Should you buy one?

Yes, providing you understand what it is you’re buying. The Volkswagen Polo is a practical car for sensible people. It sacrifices driving fun in the interest of refinement, a rock-solid image, good fuel economy and strong residual values.

If you’re the sort of driver that likes to take the long route home from work to enjoy your favourite B-roads, you’ll find little to interest you here. The Polo is rather bland to drive – and we reckon the Renault Clio or SEAT Ibiza will serve you much better.

But all you care about is being comfortable, the Polo could be perfect for you. It’s easy to drive, well-equipped and it has plenty of passenger space for its class. Just be sure you spec it carefully. The Polo can look vibrant and fun in a bright colour and a toppy trim-level, but a low-spec model in a dowdy finish can suck the life out of any drive.

What we like

The comfort, the refinement and the technology. It’s close to setting new standards for the class – and most of the equipment is easy to use. There are also lots of trim levels to choose from, each bringing slight variations. There’s a configuration to suit almost any requirement.

What we don’t like

The Polo is disappointingly dull to drive. Its controls are almost entirely devoid of life and its engines are rather lethargic compared to Ford’s excellent 1.0-litre EcoBoost units. And while there is a hot Polo GTI, it’s nowhere near as engaging as a Hyundai i20 N.

The Polo is also somewhat of a dinosaur in the supermini segment. Rivals such as the Renault Clio and Toyota Yaris have embraced self-charging hybrid technology – but the Polo stubbornly remains available with pure-combustion engines only.