• Comfortable, upmarket cabin
• Frustrating climate control panel
• Crystal clear infotainment system

How is the quality and layout?

Material quality is good, although it isn’t what we’d call outstanding compared to other superminis. It’s noticeably better than budget offerings, such as the Suzuki Swift and Dacia Sandero, but it we’re not sure whether it strides far enough away from the Renault Clio to make it worth spending an extra £3,000 on. Especially when the Clio is more fun to drive.

Still, Volkswagen has tried to make the Polo feel like a more premium product. The most common touchpoints, such as the steering wheel, gear lever and door handles, feel suitably upmarket and it’s been nailed together very well. We didn’t hear a peep from any of the trims, even after we subjected them to some of the most battered roads in Lincolnshire.

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Sadly, the touch-sensitive climate control panel feels a little flimsy – and we reckon it’s an ergonomic step backwards from the simple dials and buttons you got in the pre-facelifted Polo. You gently swipe a set of sliders to increase or decrease the heat and fan speed, which is infuriating upon first encounter. Plus, the shiny black plastic infotainment surround is a magnet for fingerprints.

Infotainment and technology

The Polo comes with a choice of two infotainment systems, depending on how far up the car’s model range you’re willing to climb. Entry level Life and Match models have 8.0-inch screens, while the flagship Style and R-Line variants feature a larger 10.25-inch unit.

The latter screen is particularly impressive – its graphics are crystal clear, and the extra real estate makes it easier to navigate the menus or use split screen mode in Android Auto/Apple CarPlay. However, both screens can be a little slow to boot up, especially during the winter. Despite the fact it’s used to control almost every function on the car, it’s also far easier to navigate than the system fitted to the Vauxhall Corsa.

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If you’re a proper technophile, you’ll be pleased to know that Volkswagen has also shifted the Polo’s instruments to a fully digital setup. Each trim features a second screen ahead of the driver, identically sized to its corresponding infotainment size, that displays a variety of information, including speed, engine revs and navigation instructions.

The Polo’s digital instrument screens are equally sharp and are quite resistant to glare from the sun. That’s more than can be said of the instrument clusters fitted to Stellantis superminis, such as the Peugeot 208 and Vauxhall Corsa.

Comfort

• Good ride comfort for a supermini
• Bigger wheels impact its performance
• Refinement better than rivals

This is where the Polo starts to make sense. It’s more comfortable and refined than its rivals – and it feels like a far bigger car than it is. There’s tonnes of adjustment in the seats and steering column, which means drivers of all shapes and sizes can get comfortable. Taller drivers might find themselves over-reaching slightly for the steering wheel if they set the seat in a position that’s comfortable for their legs, but that’s our only complaint.

The seats are supportive, too, especially if you opt for either a Style or R-Line model. They feature old-school manually lumbar supports that cradle your lower back just enough to stop you from cramping up on a long drive. The seats have good side bolsters, too.

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We’re a little disappointed by the amount of engine vibration – but Volkswagen’s engineers aren’t miracle workers. Three-cylinder engines are inherently more imbalanced than four-cylinder engines, and the Polo still manages to better its rivals. If value comfort above all else, we’d recommend avoiding the entry-level 80hp engine. You don’t need to work the 95hp unit as hard, which means the cabin stays quieter and more refined.

The Polo edges ahead of its rivals on road noise. The chassis and sound deadening supress tyre roar and suspension clonks from potholes very well, especially when teamed with the smaller alloys and larger profiled tyres on lower spec models.