When Volkswagen India invited Indian Autos Blog for the VW Polo GT TSI media drive in Goa last month, we had the chance to put forward some questions to Mr. Arvind Saxena, MD of VW India. Mr. Saxena told us that there were no all-new cars being launched this year and that VW would launch special editions and variant extensions of already existing models.
Here is the first proof of that. What you see here is the VW Cross Polo that was caught testing by our friends at Indian Cars Bikes, at Chakan in Pune, home to VW India.
The VW Cross Polo is nothing but the Polo with a rough road package that includes plastic cladding all around, roof rails and some logos to differentiate it from the normal one. However, there are some details that are different.
VW Polo vs VW Cross Polo
The length of the Cross Polo is at 3,987mm against the normal Polo's 3,970mm. The extra length is due to the thick front and rear bumpers with cladding and does not translate to a bigger cabin.
Same goes for the breadth of the car which is 1,698mm as against 1,682mm of the normal Polo. The ground clearance of the car would see an additional increase of up to 23mm as well.
While international variants have a larger diameter alloy wheel, the Cross Polo caught on test here seems to feature the same alloys as seen on the normal Highline variant.
With the launch of the Ford EcoSport around the corner, VW may want to appeal to those buyers who seek a hatchback with SUV pretensions.
However, as sister company Skoda proved with the Fabia Scout, there aren't any takers for a hatch with a SUV bodykit. The reason could be the steep price Skoda was asking for. Even so, VW would charge higher due to brand hierarchy and as the Cross Polo is likely to be the flagship variant.
[Source - IndianCarsBikes.in]
