A few months back in May 2020, Volkswagen had launched the TSI Editions of the Polo hatchback and the Vento sedan in India. Priced at Rs 7.89 lakh and Rs 10.99 lakh (ex-showroom) respectively, these models offered a good value deal to the buyer. However, both these models, the Polo TSI edition and Vento TSI edition have not been taken off the market.
Volkswagen India's official website does not list these two models anymore now. As you can see above, the regular Polo and Vento continue to be on sale in various trims of Trendline, Comfortline Plus and Highline. Till yesterday, both the Polo TSI edition and Vento TSI edition were listed separately and had their own page on the site. This is no more the case. For the uninitiated, these models were based on the regular Highline Plus variants and came with the same turbo petrol 1.0 engine, but carried a lower sticker price. The cars were powered by the 109 bhp 1.0 TSI engine and had a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard. We feel these were quick makeshift arrangements to get the sales figures higher. However, with discounts soaring higher on all regular versions this month (see our report) it made viable sense to probably remove these models and make dealer inventory also simpler. Do note, both the Polo and Vento do not come with a diesel engine anymore.
Buyers can still purchase the regular Polo and Vento models. While the Polo comes with a non-turbo 1.0 motor in the lower trims and a turbo 1.0 TSI motor in the higher trims, the Vento is only sold with the turbo 1.0 TSI engine. However, naming the new variants as 'TSI editions' did cause a lot of confusion in the buyer's mind.
Volkswagen has been struggling for long in the Indian car market. Both the Polo and the Vento need to get an all-new generation here in the country. Since their launch, the cars have largely remained unchanged. On the other hand, rivals have become better across all parameters. For BS6, the cars come with a 1000cc petrol engine now. We however like the new age offerings of T-Roc and Tiguan AllSpace which are creating their own niche in the market.