Published:
7 November 2024The Polo’s calm and supple ride makes it comfortable in a way that small cars often aren’t.
At high speeds, it keeps its cabin settled but is still decently controlled over larger, longer-wave bumps.
At town speeds, it’s nicely forgiving over speed bumps, soothing away all but the sharpest edges – they can sometimes be felt but seldom harshly.
This is the kind of small car that eases you effectively through the urban trudge with minimal stress, yet it is reassuring on motorways where it mixes ably with bigger vehicles at higher speeds and doesn't feel out of its depth.
Medium-light, medium-fast steering makes the Polo agile enough at town speeds, with a grip level and responsiveness that is more than capable of making a dynamic virtue of its compact size.
Thanks to VW’s preference for ever-linear, predictable handling, it’s also very easy to drive.
It’s not one of the most entertaining superminis, but it has better body control than some and a very consistent balance of grip that resists understeer well at first and allows it to build only gradually as the car corners, and only in a proportion great enough to add a blanket of stability.
There’s little joy about the Polo’s handling, true, but it’s tuned to filter out many of the influences that might otherwise enrich the supermini experience for keener drivers. So although weight builds usefully into the steering as the car corners and rolls, as you ask more of its front tyres there’s little contact patch feel to tell you how much grip is left.
