Team ICB renders the 2013 Polo Cross, Volkswagen India’s version of the Skoda Fabia Scout

Team ICB’s roving eye in the sky has been keeping a close watch on Volkswagen India’s next big move in the hatchback space. EarthFusion asserts that there are some preliminary plans of Volkswagen planning to do a Polo Cross version, just like Skoda India did with the Fabia Scout. This hatchback could be launched in the Indian car market sometime in 2013, and could be positioned as the top-of-the-line version of the Polo. Like the Fabia Scout, the Polo Cross could mainly involve cosmetic changes, to make for a more butch and masculine appearance.

2013 Volkswagen Polo Cross Hatchback Render

A speculative render of the 2013 Volkswagen Polo Cross Hatchback

The car is expected to feature side cladding, non-body colored front bumper inserts, rear diffuser and roof rails. Also, a creature comfort or two, like leather seats and sporty pedals, may be added to justify the model’s positioning as the top end model in the Polo hatchback range. Expect the Polo Cross hatchback to be available in both petrol and diesel engined variants. The engines are expected to remain unchanged from the current range that powers the Volkswagen Polo hatchback. The petrol variant is expected to be the 1.2 Liter three cylinder unit while the diesel engine will be the 1.2 Liter TDI turbo diesel engine, both the motors being three cylinder units.

So, the main changes on the Polo Cross are expected to be cosmetic in nature, to appeal to car buyers preferring a butch looking hatchback. Volkswagen would be hoping that the Polo Cross would be a better seller than the Fabia Scout as the latter is a rarity on Indian roads with hardly any examples being seen despite the launch having happened many months ago. That said, the Skoda Fabia Scout’s ground clearance remained the same and this is something that car buyers were left disappointed with. So, Volkswagen could do much better than the Fabia Scout by endowing the Polo Cross with higher ground clearance, and this is something that the Indian roads actually need.

Volkswagen India has just launched a festive edition of the Polo hatchback, with the car getting a range of features. The Polo gets smoked headlamps, new alloy wheels, leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, multi function steering wheel with audio controls, Bluetooth connectivity as an option and USB connectivity. Click here to read more about the updated Polo hatchback. These features are expected to give the Polo’s sales some traction during the Indian festive season of Dusshera-Diwali, a time when car buyers’ buying interest usually peaks.