Some members of the automotive press and some enthusiasts consider the facelifts to be separate models, so have used the unofficial designations Polo Mk1 to Mk7 for previous generations.

Starting in 1982, Volkswagen sold the Polo in Japan initially through an agreement with Japanese dealership Yanase that specializes in European and North American vehicles.

Of all Volkswagens imported into Japan, only the Polo (until 2017) and the Golf (until 1997), complied with Japanese government dimension regulations until the introduction of the VW Up!

Unusually, the third (and new) body that was actually marketed as the Volkswagen Polo Hatchback was closer in concept to a small estate, albeit with exactly the same wheelbase and floor pan as the coupé instead of the (longer) saloon.

This latter version, also known as the squareback (in the original German brochures, "steilheck", literally "steep tail"), amongst other nicknames, was the most popular in virtually every country where the Polo was sold.

From the Polo Mk3 onwards, the range was more straightforwardly conventional, including unambiguous "saloon", "hatchback", and "estate" models, with only the hatchback offering both five-door and slightly shorter three-door models (both still with quite vertical tailgates, the coupé variation having been retired), the others being four or five-door only and increasing in length from hatch to saloon to estate.

The manufacturer let it be known that Bertone had been involved in the styling of the Polo and its Audi sibling, although the car was essentially an in-house Audi design, with the Italian design studio's contribution restricted to the circular extractor vent cover at the base of the C pillar, and the small "flick-up" at the rear end of the waistline.

[5] In 1977, the Derby saloon was released, which was simply a Polo, identical to the hatchback from the C-pillar forward, with a large boot attached.

[6] The round headlights of the Derby were replaced with square ones, bringing it in line with the similar Golf-based Jetta saloon.

For example, the British market never received any diesel-engined versions of the Polo, though the diesel engine was already available on many similar cars by the end of the 1980s, namely the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Nova, and Peugeot 205.

The new look had square headlights, enlarged and reshaped taillights, bigger bumpers, and a new interior (dashboard and door trim).

This was succeeded by the launch of the G40 in May 1991, displacing the GT as the most powerful Polo at the time, with a top speed around 120 mph – rivalling the likes of the Ford Fiesta XR2i, Peugeot 205 GTI, and Renault Clio 16v.

Features that define the G40 from other Polo models at the time (on top of the GT) include a bee-sting aerial, BBS cross-spoke alloy wheels, Le Mans interior trim, and front and rear red "G40" badges.

The Mark III Polo or Typ 6N, (sometimes referred to as the "Mark 4" by enthusiasts as it is the Polo's fourth guise) appeared in 1994,[1][10] and was a completely new model (on a new chassis), available as three- and five-door hatchback versions, the latter making VW the last major European manufacturer to finally offer rear side doors in this class.

This platform actually used the floorpan of the Volkswagen Golf Mk3 (a multitude of mechanical parts and all of the suspension components were interchangeable among the three models).

The later Volkswagen Lupo and SEAT Arosa city cars were based on a shortened version of the Typ 6N platform and shared many components.

A saloon version of the Mk4 Polo was produced for markets outside Europe, including most Latin American countries, South Africa and China.

Volkswagen launched the fifth generation Polo (internal designation Typ 6R) at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2009.

It was specifically developed for the Indian market which offers lower excise tax for vehicles shorter than 4 meter in length.

The Ameo is more heavily derived from the hatchback body of the Polo, retaining its shorter wheelbase and the rear doors, unlike the larger Vento/Polo Saloon.

However, the GTI – available only in three- or five-door hatchback body styles in three colours being red, silver, and black, used a 1.6-litre 16-V 92 kW (125 PS) engine with variable valve timing.

External changes included a deeper front splitter with honeycomb mesh grilles, lowered sports suspension (by 10 mm), a subtle rear spoiler, deeper side skirts, fog lights, and 15" BBS RXII split rims for the wheels, bearing 195/45/15 tyres.

There were also standard extras such as Climatronic fully automatic air conditioning, xenon headlights with a headlight washer system, a six-disc CD autochanger with a GAMMA head unit, exclusive sports interior with leather steering wheel, handbrake and gearstick, chrome inserts, and driver aids such as ABS with EBD and an EDL (a system to aid traction).

Although this model had a relatively slow 0–100 km/h (62 mph) time over 9 seconds, it did have impressive midrange clout with torque figures of 310 Nm (228 lb-ft).

Although faster than the 2000–2002 Polo GTI, the newer model was also seen as being off the pace when compared to its rivals, most of which are now nudging 150 kW (200 PS).

The new GTI is powered by VW's award-winning[21] 130 kW (180 PS) 1.4-litre TSI engine (adapted from that used in the current Scirocco), which uses both a supercharger and turbocharger to provide torque throughout the revolution range.

[25] Volkswagen helped consolidate the pre-eminence of the so-called hot hatch genre of high-performance hatchbacks with their Golf GTI in 1975 and has produced a number of performance versions of the Polo.

These feature styling similar to that of the contemporary Golf GTI and a turbocharged 20-V, 110 kW (150 hp), 1.8-litre petrol engine.

The current Polo Cup championship for 78 kW (105 hp) cars is a support race at rounds of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.

Sébastien Ogier won the FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 driving a Volkswagen Polo R WRC.