2009 Volkswagen Polo - Auto Shows

It's not sold here, but globally, the subcompact Volkswagen Polo is one of the most important models for the German brand. Here at the 2009 Geneva auto show, VW is unveiling an entirely new generation. It’s the fifth new Polo since 1975, when the car was first launched as a stripped version of the radically modern Audi 50, whose sales it completely cannibalized within a few years.

Mature, Handsome Styling

Styled with crisp, bold lines, the new Polo offers a fresh and very welcome interpretation of a subcompact car. Its styling is deliberately not of the cutesy, happy-face school that dominates the segment, an aesthetic that can be acutely embarrassing to some who move down-market from more “grown-up” vehicles. Instead, the Polo resembles the acclaimed, one-size-up sixth-gen Golf. Since the new Polo didn’t use a carryover platform, the design team had even more freedom to express Volkswagen's new styling direction.

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