VW's Newest EV is Affordable, Competent... and Boring?

Now that VW’s ID.Polo is officially out, I find myself... bored.

Maybe it’s because we’ve been hearing about an affordable VW EV for quite a while, and we saw the nearly-identical-looking concept four years ago. I do agree the ID.Polo is handsome and well-proportioned, and I welcome the return of physical controls. It appears to offer a suitably diverse range of powertrain options with respectable (though not class-leading) performance. But, to quote Peggy Lee, “Is that all there is?”

A few of the remarks by VW leadership in Autocar’s article caught my eye...

• ‘[T]he ID Polo is the first of Volkswagen’s EVs to be created with such a prominent focus on how it will be used... The brand will now “start with people: who’s actually driving this car?”.’ I think this is a great idea--but do you mean to tell me VW has never done this before? I know there have been some glitches and goofs in the past, but this seems to throw the entire product development organization under the bus.

• ‘All except the entry model will feature a light-up bar on the nose that “gives the car a strong and recognisable look at night”.’ Really? It seems almost everyone’s got a light bar these days. It’s so prevalent that Hyundai’s design chief said “I’ve seen enough” of light bars last fall.

Perhaps there is a huge contingent of European buyers who want a safe, conservative, electric hatchback that doesn’t bring anything new to the playing field. But I was hoping for more.

#vw #id #polo #ev #electricvehicle #automotive #automotivenews #autoperspectives