Family car review: Volkswagen Cross Polo 1.2 petrol

Many of you will be looking at our photos of the Volkswagen Cross Polo right now thinking 'this is the size of car I want, but will it be big enough and safe enough for my family'? Car manufacturers now know that some Mums just don't want a big car, especially when they drive the 'second' car in the family. So, they have set about finding ways to make smaller cars family friendly, and the Cross Polo we have been testing is a very good example of a small car which has decent family car credentials.

Firstly, what is the difference between a Cross Polo and a regular Volkswagen Polo? Not too much in truth, this is a more sporty and trendy version of Volkswagen's popular supermini. The Cross Polo also sits slightly higher off the ground. There are some tasty looking alloy wheels, along with some exterior differences like the silver roof rails and mirrors. It certainly scored cool points in the school car park during our week long test drive.

The back seats will take two teenagers and a smaller child in the middle on short journeys, which will be sufficient for most of the fetching and carrying that Mums do on a daily basis. Two average size adults will be perfectly comfortable in the back of the five door version we tested, too, as head room is quite reasonable. The special branded Cross Polo seats are covered in high quality fabrics which feel like they will withstand the type of use a young family will give them – we wouldn’t be concerned about damaging them by dragging a baby seat in and out regularly.

What is remarkable about this car is its quality. We took a spin to Wicklow on the motorway over St. Patrick’s week and were amazed at how refined and smooth it is at higher speeds – it is easily as pleasant as many larger cars and not what you would expect from a supermini. The cabin sets the quality benchmark for small cars too – it is plush and solid, and really feels like it is worth the money you pay for it. So many small cars feel plasticky and tinny – this one bucks the trend.

The Cross Polo is fitted with super supportive sports seats which we loved. Larger drivers may find these tight for space, if so the regular Polo might be the car to buy – it has standard seats which are wider at the sides. Generally the Polo is a pleasure to drive and travel in – all of the controls fall easy to hand. We loved the standard touch screen which you can make calls directly from and also play your music from your phone or USB device. The only disappointment for us was the armrest – we found it can get in the way of the handbrake.

At €21,125 the Cross Polo is almost €5,500 more expensive than the base model 1.0 litre Trendline five door Polo which is available from €15,785 at the time of writing (March 2015). The good news is that whichever version you go for, there are loads of extras now as standard including alloy wheels, an easy-to-use radio touch screen, Bluetooth and a sumptuous leather steering wheel. If you spend your time out of the city the best version for you might be the more powerful 1.2 car we tested – it has no problem with hills or overtaking and will do in the region of 400 miles on €50 petrol at today’s prices (€1.40 a litre). Which version would we buy? We would probably have the standard Polo and dip into the options list which has over 40 choices to spec up our Polo just the way we wanted it.

Is there loads of storage space?

Most single buggies should just about fit in the boot which is about 20% smaller than you would find in a Volkswagen Golf sized car. Larger items can be carried by folding the back seats though, and with the Cross Polo you have the option of adding a roof box for longer journeys as roof rails are standard. In the front there are lots of decent storage areas including a generous glove box, two under seat storage boxes which are big enough to take a couple of iPads, and door bins which fit drinks bottles.

Is it baby friendly?

You could quite easily carry three babies in the Cross Polo if you needed to. There are two ISOFIX child seat points in the back of the Cross Polo and you can also disable the front passenger airbag with the cars key to add the third seat. With two baby seats in the back there won’t be enough space for a third child on a booster seat, but a small child could sit between the two babies on a short journey. As the rear doors are not as big as on larger family cars there is less space to work with when lifting in a baby seat, although there should be enough head space for a Mum fastening a child’s belt in the back.

Is parking easy?

Check out our photo (opposite) - this is what your view over your shoulder will be like from the driver’s seat. The Cross Polo is a simple car to park, with a large, upright rear window making it easy to judge where the back of the car is. Same story at the front, the short bonnet means squeezing into a spot is no problem. Our test car also had ‘park pilot’ (front and rear parking sensors and a radar on the touch screen in the car showing how close you are to obstacles around you) if you would prefer that extra bit of parking help. You could also add a reversing camera from the options list for €292.

What about safety?

This is perhaps what is most impressive about the Cross Polo. It scored an 86% child safety rating in the Euro NCAP crash test, along with a full five stars overall. To put this in context, this is the same mark as was awarded to the Volkswagen Golf SV, a mini-MPV with class leading safety features which we have also tested here at Mummypages. Also standard on all Polo models is emergency city braking, which detects if a crash is imminent and automatically slows the car to avoid an accident. Front, side and curtain airbags are also standard across the range.