What it costs to buy a VW Polo with every add-on in South Africa

The VW Polo hatch is quite well-equipped in its standard guise, yet it comes with a wide range of both useful and nice-to-have optional extras, which can add more than R50,000 to the car’s total price.

It is, and has for many years been, one of the most popular features on South African roads, thanks to its relatively reasonable pricing, fuel efficiency, and strong value offering.

Not all Polo hatch buyers are getting their models directly from the factory, so they may not even know about the long list of add-ons and optional features available on one of VW’s best sellers.

TopAuto decided to play around with VW’s Polo configurator to see how much more expensive the hatchback could get when adding every optional add-on.

There were, of course, some options that could not be altered, so we had to make peace with those.

Its turbocharged 1.0-litre petrol powertrain is standard across the range, besides the Polo GTI, which gets a 2.0-litre turbo motor.

The base-spec model’s engine produces 70kW and 175Nm, feeding this power to the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission, which we could not swap out for the seven-speed DSG box.

Selecting any of the Polo hatch’s factory paint jobs does nothing to its R373,800 base price.

The same can be said about the car’s interior, which has “Titanium Black” trim on the seats, dash, and carpets, with no other selectable options.

Every VW Polo hatch factory add-on

The first swap buyers can make is to upgrade the Polo’s 14-inch steel wheels and hubcaps to its 15-inch “Ronda” alloy wheels for an additional R5,300, or an extra R83.49 per month on a finance deal.

For another R600, or R9.44 per month, buyers who smoke in their car or have passengers who do can add VW’s “smoker’s package”.

This is unfortunately where the optional extra features end on the base-level Polo hatch, but its long list of accessories more than makes up for this.

The “most popular” section of the accessories list includes three frequently selected add-ons, which are a boot inlay, protective film for the loading sill, and branded front door strips.

The boot inlay will add an additional R1,059.72 to your bill, while the loading sill film costs an additional R993.60, and the aluminium door strips add another R2,248.25.

Beyond the first boot inlay, which is used for the top position, VW also offers an additional compartment lining for R1,345.50, or R20.95 per month.

This can be paired with an R1,776.75 luggage net, which ensures that luggage does not bounce around the hatchback’s boot.

Further interior upgrades include “Plus” textile floor mats in the front and rear at R1,224.75, as well as special sunblinds that have been shaped to fit the car’s rear windows for an additional R5,474.

Protective sill rail film for the rear doors can be added for R971.75, while buyers may also choose to include mud flaps for the front and rear wheels, at an additional R1,184.50 per set.

Should the transparent film on the boot sill not suffice, buyers may opt for a plastic protective strip instead, which will cost an extra R2,173.50 in the stainless steel finish, and R1,242 in chrome. We opted for stainless steel.

The final two add-ons are also the most expensive; these include an R8,073 silver roof bar set, as well as a R22,413.50 3-bicycle carrier for the towing hitch.

All in all, these add-ons will add an additional R56,023.30, or R1,059 per month to the total price of the base-spec Polo hatch, increasing its total price from R373,800 to R429,823.30, and monthly premiums from R 5,454 to R6,513.