Swapped my 2020 Match for a 2023 Life TSI recently. Noticed a couple of differences - gear knob feels bulky and cheap, much preferred the small round leather version. The indicator tick tock noise seems much louder and cheap, no way of changing this. Engine a bit hesitant, might free up with age and mileage. Rear view mirror is much smaller than on 2020 model, maybe due to all the radar tech on the windscreen.
The official emissions have dropped down further g/kg etc - maybe they have tweaked it to run even leaner.
Think the sweet spot for these models was 2018/19 - less tech, no auto lock at 10mph with the annoying 'thunk'. Once miles get to 30k the 1.0 TSI runs super smooth and responsive, until then feels a bit tight.
Digital dash is ok but not essential. The User Profile, WIFI , graphics is all a gimmick. Lane assist a pain, it keeps on correcting and tugs the steering wheel. No way to disable permanently.
Dread to think how it will be in 8 years when battery is dodgy and all the fancy electrics start to play up...once it's past 10 if the instrument pack goes then might fail MOT and bye bye.
Polo swan song. ID2 next?
2023 Life - observations
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SRGTD
- Bling Bling Diamond Member
- Posts: 3542
- Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 9:40 pm
- Drives: 2020 AW Polo GTI+, Pure White.
- Location: UK
Re: 2023 Life - observations
You’ve changed from a pre-facelift Polo to a facelift one, and VW usually introduce some cost cutting measures when they facelift a car to help offset the cost of some of the new features of the facelift model (e.g. new bumpers, headlights / tail lights new metal pressings for the tailgate, new alloy designs etc.). Changes such as a ‘cheaper’ gear lever knob and smaller rear view mirror sound like two of those cost cutting measures - there are probably others, some of which might be model-specific so won’t necessarily feature on all models in the Polo range.
Leaner running engines in pursuit of lower emissions don’t come as a surprise; car manufacturers face heavy fines if they don’t meet the official CO2 emissions target across the entire fleet of new vehicles they sell. That’s probably why car manufacturers are placing increased priority on building zero emissions vehicles, and is likely to be one of the reasons for long lead times on many ICE cars.
I personally don’t find the auto locking function on my car annoying. I had it on my mk6 Golf GTD (there was an option to permanently disable it on that car) and missed not having it on my 2016 Polo GTI which didn’t have it. Agree that nannying features such as Lane Assist are a pain - I don’t have it on my 2020 GTI+ thank goodness. There’s more to come with the nannying features over the next few years - e.g. speed limiters that it won’t be possible to switch off, data logging; no doubt to get us ready for when we’re travelling around in autonomous cars.
I may also consider an ID.2all when I change my current car. However, VW need to get its act together as far as software is concerned, otherwise the ID.2all won’t be on my shortlist and my next car will be something wearing a non-VAG brand badge.
Leaner running engines in pursuit of lower emissions don’t come as a surprise; car manufacturers face heavy fines if they don’t meet the official CO2 emissions target across the entire fleet of new vehicles they sell. That’s probably why car manufacturers are placing increased priority on building zero emissions vehicles, and is likely to be one of the reasons for long lead times on many ICE cars.
I personally don’t find the auto locking function on my car annoying. I had it on my mk6 Golf GTD (there was an option to permanently disable it on that car) and missed not having it on my 2016 Polo GTI which didn’t have it. Agree that nannying features such as Lane Assist are a pain - I don’t have it on my 2020 GTI+ thank goodness. There’s more to come with the nannying features over the next few years - e.g. speed limiters that it won’t be possible to switch off, data logging; no doubt to get us ready for when we’re travelling around in autonomous cars.
I may also consider an ID.2all when I change my current car. However, VW need to get its act together as far as software is concerned, otherwise the ID.2all won’t be on my shortlist and my next car will be something wearing a non-VAG brand badge.
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Maarten
- Silver Member
- Posts: 400
- Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2015 9:45 am
- Drives: AW R-line Facelift MY2022 Vibrant Violet
- Location: The Netherlands
Re: 2023 Life - observations
Auto lock can be disabled through menu or vcds.
Lane Assist remember last setting can be enabled through vcds
Lane Assist remember last setting can be enabled through vcds
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lancslad1985
- Gold Member
- Posts: 739
- Joined: Thu Jul 03, 2014 6:59 am
- Drives: 2020 polo gti plus
- Location: Preston, UK
Re: 2023 Life - observations
Auto lock can be turned off in the menu as others have said but I’ve had it on every car since my 2016 gtd so I don’t even react to it. I’m sure my wife had it on her 2020 pre facelift polo too.
I’ve gotten used to switching lane assist off, it’s not even a conscious thought now - get in, ignition on, press button on stalk, press ok. Same as turning stop start off, I just do it without thinking now. Can’t say I’ve found our two facelift cars cheaper, if anything we thought they felt more solid than the prefacelifted versions we had but that’s just our opinion.
I’ve gotten used to switching lane assist off, it’s not even a conscious thought now - get in, ignition on, press button on stalk, press ok. Same as turning stop start off, I just do it without thinking now. Can’t say I’ve found our two facelift cars cheaper, if anything we thought they felt more solid than the prefacelifted versions we had but that’s just our opinion.