The automotive industry is usually only frustrated with the current multimedia and smartphone topics. You developed great navigation systems and then Google comes along and leaves people with current maps, faster, more mobile - but above all; navigate for free. Well, just integrate mp3. As soon as this was done, you no longer used your music from local storage, but via streaming from the cloud. In short: The development cycles in the automotive industry were for what you can find in the “Internet and Mobile Cloud Streaming Hipster Twitter Facebook Foursquare Glympse Age” needed, simply too long.
The new VW Polo has turned this on its head so radically that it simply has to be understood as an “early adopter”. (And if you just want to know what that means, scroll to the last paragraph!)
Better too early than too late!
The new VW Polo - the first exit
There are no fake photos used in this article. The one in the photos is the new Polo. It has to be said, because the changes are so marginal that even as a professional you could be embarrassed to mistake the “new” for the “old”. And so the adjective “new” in this case refers to a facelift with which the Wolfsburg-based company primarily maintained the inner values of the small car. So what's new about the Polo 2014?
- He became more economical
- He became safer
- He became an “early adopter”
He also got a premium lookup for the standard equipment. Instead of 14-inch rims, from now on all models will roll on at least 15-inch wheels. The split rear bench and the double loading floor are now also part of the basic equipment. A radio remote control is less surprising, a tire pressure display is more likely - but both are now part of the standard scope.
economical
The engine program of the new Polo contains only engines that meet the EU6 standard. In the gasoline, the new 1.0 liter TSI engine will complete the program as BLUEMOTION as the most fuel-efficient engine in the summer and impressively lower CO² emissions with 94 grams per kilometer. Nevertheless, the most economical diesel manages to undercut this value once again. With only 82 grams per kilometer you will have the most efficient member of your class here.
According to the standard, the Polo TDI BlueMotion should get by with 3.1 liters per 100 kilometers. An impressive figure. Because the Polo has not been the small car it is thought to be for a generation of models. With a length of 3.97 meters, the current generation exceeds the Ur-Ahn by a whopping 47 centimeters. Neither the space available in the interior nor the technology on board the VW Polo makes it necessary to do without.
secure
With the gentle facelift, the changes in the design are really so marginal that owners of the predecessor will be happy, all the more important updates in the interior values in the Polo. While the new LED headlights (optional) on the front may still attract attention, the new assistance systems remain hidden. Until you need them.
Between 30 and 160 km / h the cruise control now works together with a front radar. For the cruise control, the radar takes the distance to the front man and reduces the speed so far, so that despite the cruise control the correct distance is maintained. A feature from the premium class, arrived in VW Polo, As well as the multi-collision brake and a fatigue detection. In addition, the new Polo got a City Emergency Brake Assist. Up to 30 km / h, this system can avoid or at least mitigate rear-end collisions in the city.
The new optional sports suspension, with dampers that can be adjusted at the push of a button, belongs more to the driving pleasure category than to safety. But the first exit showed that the Polo doesn't need this gimmick. The standard suspension is completely fine - if you are looking for more driving pleasure, the upcoming Polo GTI will find the right partner.
Better too early – The “early adopter”
For the first time since I've been working with cars, I'm experiencing this situation. Volkswagen has expanded the on-board multimedia system for the new VW Polo to such an extent that the Mirror-Link interface is already integrated, even before the smartphone manufacturers have provided the necessary software. The test car was already equipped with the optional “Mirror Link” interface, but did not want to cooperate with my Android cell phone. Theoretically, you connect your own cell phone (Mirror Link will only work with Android and Nokia Symbian devices) to the multimedia system in the vehicle using a USB cable, select the Mirror Link option and receive the content from your own smartphone via the large one Touchscreen shown. There will also be apps that are Mirror-Link compatible. Currently this is, for example, Facebook, Glympse and a few others. Your cell phone then ends up in a special shell, which in turn provides a connection to an external antenna (optional). The cell phone is stored safely in the car, you can operate it via the multimedia system, use the hands-free system and, thanks to the USB connection, the cell phone is also charged. In short: That's how I imagine the future of my smartphone in the car.
And now comes the “but”: HTC has announced that it will offer the latest Android version, which supports Mirror Link, for an update in May. For the HTC One. Samsung is talking about summer with the S4 and other manufacturers or models are currently still completely open. This means that – for the first time – an automobile manufacturer is actually becoming the spearhead of a new technology that revolves around smartphones, multimedia and “always on”.
The polo.
In addition to LED headlights, new successes in minimizing CO² emissions and the expected good workmanship quality of a Wolfsburg derivative, it is actually this “Mirror Link story” that really impressed me. Because the Polo – e.g. as TDI with 90 PS and DSG drumming flacky through the countryside, as usual, the gears change and never let the feeling of lack of performance arise, was to be expected.
The interior looks as solid as usual. Crackling and rattling? This is as foreign to the Polo as the Mittelland Canal real swell.
But that with Mirror-Link, of all things, the new Polo is one of the very first on the market - even before the smartphone manufacturers have updated their systems, it really comes as a surprise. A positive!
To the technical data:
If you are only interested in multimedia integration, you should also read the Apple solution: Apple CarPlay. (Link)
Driving reports from colleagues: