Facelifted Volkswagen Polo & Vento spied ahead of India launch

Volkswagen India is readying up the umpteenth facelift for the Polo hatchback and Vento sedan. Both cars will get new styling elements inspired by the Volkswagen Polo GTI and are also expected to pack in more features to keep them fresh enough for buyers. Both cars have been around in the Indian market for 9 years and 8 years respectively and are yet bought by a couple of thousand buyers each month thanks to Volkswagen updating these cars constantly.

The latest facelift could also see Volkswagen add a Bharat Stage 6 compliant 1 liter-3 cylinder TSI turbocharged petrol engine to both cars. This engine will be available in two states of tune, and is expected to replace both petrol and diesel engines offered currently in the cars. Spyshots of the facelifted Polo and Vento are already out, and the cars have begun reaching Volkswagen dealerships across India. An official launch is just around the corner.

As the spyshots from Team-BHP indicate, both the Polo and Vento get GTI inspired styling, with the front grille getting a honeycomb pattern, the roofs getting a black wrap and the alloy wheels getting greyed out further. The Polo and Vento also gain hatchlid and bootlid spoilers respectively. The cars also get sporty bumper inserts in black, and side skirts have been added as well.

The new engine is likely to be offered in the Polo with a 94 Bhp state of tune while the GT TSI and Vento are likely to get it in 115 Bhp state of tune. Peak torque could go up to 200 Nm, making this engine quite a peppy unit in both cars. A 6 speed manual gearbox is likely while the higher state of tune is also expected to get the 7 speed PQ200 twin clutch automatic gearbox option. The new engine is also expected to be offered on the Skoda Rapid, which shares its platform and mechanicals with the Polo and Vento.

Volkswagen is likely to continue offering the 1.5 liter TDI turbocharged diesel engine in 89 Bhp-220 Nm and 110 Bhp-250 Nm states of tune on the Polo and Vento until April 2020, when the Bharat Stage 6 emission norms kick in. Once these emission norms come into place, the diesel engined variants will be discontinued. Volkswagen will shift to turbo petrol engines permanently from next year, and a larger 1.5 liter turbo petrol engine will be offered on the next-generation Vento, which is likely to arrive sometime in 2021. Volkswagen has not indicated whether the Polo and its compact sedan sibling – the Ameo – would continue to be offered in India under the new MQB A0 platform that will form the base for the new Vento. What’s confirmed though are compact SUVs called the T-Cross from Volkswagen and Kamiq from Skoda. These Hyundai Creta rivals are likely to be launched by the end of 2020, and Skoda is also likely to bring in the new Rapid a year later.