VW Polo

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At a glance

Who is the VW Polo for?

Two travellers with cabin bags picking up at Tivat and basing in Kotor Old Town — the Polo is the most parkable petrol hatch on the fleet.

• Couples
• Cruise day-hires
• Bay-road first-timers

The VW Polo around the Bay of Kotor

Behind the wheel

The current-generation Polo plays the straight man of the Volkswagen small-car range. A 1.0 TSI three-cylinder with 95 hp, a five-speed manual that is light and accurate rather than engaging, and a cabin that treats you like an adult rather than a target market. Around town the suspension stays firm without crashing over kerbs, and the brake pedal is confidence-inspiring after the first twenty kilometres. Push on an open stretch and you hit the honest limits of 95 hp, but the chassis never protests and the steering is as linear as anything in its class. It feels a size up from what 4,074 mm of outside length suggests.

On Kotor roads

Kotor is the kind of town the Polo was quietly engineered for. The Tabacina and south-gate bays outside the Sea Gate were laid out for cars of this footprint — anything wider than 1.75 m finds itself reversing apologetically, while the Polo slots in without drama. The bay road to Perast, a single lane with stone walls on one side and open water on the other, welcomes a narrow car with an honest turning circle; the Volkswagen places exactly where you point the nose. Where the Polo is less convincing is the 25 hairpins up the old Austrian road to Lovćen on a full cabin — the three-cylinder earns its dinner above 800 metres.

Space and load

The 351-litre boot takes two cabin-size wheelies and a couple of soft bags without asking questions, which covers most couples doing five nights on the bay. Fold the rear bench for a day at Plavi Horizonti on the Luštica peninsula — two sun loungers, a parasol, snorkels, and a cool-box with room left for a produce run from Voli in Dobrota. It is not a four-adults-and-luggage car. Two people plus generous day bags, or three travellers with cabin kit only — that is where the Polo's packaging stops flattering you and starts asking for compromises.

Best journeys for this car

Picture the couple who have booked four nights inside the Old Town's eastern edge and want a car that tucks into the angled parking outside the River Gate without requiring a three-point turn. Picture the cruise passenger hiring for a single day out of the port terminal — small enough to thread Perast's single waterfront lane in July, economical enough that a half-tank covers the Kotor–Lovćen–Cetinje–Njeguši round trip and back by mid-afternoon. Solo visitors on longer stays like it for the same trio of reasons: parkable, cheap, unintimidating on unfamiliar mountain descents.

Practical notes

Fuel economy settles around 5.5 L/100 km on the mixed bay-road diet, which with 95 octane hovering near €1.55 means a full tank carries you from Herceg Novi to Bar and most of the way back. Parking is the ongoing win: the bastion-gate bays, the free overflow above Dobrota, and the stepped lots at Prčanj all accept a sub-4.1 m car without drama. Front-wheel drive on all-season rubber handles coastal winter cleanly. Heading to Žabljak or Kolašin between November and March? Chains are legally required on several passes — ask at pickup. Summer air conditioning is adequate rather than arctic; you will feel the compressor load on a 35°C climb out of the Vrmac tunnel.

The verdict

Pick the Polo if your Kotor week is mostly coastal, mostly two people, and mostly about parking somewhere tight at the end of each drive. Skip it if you are three-plus with luggage, planning heavy inland mileage, or want the quietest possible motorway run to the Croatian border.

Inside the car

• Air Conditioning
• Bluetooth Audio
• USB Charging
• Central Locking