U.S.-bound 2011 Volkswagen Polo headed to Geneva
by Jonathon Ramsey on Jan 28th 2009 at 1:31PM 
Volkswagen's continuing push into the U.S. market could be called Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue. "New" would be the coming mid-sized sedan, "borrowed" would be the Routan, "blue" would be BlueSport, and "old" would be the VW Polo. The version of the Polo we'll be getting in 2011 is expected to be at this year's Geneva Motor Show. Since it is coming to the U.S. and VW will need to convert American buyer to the idea of a supermini, we are looking for it to be a beautiful leap forward over the current MkV.
Gallery: Volkswagen Polo
[Source: AutoWeek]
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jared 1:34PM (1/28/2009)
I never have figured out why VW always delays their US model introductions a couple years after their Europe model introductions.
Reply
zamafir 1:43PM (1/28/2009)
It's quite simple, VW's largest market, and the one in which they make the most money, is Europe. They also have more demanding consumers there, it's the same reason Ford, up until the end of this year, delayed our model introduction a couple GENERATIONS after their European model introduction.
DKB_SATX 1:42PM (1/28/2009)
Yes... I wonder how much business it costs them? I was driving my 3rd consecutive VW, a Mk. IV GTI 1.8T when the Mk. V cars were introduced in Europe... and a year later were still not available in the US. I was irritated with VW for the delay, but was thinking of getting an Audi A3 as my Mk. V car anyway. I drove an A3 and a Subaru Legacy GT Wagon on the same day. I'm not a VWAG customer any longer.
Kumar 1:56PM (1/28/2009)
Though probably of little consolation, we got the latest Jetta first, since the previous generation was such a huge hit. Unfortunately, the 3 year delay in getting the Golf-turned-Rabbit removed it from my list, since it takes a few model years usually to work in the TDIs.
From what I've been reading, we'll get the next gen Polo being unveiled in Geneva.
X2 on the Polo GTI, Mito GTA, etc...the more the merrier.
Farmboy 2:06PM (1/28/2009)
@ zamafir
Exactly right with Ford. They have a great market just like VW over in Europe. They wait until they realize demand for such vehicles was so high over here, they don't believe the cars would be flops over here.
James 4:09PM (1/28/2009)
Wooing for Chattanooga....
Dude 1:36PM (1/28/2009)
Looks like a nice sized little car. The original Rabbit was a fun car to drive. Maybe this one will be the same.
Polo GTI
Reply
Max 1:46PM (1/28/2009)
By the time the Polo gets to us, it'll weigh 2600lbs and barely manage over 30mpg.
Reply
zamafir 1:50PM (1/28/2009)
Nah, VW's serious about expanding their market in the US, they'll design it as a world car as a result, just as they did with the Tiguan, MkV, etc etc.
Reply
DKB_SATX 2:08PM (1/28/2009)
... and even though the Mk.V is a "world car" it wasn't introduced to the US until nearly 2 years after it went on sale in Europe.
zamafir 2:36PM (1/28/2009)
no... the MkV is a platform, the Jetta was introduced here before it went on sale in europe, the hatch variant went on sale in europe before it was introduced here, chiefly because, as I and others are saying, when you're running a business you tend to release products in markets where they will sell wll first. It's the same reason the iPhone wasn't released world wide in the first iteration as it is with the 3G. In the current market, and with VW sales in north america what they are, it's not difficult to understand their release strategy. No one is going to reasonably argue VW would be making a ton more money if they went through the effort of releasing key selling european models in the US where their brand doesn’t have the same image it does in Europe. A two year delay is nothing compared to how long it took GM to bring cars (which have not done well) like the Astra over, or ford to finally bring the fiesta over.
Farmboy 2:09PM (1/28/2009)
I do like this. It would fit so well into the American market, especially with our current lineup here. I wouldn't buy it though, it would meet my demands.
Reply
Mitchel 2:18PM (1/28/2009)
This Polo is a really solid looking small car - I prefer the four door over the two door though. Pity we won't see these in the States until 2011.
Reply
P.V. 2:23PM (1/28/2009)
The current Polo looks kinda dated (especially compared to VW's previous-generation designs, contrasting with VW's current-generation designs), but if all-new sheetmetal and revised mechanical specs are the works, I'm all for it. VW desparately needs something smaller than the Rabbit (which now effectively competes with the Toyota Matrix, Hyundai Elantra Touring, Kia Spectra5, and Subaru Impreza, as opposed to (the Polo's target market) the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, Chevrolet Aveo, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, etc.; has anyone else noticed the relative dearth of compact hatchbacks vs. the blossoming subcompact hatchback market?).
Reply
Mike J 4:23PM (1/28/2009)
Has anyone seen the leaked photos of what the redesign looks like?
I would say the current Polo is much better looking.
Reply
GOT 3:08AM (1/30/2009)
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4205370
Triboy16 4:52PM (1/28/2009)
The interior is so awsome for the unawsome exterior. The backlights are the worst
ITs funny cuz the golf of last generation was one of the best small looking car(better than jetta back then) , and now the jetta looks alot better than polo, rabbit
come on vw wake up and design proper looking cars exterior wise
Reply
The Luigiian 5:32PM (1/28/2009)
A VW Beetle built off of a smaller platform like the Polo's could be a great MINI fighter. It would be lighter and more fuel-efficient.
Reply
whofan 5:33PM (1/28/2009)
I can`t see what if anything ever changes with Volkswagons designs from year to year.
The car pictured here looks like it could have been built 10 years ago.
Not that it looks bad or anything.
Volkswagon is just same ol same ol.
Reply
Patrick 6:06PM (1/28/2009)
That car ten years ago would look well ahead of it's time... But that car now, is OLD!! That's a MKIV with the refreshed front introduced in 2005! The MKIV itself is from 2001...
The next one, likely, will be much sleeker and have the Scirocco front...
And, it may be here by next year. (the last production date for the pictured Polo is May)
Reply