By Kevin Miller
While automotive media here in the US has been busy showing off embargo-broken photos of the bland and bloated next Volkswagen Jetta, here’s something a little different from Wolfsburg: The CrossPolo.
Likely named to recall a cross dresser crossover, the CrossPolo is essentially Volkswagen’s smallest five-door hatch, the Polo (introduced in 2009), wearing the equivalent of a stylish pair of hiking boots and a jaunty cap. Introduced together with the Polo GTI, the CrossPolo rounds out the Polo family model lineup. Typical of European-market vehicles, the Polo is available with six different powertrains (three diesel and three gasoline-powered) ranging from 70 to 105 HP, two of which are available with Volkswagen’s 7-speed DSG.
Featuring unique 17-inch alloy wheels beneath black plastic wheelarch extensions, anodized silver roof rails and unique front and rear bumpers, the CrossPolo has the all-terrain design cues today’s crossover shoppers are looking for. Inside, the tiny crossover features a two-tone upholstery scheme complementing the car’s exterior (with CrossPolo embroidered on the front seat backrests), leather-wrapped steering wheel and handbrake (with stitching complementing the two-tone upholstery), and standard features like heatable, power-adjustable mirrors, power windows, and tire pressure monitoring.
The Honda-Fit-sized Polo is rumored to be heading to the US, though no concrete timeline has been announced. With Volkswagen’s own Golf growing bigger with each successive generation, the time may be right to bring the Polo stateside (and perhaps its GTI variant), especially if Volkswagen intends to meet its aggressive North American sales targets. The cross-dressing CrossPolo, though, can stay in Europe. As the Suzuki SX4 has shown, there is a very limited market in this part of the world for compact 5-door hatchbacks dressed up as SUVs.
