SHOULD VOLKSWAGEN INDIA BRING THE POLO R-LINE HATCHBACK TO REPLACE THE 1.6 LITER PETROL ENGINE MODEL?

Volkswagen is now selling a sporty variant of the Polo Hatchback in the UK market in the form of the R-Line model. The 2012 Volkswagen Polo R-Line model features a three door design and comes with sporty bits like lower front and rear bumpers, blacked out radiator grille, side skirts and 16 inch wheels. The car also has sporty interiors to go with the exteriors in the form of a leather clad steering wheel and seats done up in black fabric. The real deal about the R-Line Polo is at the heart of the matter, the engine. The 1.2 Liter turbo petrol engine that the Polo features comes with a power output of 104 bhp and a torque output of 175 Nm.

This engine is mated to a six speed manual transmission. The turbo petrol engine, being a triple cylinder unit isn’t only about power and torque. Rather, excellent fuel economy is a trait that this three cylinder engine, like most three potters comes with. Volkswagen even claims a heady 17 Kmpl for this car, which is quite a revelation as it would be tough to muster an average of more than 12 Kmpl on the 1.6 Liter four cylinder petrol engined Polo, that is also sold in the Indian market, as the top of the line performance variant in the Polo line up.

Now that Volkswagen does have this peppy 1.2 turbo petrol engine selling in the United Kingdom, we wonder if it wouldn’t be a good option from the German brand to give Indians too a taste of this fast yet frugal hatchback, which promises to be much more fun to drive than the thirsty 1.6 Liter engine, that really needs to be given the stick above 3,000 rpm for progress to be swift. In contrast, the turbocharger equipped 1.2 Liter TSI mill will be much more torquier right from the word go and that’s what is expected to put the fun-to-drive factor in the Polo.

Performance figures for the R-Line 1.2 Liter TSI engined Polo is quite impressive to say the least. The nought to hundred sprint will be dispatched in a quick 9.7 seconds, which is faster than many other expensive cars. Top speed is 190 Kph, which again is fast for what is essentially a budget hatchback. The Polo sells for about 15,195 GBP, which when converted comes to about INR 13 lakhs, that makes this car a little too expensive for Indian sensibilities. If Volkswagen India can use the localization that they’ve achieved with the Polo hatchback to halve that price and retain the extra couple of doors, perhaps they’ll find plenty of takers.