How much has the VW Polo Vivo changed since my bachelor days?
The Volkswagen Polo Vivo has been the best-selling passenger vehicle in South Africa since its inception in 2010, selling over 425 000 units in the country and in sub-Saharan markets.
It’s also the best-selling vehicle in the Matwadia household. My dad — a man of fairness and justice — made a promise to me and my siblings when we were at university that, if we passed our first year, he would buy us each our first car.
Fortunately, we all worked hard and passed. All three of us received Polo Vivos as our first cars. My sister got the 2011 model, I got the 2016 model and my brother the 2021.
How much difference was there between the three Vivo models? As the years passed, I began to study the evolution of the vehicle.
From my sister’s to mine (both Trendline variants), there was barely any change. The 2016 edition had a slightly refreshed look, better rims, and that was it.
The dashboard looked the same, the radio system was the same, the instrument cluster looked the same. Electric windows weren’t a thing for us, so we were both rolling down all four manually.
The point is that, just like there was not much of a generation gap between the two of us — both Millennials — the vehicles also didn’t change much.
Enter the Gen Z sibling and the Gen Z Polo Vivo. My dad bought my brother his car in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. The first time I saw it, I was actually shocked.
The whole look of the vehicle had changed. The front was far more attractive, the boot space had increased, the cloth seats inside felt a touch more premium, the infotainment centre was no longer just a radio, but a small touchscreen, and you also had some steering wheel controls. The front windows were now also electric.
VW knew that Gen Z would complain about subtle updates, so they put a lot of effort into the new generation, which dropped in 2018.
However, it did seem that eight years was a long time to wait for those big changes to take place.
In 2024, VW introduced a refreshed Polo Vivo. It now has four variants: a 1.4 delivering 55 kilowatts, a 1.4 delivering 63kW, a 1.6 delivering 77kW and a 1.0 TSI delivering 81kW.
I managed to get myself behind the wheel of the entry model last week and wanted to relive my bachelor days one last time. I realised that I was comparing everything from this model directly to the 2018 model.
At first glance, from the outside, you won’t notice much change. Sure, VW has added front fog lights and cornering lights, including daytime running lights, but the vehicle looks almost exactly the same.
VW claims that a new cloth “iceberg” interior has been added but it didn’t feel any different from the older model. The instrument cluster and steering wheel controls were also the same.
However, the new nine-inch infotainment display is a welcome addition as it gives the centre a cleaner look and also makes it easier to navigate through media and settings. It has a very responsive screen and comes equipped with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Once I began driving the vehicle, there was little to really wow me — except that I felt extremely nostalgic.
Due to the month of Ramadan, most of my sporting activities have been happening after 10pm, running into the early hours of the morning. I’ve become a little old and unfit for football tournaments, but here I was, back in my Polo Vivo, with a car full of passengers, rushing down the N12 at 4am after having just played in a padel tournament.
It really brought back the feeling of the good old days for me. It was refreshing to leave luxury driving behind for a few days and get back to basics. Going back to what a vehicle is actually meant to do — take you from point A to point B.
But the Polo Vivo has never been much about its features or fancies, rather embodying practicality,efficiency and reliability, while still allowing you to have fun.
It might only have 55kW of power, but for a light vehicle, it never felt underpowered. It’s also one of the only vehicles where you can get more than the claimed figures for fuel consumption.
VW claims 5.5 litres/100km but I was comfortably averaging 5 litres/100km. It’s no wonder I enjoyed it so much back when I was a student. The fuel tank on the Polo Vivo has never been heavy on the pocket.
Although there is nothing quite like a Polo, the price continues to rise. The entry Polo Vivo is now R266 600, while the top-of-the-range 1.0 TSI will cost you R356 000.
Vehicles like the Suzuki Swift and Tiggo 4 Pro LiT have issued a challenge, with the Swift starting at R219 000 and the Tiggo — a much bigger vehicle — at R279 000.
VW has found a winning formula with this vehicle, but it must avoid becoming complacent in a very competitive South African market that is becoming all about value for money.