Volkswagen Polo Facelift spied undisguised

Snapshot: German car making giant Volkswagen is readying up a all-new Polo based on the MQB platform for a launch in 2015. Before that, the Polo hatchback will get a end-of-life facelift. The facelifted model, sans any camouflage, has been spotted testing in Europe. The lack of camouflage indicates that the launch of the facelifted Polo is just around the corner.

The facelift of the Polo can be described as mild at best. The front end of the facelifted car consists of a new grille and bumper design, incremental changes that won’t be noticed by most car buyers. On the inside, the changes include a new steering wheel, a revised infotainment system and revised switchgear. These changes apart, the 2014 Polo Facelift is quite similar to the one on sale currently. A Geneva 2014 debut is speculated to be the on the cards for the Polo facelift.

On the mechanicals front, the engines and transmissions of the current-gen Polo is likely to be carried over to the facelifted model. The car sold in India gets 1.2 liter-3 cylinder MPI petrol and TDI turbo diesel engine options mated to five speed manual gearboxes on the entry level variants. The top end Polos with GT badging get the 1.2 liter TSI turbo petrol and 1.6 liter TDI turbo diesel motors. The Polo GT TSI variant gets a 7 speed DSG dual shift automatic gearbox as standard affair.

Coming to the next-generation version of the Polo, the 1.2 MPI petrol engine is likely to be given the heave-ho considering Volkswagen’s plans of phasing out all naturally aspirated engines. The 1.2 liter TDI turbo diesel engine will be replaced by a new 1.5 liter TDI unit that Volkswagen is developing specifically for use in the next-generation Polo and Vento models sold in India. The 1.2 liter TSI turbo petrol and the DSG dual clutch automatic gearbox combination will be retained.

Images courtesy WorldCarFans