New Volkswagen ID Polo: our honest first impressions of VW’s most important new car in years

This is the new Volkswagen ID Polo, and it’s a very important car. This is the first time VW’s iconic small hatchback has gone fully electric, and it’s based on an all-new collection of parts.

It’ll start from less than £25,000, making it an alternative to cars like the Renault 5, Fiat Grande Panda Electric and MG4 Urban. We’ve had a good look around the new ID Polo, so here’s everything you need to know about the technology, interior, practicality and design.

New Volkswagen ID Polo price

The new Volkswagen ID Polo will cost just under 25,000 euros in Germany, which equates to £22,000. UK prices haven’t been locked in just yet, but it’s a safe bet that it’ll start from anywhere between £22,000 and £25,000 once it hits our shores.

By comparison, the excellent Renault 5 starts from £21,500. This will be the ID Polo’s fiercest competitor, but it’ll also be up against the £21,000 Fiat Grande Panda, the £20,000 Citroen e-C3 and the £23,500 MG4 Urban.

New Volkswagen ID Polo first impressions: why this puts VW back on top

Volkswagen’s interiors have been a point of controversy in recent years. It used to have some of the most high-quality and user-friendly cabins in the business, but around the time the latest Golf was launched it replaced proper buttons with fiddly touch sliders.

Well the ID Polo is a return to form, because this car’s interior feels as solid and premium as a VW should. Patrik Chen from Carwow Germany has been to look around the car, and it’s safe to say he was impressed.

Material quality is excellent for a small, affordable car, with modern-looking fabric coverings on the dashboard and centre console which make it feel premium. This is a clever way of making a car feel posh, without having to use expensive, soft-touch plastics.

The main highlight is the user interface, because Volkswagen has brought back proper buttons. You get a row of switches below the 13.0-inch touchscreen for your temperature, fan speed and the window defrosters, which feel nice and solid with a knurled metallic edge.

You also get four separate window switches. This might seem insignificant, but it’s a huge improvement over the touch-sensitive-and-toggle-switch faff that comes in the existing ID models, which means you can only lower the front and rear windows separately.

On the practicality front, you get a pair of cupholders in the centre console, along with a stand for your phone just in front of them. You also get a 441-litre boot, which is cavernous for a car of this size. It’s 115 litres bigger than the Renault 5’s, and there’s a storage area under the floor big enough for a milk crate.

The ID Polo is also better than the Renault 5 for carrying rear passengers, because there’s a good amount of space. Obviously it’s a small car, so you can’t expect limo levels of legroom, but Patrik managed to sit comfortably in the back, with a generous amount of headroom.

I reckon the Renault 5’s interior has a bit more character than the ID Polo’s thanks to its brighter material colours and funkier textures, but the ID Polo still looks cool inside – and it’s more practical.

New Volkswagen ID Polo motors, batteries and range: up to 283 miles on a charge

There are three motor options available for the Volkswagen ID Polo, all of which drive the front wheels. You can have a 116hp or 135hp version, both of which come with a 37kWh battery, or there’s a 211hp model with a larger 52kWh battery.

Models with the smaller battery will have up to 204 miles of range, which is plenty for most people’s daily driving duties. If you need to go further than this, the 52kWh pack delivers 283 miles between charges.

That’s around 30 miles more than the long-range version of the Renault 5, and it’s over 50 miles further than a Hyundai Inster can manage. A 10-80% DC charge takes 24 minutes in cars with the 52kWh battery, whereas the 37kWh model takes 27 minutes thanks to slightly slower charging speeds.

A Volkswagen ID Polo GTI is also coming in the next few months, and that car will have 226hp going to the front wheels.

New Volkswagen ID Polo design: neat, but not ground-breaking

Whereas Fiat and Renault are going with retro-modern designs with their small electric cars, Volkswagen has taken a more contemporary approach. It’s not some facsimile of the original Polo from the 1970s, but it doesn’t have to be. This is a smart-looking small car.

The sleek headlights are connected by a full-width light bar, just like on the new Volkswagen ID3 Neo. It also has quite a chunky side profile, with a wheel-at-each-corner stance making it look purposeful.

I’m a fan of the clean rear end as well, with simple surfacing and a simple light bar across the tailgate. It’s not as head-turning as a Renault 5, but it’s a good-looking little car. You can also get it in bright yellow, which helps it stand out much more than its other colours.

When can I buy one?

Order books for the new Volkswagen ID Polo open soon, with first deliveries in the UK expected before the end of the year.

We’ll be driving the ID Polo as soon as it hits our shores, and only then will we be able to decide if it really is better than the Renault 5. Keep an eye on the Carwow website for our full review.

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