What is the difference between Volkswagen Polo and Golf?

The Volkswagen hatchback is everywhere. It's virtually impossible to drive on any tarred road to anywhere without coming across a Volkswagen Polo or Golf. The Polo, in some shape, way, or form has been the best-selling passenger vehicle in South Africa for a rather long time. It continues to set the pace by which others are measured. What is it that makes them so special?

Related: How much are car repayments on a new Volkswagen Polo hatch?

Both the Polo and Golf have become synonymous with reliability, ease of use, style and even performance. The practical, yet sporty nature of the cars ticks many of the boxes desired by consumers. Both are able to slot seamlessly into the lives of moms, dads, young drivers and old. They're easy to park, affordable to run, and carry a status that announces to others that you've arrived, you're a successful person who is doing well in life. Who wouldn't be attracted to that?

 

What is the difference between the Polo and Golf?

Both the Volkswagen Polo and Volkswagen Golf are hatchbacks, usually found in 5-door arrangement where you're presented with 4 doors for passengers and a tailgate at the rear that sees both the hatch and glass lift out of the way to present you with a usable boot. The Polo is offered in a sedan style, though less popular than the hatch. The biggest difference between the Polo hatch and Golf is in their overall size.

The Volkswagen Polo is regarded as a B-segment hatchback, alternatively called a sub-compact hatchback. The current generation measures in at 4074 mm long and is 1751 mm wide. It stands 1451 mm tall and has a wheelbase (distance from wheel to wheel, responsible for ride comfort and stability) of 2552 mm. This gives the Polo a turning circle of 10.6 metres.

 

Open up the boot, and you're given 351 litres of storage space with folding rear seats to further expand your loading capabilities. This is significantly larger in the Polo sedan with a boot size of 521 litres.

By contrast, the Volkswagen Golf is larger, measuring in at 4287 mm long and 1789 mm wide. The height of the roof is 1478 mm high and it rides on a longer, 2627 mm wheelbase for a slightly larger turning circle of 10.9 metres. Boot space comes in at 374 litres, once again with folding rear seats for additional storage and packing options.

Both the Polo and Golf are front-engine, front-wheel-drive vehicles and available with manual or automatic gearboxes. The current Golf GTI and R are only available with a DSG automatic gearbox but earlier models were available with a manual gearbox.

 

Variations of the Polo and Golf

The Golf is the older of the two models, first introduced in the 1970s while the Polo is a little younger, only having started locally much later (despite being nearly as old as the Golf internationally). Recent shifts in buying habits have seen the regular, consumer Golf models dropped from the local lineup and now one is only able to buy the Golf in GTI or R trim. The Polo remains a firm favourite though and is offered in both hatchback and sedan formats with a GTI version available in the hatchback style.

The Polo hatch range is now powered by a 1.0-litre turbocharged 3-cylinder engine with a variety of outputs as well as the 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder GTI version. Sedan models are powered by a naturally aspirated (non-turbo) 1.6-litre, 4-cylinder engine.

In previous generations of both the Golf and Polo, a wide variety of engines were made available including a few diesel derivatives, known as the TDI.

 

Prices

Naturally, the smaller Polo is cheaper than the larger Golf and as such, the Golf also offers a better equipment- and trim level with nicer materials used for its interior. Prices for the Polo sedan start at R318 300 while the hatchback starts at R329 900. Expect to pay no less than R716 500 for the Jacara edition Volkswagen Golf GTI.