Personal comparison of Solaris and Polo. Or why I have changed automobile…
After 3.5 years of driving a 2013 Polo, 1.6 liter, 105 horsepower, and now 11 months of driving a 2016 Schmallaris, 1.6 liter, 123 horses, I will compare cars from the driver’s point of view without references to characteristics, tests and other things. Was originally looking for a rio, but I didn’t get the option I wanted. I present my personal opinion, no more, and I do not exclude the misunderstanding of many drivers.
Body The appearance of each model to your liking, asian and european, who likes how. But the iron of polo is much thicker. For example accidental run of the wife right rear door into the concrete block showed the poor quality of concrete, the door dented, but no tears … About called in the people “bones of the body” I do not see the point to write, did not beat, did not check.
Noise isolation Noise in polo is better than solaris, I remember the first time I drove solaris partially on dirt. It felt like someone was pouring buckets of bolts in the trunk. Fat minus to the Solaris. I want to make noise of a trunk.
The engine + box. Let’s start with the Solaris. The engine and gearbox are running, judging by reviews of two owners of “Solaris” with 100 thousand km mileage no problems arose. Goes naturally more fun than the polo. I have respect for this set of Asian origin, which can not say the polo. Engine 1,6 liters, 105 horses + tiptronic Aisin. Well with the Japanese box is all boring, no complaints. On the engine at 20-30k km run the pump starts running, scrapers, the hell with them. There is a feeling that the supply of this engine in Russia is revenge for 1945. Why his engineers have strangled it I do not understand. At -20° the car warmed up for 20 minutes twice in a row! Inside the cabin is a breeze. Judging by the application of the alarm system the engine warmed up without the blanket and the cardboard in front of the radiator to 45°, and with them to 51°. Polo was fully serviceable and maintained. If you warm up briefly and go straight to the Polo, when driving in city traffic, the heat in the cabin should wait an average of 15 minutes. Owners of an engine with a mkp have shorter warm-up times. Engine Polo with 1.6 liters of 110 hp the situation has not changed much, except the appearance of chewing oil within reason.
Suspension The suspension of the solaris does not stand next to the polo. It is knocked down in polo. At first on the highway driving Polo at 100-110 km / h, I really struggled with sleep. Clearance of the polo is more than Solaris, I’m still driving on the Solaris, I’m afraid to catch something, good protection is. That both cars have a rear beam and its behavior is known to all. What they say about the wiggle “butt” of the Solaris, I have not noticed it on my restyle. The suspension of the Solaris is “liquid”.
The warmth of the cabin. It’s not warm in Solaris, it’s hotter than a representative of Vag. This was the main reason for buying the car. Bravo, 9 minutes at -20-25° outside temperature! I think this is an excellent result.
In the Polo, if I’m not mistaken, even bluetooth has been available since 2015. Both have heated seats and side mirrors. But, the presence of a fully heated windshield, heated steering wheel, heated washer nozzles windshield Solaris in terms of benefits wins from the polo. The Solaris has 2 cigarette lighter sockets, the Polo has 1, a trifle, but it’s nicer to see 2. Factory camera with output to the rear window, keyless access + button “start-stop” = unimportant, but nice little things. In polo it is not present at all. The front seats are more ergonomic in polo, more comfortable.
The light on the Polo is ordinary halogen, without lenses. The light in the solaris is lens-type halogen. In short, the light in the polo without the presence of fog lights just no, from the word “at all”. The light in the solaris is quite good.
Bottom line: Polo you can take, but either mkp and the best place of his life is the western part of Russia. I personally do not like budget cars, workhorses. What would I choose from these cars, taking into account the family with 2 children? Probably nothing. If for myself alone, probably rio … Everything, the confession is over, you can kick! But honestly!
P.S. Strokil “on my knee” expecting my daughter from practice, for text errors, please forgive.
What is better: Volkswagen Polo or Hyundai Solaris
It so happens that exactly the cars of budget segment are in the highest demand in many countries. The only good thing is that for 2021 this niche is filled with a lot of cars. There are even cars from big-name brands that offer cars with at least a hint of some comfort.
