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The VW Polo presents us with a bit of a conundrum. Is it okay for us to recommend a car that you can buy so much more cheaply from another brand?
You see, all of the Polo's mechanical parts, and pretty much all of its talents and high points, are also available in Seat form, in the Ibiza. So the Ibiza is always going to be better value, right? Well, not necessarily.
You see when you dig into the figures, you’ll see that at that most basic level, the Ibiza only enjoys a couple of hundred euro price advantage. And that gap stays fairly consistent all the way up the range.
True, the Ibiza hits back with slightly better standard equipment and cheaper options, but then the Polo hits back to the hitting back with an arguably more premium image, and equally arguably more handsome styling.
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Top-spec GTI version is more sensible than it is fun, but the mid-spec 1.0-litre TSI 95hp version provides, in R-Line form, reasonably-priced all-round performance that’s actually pretty hard to beat.
Best model: Polo R-Line 1.0 TSI 95hp for €22,195. Price range: €18,250 to €33,350. Finance from €199 per month. Co2 emissions: 97 to 135g/km. Sum up: Not as priceyb as you'd think.