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Volkswagen Polo vs Toyota Yaris

What's the difference?

VS
Volkswagen Polo
Volkswagen Polo

$22,490 - $43,880

2022 price

Toyota Yaris
Toyota Yaris

$27,990 - $39,999

2023 price

Summary

2022 Volkswagen Polo
2023 Toyota Yaris
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Turbo 4, 2.0L

Inline 3, 1.5L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

Unleaded Petrol/Electric
Fuel Efficiency
6.5L/100km (combined)

3.3L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • Solid service pricing
  • No rear centre armrest
  • No adjustable rear air vents

  • Might as well buy a Corolla?
  • Noisy engine under load
  • Diminutive back seat and boot
2022 Volkswagen Polo Summary

The hot hatch wars, an on-going automotive conflict, fired up when Volkswagen lobbed a massive, Golf GTI-shaped salvo into an unsuspecting global car market in the middle of 1976.

Peugeot may have run a bold out-flanking manoeuvre with deployment of the 205GTi from the mid-1980s, and other skirmishes broke out soon after with the likes of Suzuki’s Swift GTi, but so far the German maker has retained majority ownership of those three little letters that mean so much.

Fast forward to 1995 and application of the GTI tag spread to the compact VW Polo, which close to three decades later brings us to the current, sixth-generation version.

It arrived in Australia in 2018, and four years down the track it’s time for an update, with subtle cosmetic tweaks and a significant safety upgrade included.

Volkswagen Australia invited us to the car’s local launch including a varied drive program, topped off with a hot-lap track session, to get a first taste of how it shapes up.

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2023 Toyota Yaris Summary

Small cars aren't what they used to be.

For the most part, I mean this in a good way. A lot of the remaining cars in this ever-diminishing segment are safer, higher tech, and better to drive than ever before. The problem is, they're also much more expensive.

Don't feel like you, dear reader, are to blame. Yes, demand has heavily shifted to the realms of SUVs for reasons most buyers can't properly articulate (they're just trendy, okay?), but there are also safety, expected equipment, and design pressures pushing once-cheap small cars out of Australia.

Maybe you're SUV-resistant (good on you), and you're wondering why the once-ubiquitous Toyota Yaris is now so expensive, and whether it's worth its newfound asking price. Let's find out.

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Deep dive comparison

2022 Volkswagen Polo 2023 Toyota Yaris

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