoring, driver fatigue detection, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, lane keep assist with lane departure warning, lane trace assist, forward collision alert, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, rear auto braking, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors, a reversing camera and semi-autonomous parking.

We would like to see the addition of heated front seats, a heads-up display and an electric driver’s seat to the equipment list of the 2022 Volkswagen Polo Style for the asking price. The Volkswagen Polo has become rather expensive in the last year, and while the equipment list has grown with the price, we do think it is still pricey.

Despite its expensive pricing, there are a few available options for the Polo Style. Firstly, there is the $1,900 Sound and Tech Package that was fitted to our test car, which includes a six-speaker Beats audio system, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, keyless entry with push button start, voice recognition and satellite navigation. You can also get a $1,500 sunroof.

The only standard colour on the Volkswagen Polo is ‘Pure White’, whereas ‘Deep Black’, ‘Smokey Grey’, ‘Reflex Silver’, ‘Vibrant Violet’ and our test car’s ‘Reef Blue’ attract a $600 extra cost. Our test car, fitted with the Sound and Tech Package and ‘Reef Blue’ paintwork had a total price of $33,200 plus on-road costs (or $37,620 drive away in NSW). That’s quite the price to pay for what is a small car, no matter how well equipped or talented it is.

Rivals to the 2022 Volkswagen Polo Style are the $25,590 plus on-road costs Kia Rio GT-Line, the $28,790 +ORC Suzuki Swift GLX Turbo and the $26,490 +ORC Mazda2 G15 GT. The Polo does have much more equipment than these rival small cars, but there is no getting away from the Polo’s higher purchase price. In fact, you can buy a Mazda3 G20 Touring for around the same cost as the Polo Style, and not only is it bigger, but it’s also better finished and has more equipment. Food for thought.

Engine & Performance: 9/10

The sole engine offered in the non-GTI 2022 Volkswagen Polo range is a 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol unit, which produces 85kW of power and 200Nm of torque in the Style. The engine is rather characterful, it thrums away and propels the Polo down the road well. There is little delay in acceleration when moving off from a standstill and for a city car, the Polo also feels rather solid and mature on the road which we love. The engine is quiet from the moment you turn it on, and settles into a smooth idle. There’s still some unmistakable thrum when pushed and vibration but the three-cylinder engine hides the fact its unbalanced nature well.

The sole transmission offered on the Polo Style is a seven-speed dual-clutch (DSG) automatic. It has the same typical foibles that other dual-clutch units have, such as a jerky take off but once on the move, it is very good. If only it were a tad smoother when starting up hills, as the engine tends to shake the entire car as the gearbox slips the clutch before first the gear can engage fully to get the Polo moving.

Once you’re rolling, the DSG is smoother, smarter, and faster than most of its rivals. When you’re light on the throttle it shuffles unobtrusively through the lower gears; put your foot down and it kicks down quickly to drop you right in the meat of the torque band. It’s mostly intuitive and shifts quite quickly.

The claimed average fuel consumption for the 2022 Volkswagen Polo Style is 5.4L/100km and in our week spent with the Polo with mostly urban driving, we saw a figure of 7.4L/100km – less than the Kia Rio in our testing, but if you’re searching for an urban economy champion, we’d be looking at a Toyota Yaris hybrid, or its Corolla big brother. The Polo needs a minimum of 95RON premium unleaded fuel and it has a 40-litre fuel tank.

Ride & Handling: 8/10

The 2022 Volkswagen Polo is very mature when it comes to its ride characteristics, feeling like a smaller Golf around town and on the open road. The Polo feels solid at all speeds, like a more premium vehicle from the class above. The ride is not too firm, but it is on the firmer side. While potholes and road imperfections are certainly felt in the Polo, but there are no hard jolts or large bangs that can be experienced in other smaller cars. The Polo just drives normally and extremely competently.

