Modern small cars have big responsibilities. They need to be good to drive, comfortable to sit in, affordable to run, safe, well equipped and, ideally, reliable. In short, only great all-rounders have a shot at class supremacy.
The Volkswagen Polo has been top of the pile since 2019, when trim revisions brought better value for money to the range and saw it leapfrog the closely related Seat Ibiza. Despite being more than three years old, there’s no question the Polo is still a fantastic buy, but there’s also little doubt that, in some respects, it’s starting to look like a bit of a dinosaur.
How so? Well, for one thing, it runs purely on petrol; there’s no electric version or even any hybrid assistance to improve fuel efficiency. But is…