- New Volkswagen ID. The Polo’s interior is charmingly retro, in more ways than one.
- Not only does it have plenty of physical buttons and controls, the compact electric car also features design cues from classic Volkswagen models, such as the original Polo and Golf.
- Best of all: Display a digital “tape bar” when playing music.
Volkswagen likes to bank on nostalgia. But sometimes, it doesn’t work out. the Volkswagen ID. buzz It relies on the old design, but its limited electrical range and high price prevent it from being a convincing value.
Other times, VW nails the brief with a lot of charm, and it just seems so New electrical identity. Polo It falls right in this camp. The new hatchback rewrites the EV game for Volkswagen in several ways, from using a familiar brand name and look to ditching clunky capacitive controls and actual physical buttons.
Volkswagen ID. Polo interior
Photo by: Volkswagen
But the buttons are not the only thing that will determine the identity. Special polo. The car really gets into the retro groove, complete with digital versions of the gauges from the classic Golf and Polo – and even a ‘tick-tick’ display when music is playing.
The folks at the German Car Review Channel Car feeling Get an in-depth video about the new ID. The interior of the Polo, and they show just how great this electric car is for fans of modern classic Volkswagen cars – or anything from the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Let’s start with the digital display in front of the driver. I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is perhaps the most charming setup I’ve ever seen in any modern electric car. You get an analog-looking speedometer, an LED display straight out of a Casio watch, retro-futuristic battery charge and range readouts, and a “tachometer” that appears to be some sort of power meter.
All of this pays homage to Volkswagen’s classic history, specifically cars like MK1 Golf and GTI and MK1 and Mk2 Polo. This family of hatchbacks helped catapult Volkswagen firmly out of the air-cooled era and into an era where modern, upscale compact cars could be premium and fun to drive without sacrificing value. These retro touches help create the same ambiance for this new electric car.
Photo by: autogyfull
But the best part of all — the part that’s never necessary, but is cool anyway — is the “tape bar” display of your music player when Legacy mode is enabled in the car. It even says “low noise” and indicates which “side” of the tape is now playing, though who knows how accurate that will end up being. However, how cool is this look?
Photo by: autogyfull
This should be a nice nod to anyone who grew up with cassette tapes, or Any members of Generation Z who find themselves collecting them now. Far from any old-fashioned vibe, the new infotainment system looks a lot like Apple CarPlay, ditching the more complex interface we see in cars like the current VW ID.4 and the rest.
Granted, VW probably didn’t have much of a choice but to add physical buttons back to its cars. Capacitive switches (including switching between the front and rear windows) have proven very unpopular with buyers, and the European Union is cracking down on screen reliance and forcing the return of more touch controls.
But VW didn’t have to rely too heavily on its past here. However, it did so, knowing full well that many buyers – especially in Europe – have deep attachments to cars like the Golf and Polo. At the same time as Volkswagen It was soon overtaken by new competitors from ChinaWhy don’t we draw on heritage in ways that these brands can’t? Identity. The Polo is already shaping up to have a lot more character than its previous electric cars.
Hopefully that gives her an advantage here. Ultimately, identity. The Polo needs to compete well on range and price as well. The electric car will go on sale in Europe in April and its price is expected to start at less than $30,000 (€25,000). With a sporty GTI trim, a range of up to 280 miles on the European WLTP cycle and the power that made people love VW in the first place, it could be a contender. Let’s just hope the same character makes it to the new VW electric models sold here in the US as well.
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