In this article, let’s look at two of the brightest representatives of this segment, between which the buyer often has to choose. Let’s compare these two cars and try to find out which is better: Volkswagen Polo or Hyundai Solaris. The cars were updated in 2020, the Polo went to a new generation, and the Solaris underwent a restyling.
The technical part
Cars are similar in many ways, and the differences that sometimes occur are not significant.The basic technical parameters are presented in the table.
Regarding the motors and gearboxes, the choice is not rich. The German model in the inexpensive versions can run an atmospheric motor for 1.6 liters, paired with an automatic with 6 speeds or a manual with 5. Power of simple versions of Polo is in the range from 90 to 110 horsepower. The top-of-the-range Polo is equipped with a 1.4 liter turbo engine and works with a DSG gearbox, which already allows the liftback to make 125 horsepower.
In Hyundai everything is simpler – there are two atmospheric engines of 1.4 and 1.6 liters. The engines will allow the sedan to show 100 and 123 powers respectively. There are also two transmissions: manual and automatic and both have six speeds.
Feelings on the road
Certainly, cars can cope with some bad roads, but if it comes to more or less serious offroading then everything is extremely sad, but quite expected. Absence of all-wheel drive versions and frankly city clearance is the reason for it. But in a city and on a freeway the cars will justify or surpass all expectations.
The new Polo is a little bit better than previous versions, as they were extremely successful at once. The car holds the road perfectly, the liftback is able to calmly pass a difficult turn even at high speed, preserving the comfort for the driver and passengers. Also the car shows an excellent response even to small movements of the steering wheel.
The suspension of Polo is built according to the popular scheme for this segment: in front there is the McPherson spring scheme with stabilizers, in rear – semi-independent spring system. It is necessary to note, that in all generations of Polo the suspension pleases with reliability. There is nothing to surprise in terms of brakes, there are discs in front, drums behind, but there are versions, where discs will be installed behind as well.
As for the Solaris earlier there were questions, but with restyling many of them can be considered solved. Gone are the pauses between turning the steering wheel and the wheels. The suspension is built according to the same scheme as Polo, only it is a little bit stiffer, but on roads with defects (and there are a lot of them in Russia) it even helps. The brakes are also made according to the scheme similar to Polo.
It makes no sense to talk about the options separately, you can read about them carefully on the official websites. It is worth noting that in the basic version Polo offers a little more than the Korean. Further versions look approximately the same there and there.
It is worth noting that both manufacturers offer a lot of useful features, which is not common to all budget cars. It is also worth noting that the Koreans still give more choices for the buyer, as there are more packages with additional options.
At prices the cars do not differ much, depending on the versions, each car may cost more expensive or cheaper than the competition in the same equipment. In the base Solaris will cost just a little cheaper, but significant savings this difference certainly can not be called.
Contents
Both cars correspond to the status of a budget car. Definitely they will not bring unpleasant financial surprises in process of servicing. On some positions the Korean will cost a little bit cheaper.
It is also necessary to note the fuel moment. Yes, their flow rate is nominally plus or minus the same, only the Germans insist on using only 95 gasoline, while Koreans allow using AI92. True, the actual consumption of the Solaris is a little bit higher on 92.
Design and capacity.
And here all is practically equal. In 2020 the Korean has not changed much as it has only been restyled. The Polo, on the other hand, got the long-awaited full-fledged update. Both cars look stylish, but it is difficult to call them bright and noticeable.
Inside everything is very modern, but it is worth noting that Polo still looks a little more austere. (subjectively). The type of body (liftback and sedan) also plays a role. This affects the trunk, the Korean will provide 480 liters, and Polo – 50 liters more.
Conclusion
Both cars can safely be called successful, and it is really very difficult to choose something. They are almost completely identical. If one of them pulls ahead slightly due to the advantage in some criteria, the competitor will respond with the advantage in something else. It is that case when the cars are really equal and it is bravely possible to choose the one to which your soul lays more.
