|
It took 18 long years for Europe’s — and perhaps the world’s largest — car manufacturer to win the coveted European Car of the Year award. The last time Volkswagen won the ECOTY was back in 1992, for the Golf.
Finally, they broke the jinx this year, when the new Polo picked up the ECOTY 2010. Okay, there were just 10 points separating the winner from the radically smart and highly innovative Toyota iQ, but it was a win for the Polo nonetheless. A nice enough shot in the arm for the Polo in the well-developed European market, but what matters to us is how it’s going to fare in India.
The Polo features a traditional hatchback architecture. In other words, it’s not one of those tall-boys that are quite popular in our country. And that puts the evergreen Maruti Suzuki Swift right into the Polo’s crosshairs. There’s a big battle brewing out there, but let us for the moment get closer to the small Veedub for India.
It may look German, but that look has been imparted by Italian designers headed by the legendary Walter d’Silva. Previous Polo versions were cute to look at, but now, the fifth generation is more solid and tough in appearance. The Polo borrows the new, aggressive VW family look that was first seen in the new Scirocco followed by the current Golf; in fact, it looks like a scaled-down Golf. The defining design features of the Polo include flared wheel arches, a prominent waistline, a planted stance and of course the smart front-end treatment. The rear of the car looks a bit tame compared to the action at the front. It is a good-looking car, especially in red. As mentioned earlier, it’s conservatively good-looking without any hint of flamboyance — despite the Italian designers! The only Indian hatchback that beats it in the beauty contest is, er, the Fiat Punto.
|
Most Popular