The handling ability of the Polo Style may surprise you. Sure, it’s no Polo GTI, but we were very pleased with how this little car handled. Going into corners at speed has the Polo’s body rolling quite a bit, due to springs and dampers not really set up for outright handling. But grip levels are good from the quality Continental tyres and the Polo’s the lack of weight makes it rather nimble and fun in a city setting. The Polo is also relatively quiet at speed, with only some slight wind noise at higher speeds or tyre roar on country roads coming into the cabin. It’s certainly the most refined small car on the market.

Interior & Practicality: 7.5/10

The interior of the 2022 Volkswagen Polo Style follows Volkswagen’s tradition is designing well-built, albeit slightly plain interiors. There is a conventional but modern-looking dashboard, which feels more premium than the Polo’s rivals. Having said this, the one area which needs attention is the quality of the materials as there is hard plastic almost everywhere, which is rather disappointing. Only the upper dash is made from quality soft plastics, but the door panels and centre console are covered in hard plastic. On one hand, we could forgive the Polo as it is a small car and has the nicest interior of its rivals, but for an almost-$40,000 drive-away price, we expect a plusher interior.

There are also some reasonable storage options in the Polo’s interior. There are large front and rear door pockets with bottle holders in the, a wireless charging tray to store your phone, a centre console box (which is a little small) with an extendable arm rest, a glovebox and cup holders behind the gear selector.

Rear seat space is impressive, as the Polo is actually the same size as a Mk4 Golf from the late 1990s on the outside. Stepping into the rear of the Polo is easier than you think with wide opening rear doors and once in the back it can be a little tight for taller passengers where the knee and head room is concerned, but it is larger than the Kia Rio. The only rear amenities on offer are two USB-C ports and bottle holders in the door – there is no centre arm rest or face level air vents.

The boot capacity of the 2022 Volkswagen Polo Style with the rear seats in place is 351-litres, which is very impressive for a small hatchback – that’s only 23L less than the Golf – and folding down the rear seats of the Polo opens this space up to a handy 1,125L. In comparison, the Kia Rio’s boot is 300L/1,078L, the Suzuki Swift has a cargo capacity of 242L/918L and the Mazda 2 can carry 250L of cargo space. It’s a well finished space too, with a dual-level floor further helping practicality.

Service & Warranty: 7/10

The Volkswagen Polo Style comes with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which mirrors the warranties offered on the Mazda2 and the Suzuki Swift – but the Kia Rio comes with a superior seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. For roadside assist, the Polo only comes with 12 months, whereas the 2 and Swift come with five-years from new. But Kia’s Rio excels again, coming with up to seven years of roadside cover (12 months initially but that’s extended by a further 12 months at every scheduled service up to seven years in total).

The 2022 Volkswagen Polo requires servicing every 12-months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. The Kia Rio GT-Line, Suzuki Swift and Mazda2 all require being serviced every 12 months or 10,000km. The cost to service the Polo over five-years or 75,000km is $2,903 (an average service cost of $580.60), which is very expensive for a small car. The Kia Rio GT-Line costs $2,128 over five years or 50,000km and the Mazda2 will set owners back $1,702 over the same period, but buyers must beware that they require more frequent servicing thanks to their shorter intervals.

2022 Volkswagen Polo Style DiscoverAuto Rating: 7.8/10

The 2022 Volkswagen Polo Style is a fantastic small car and the most complete tiny hatch on sale. If you took price out of the equation, it would be an excellent buy for those who live in or around the city. It is spacious, refined, nimble, and well equipped, and rather good looking. However, while it might be as spacious as less practical cars from the class above, but the cost to buy the Polo is rather ludicrous. So it begs the question: does style (and drivability) overcome substance (cost)?

We love the little Polo, but being the most expensive car in its segment does mean it is a hard sell. The rather excellent mid-size Kia Sportage S SUV from a few classes above would be a similar price to the Polo Style we tested here. Just let that sink in. The Polo might be better equipped than its rivals, with a more solid on-road feel and more tech, but we do think that the pricing should have you comparing it to other cars that are available for that sort of money.