Revealed: New Volkswagen ID Polo to take on Renault 5 from £22k

"When developing the ID Polo, we thought a lot about how our customers really use the car in their everyday life," he said. "When I became a father, we also had a Polo and this was basically enough for us because we lived in a city, but fitting a stroller inside was almost impossible. So with the ID Polo, we asked ourselves: can we do this better?"

Indeed, Schäfer said the ID Polo has benefited from a change in development approach at Volkswagen following usability criticism of the previous ID EVs, especially the first ID 3. Instead of engineers creating "long lists of features and requirements" that they think buyers will want, the brand will now "start with people: who's actually driving this car?".

Schäfer said this means the focus of the car "became very clear and that changed everything in the way we did development faster, more focused and much closer to reality".

'Friendly' design

The ID Polo was previewed in 2023 by the ID 2all concept. The first new VW penned by Mindt, it signalled a new design language for the firm – one focused on practicality and likeability. Much of the concept's look is retained by the ID Polo, including its "friendly" face and "likeable smile", said Grunitz, who added: "A real Volkswagen always needs a face."

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". At the rear, the badge lights up. It follows a similar design to the petrol Polo in having a long wheelbase and short overhangs - boosting interior space - while featuring the classic angled Volkswagen C-pillar, which began with the Golf Mk1 ("the first thing you notice", according to Grunitz).

Combined with large, sculpted wheel arches, the car has a "strong and stable look" and a design that is "calm and timeless", said Grunitz. "A Volkswagen should look modern today, but still look good 10 years from now," he added.

Inside, it features Volkswagen's new-age cabin, which made its debut on the facelifted ID 3 Neo last month. Grunitz called it a "big jump forward" that "addresses many of the criticisms our customers had" about past ID models.

The dashboard houses a 10.25in digital information display and a 13in landscape infotainment screen. The latter no longer has the controversial 'slider' controls for the volume and heating. Instead, below the screen is a row of physical controls for the heating, air conditioning and hazard warning lights. There is also a rotary dial that can control the infotainment volume and change tracks or radio stations. A new-shape steering wheel hosts two clusters of physical buttons.

Schäfer said Mindt's new design language "was really an inspiration to the entire team" and has transformed the firm. He added that the "clarity" it has brought has "changed everything" about how decisions are made, "even small ones".

For example, he explained why the ID Polo has physical door handles, rather than flush, touch-sensitive ones like on the ID 4: "You stand in front of the car, you have your shopping bags in your hand, and you do not know how to open the door. And we said: 'Hold on. This is not it at Volkswagen.' It must feel right immediately; it must be intuitive; it must be likeable."

Schäfer added that "this is why we also bring back real buttons, intuitive usability, but also real names" so Volkswagens are cars "you can understand immediately".

Broad line-up

From launch, the front-wheel-drive ID Polo will be offered with a choice of three powertrains and two batteries in a bid to give it broad appeal. The entry-level Life cars use a 37kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery for a claimed range of 204 miles. They can be charged at up to 90kW for a 10-80% refill in 27 minutes. Two power levels are offered: 114bhp and 133bhp.

Top-spec Style has a 52kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt pack that increases the range to 283 miles. A maximum charging rate of 130kW cuts the 10-80% refill time to 24 minutes.

Joining the range soon will be the more potent ID Polo GTI - the first time the GTI badge has appeared on an EV. Previewed by the 2023 ID GTI concept, it is expected to be launched later this year with a similar 222bhp output to that of the Raval VZ. Cupra's rival to the Alpine A290 has a host of additions that are also expected to appear on the GTI, such as an electronic limited-slip differential. A similar 0-62mph time to the VZ's 7.0sec is likely.

The ID Polo "comes with technology you would normally expect in much higher classes", said Grunitz. For example, as standard it gets semi-autonomous travel assist, a rear-view camera and smartphone mirroring. The car also features tech that allows it to be parked via an owner's smartphone. Style adds LED matrix headlights, sport comfort seats and two-zone air-con, while kit such as a panoramic sunroof, electronically adjustable front seats and a 10-speaker Harman Kardon sound system are optional.

As previously reported by Autocar, Volkswagen is exploring plans for two other high-performance ID Polo variants: the GTI Clubsport and the R. The latter could be its first model to use in-wheel motors as part of a 400bhp-plus four-wheel drive system.