The big word that differentiates the two is 'refinement' the Polo is much more hushed especially in the rear (has wheel arch liners), being a four cylinder the engine is naturally going to be not quite as vocal. Again extra sound deadening makes for a much hushed engine note, one that is a bit less fun than the up!s roarty three cylinder. Mpg wise it seems to be around 6-8mpg worse, although the engine is very tight. The Polo has the 1.4 85ps lump and it does feel slightly quicker not much. The bigger difference is when the car is fully loaded and the extra power and torque is allot more noticeable compared to how a 4 up!s performance was quite blunted by the extra weight. Brakes are sharper, but then the Polo does have discs all round.
The steering is as light if not as sharp as an up! The up! felt quicker and keener to change direction and had a fun factor the Polo looses. The Polo is better damped so bumps and speed humps etc are felt much less and absorbed better. The slightly softer suspension gives a softer ride but at the cost of a little more roll in the corners and I am sure adds to being less keen to change direction - compared to the up!
The interior is much nicer overall I put it on par with my original E97 BMW 1 Series. The actual switches and buttons feel the same as the up! and are the same being from the same parts bin. The interior quality is made up from the slush molded dash and air vents that feel very Audi esque in their operation and positive 'click.' The lower dashboard is hard plastic but again the plastic feels one grade above the up! The RCD310 DAB stereo is excellent, although the actual sound quality of the speakers is no better than an up! with the sound back. The radio especially the DAB element is leagues ahead in sound quality terms as is the CD player. Media player sounds as good as using the media player via the Maps & More I had in my up! Door cards with their material insert even though they are still hard plastic again has a slightly nicer feel and plusher looking grain. The seats are firmer and overall more supportive than the up! but not by much, as always found the up! seats very comfortable.
The up! Is more fun to drive and the Polo fights back with more space and refinement, although interior headroom was better in the up! 1.4 engine suits the Polo well although not quite as responsive or as nice sounding as the up! The five seats and four doors we require the Polo does the job and is a much more comfortable car to be in over longer journeys that I found the up! could become tiresome on due to the noise. Two very different cars though, up! is the better city car and Polo the better car for space and refinement and longer journeys. Oh and having electric mirrors and drivers and passenger window switches together is nice, as is a parcel shelf that I don't have to remember to put down as it stays up in an up!
. Yet to buy or drive the perfect car. Now choose one that meets my needs at the time...