Clarity and order

It's a similar story of restraint for the interior and, once again, the Polo borrows heavily from the Golf, with shrink-fit copies of clocks, vents and a well-ordered centre console dominating proceedings.

At this end of the market, there's little to rival the latest Polo's clarity and fine ergonomics. Clearly labelled instrumentation, large dials, buttons and switches, and good quality plastics make an impressive job of endowing the cabin with a high-end feel.

But there's one small caveat Order the entry-level S model and, instead of the dense, cushy plastics that cover the dashboard and door trim in higher-specification cars, your interior will be lumbered with a hard and rather utilitarian finish.

We've seen this sort of cost-cutting in other superminis, most notably the Renault Clio, but it's certainly not what we've come to expect from Volkswagen.