VW ID.Polo Gains Button-Laden, Retro-Inspired Interior Setup

Volkswagen has brought back physical buttons and controls to the upcoming ID.Polo’s interior setup.

Volkswagen has revealed the interior for its upcoming affordable EV hatch, the VW ID.Polo, ahead of its much-anticipated debut later this year. Interestingly, it appears this mini EV hatch gets a pretty conventional cabin setup with tons of physical controls and buttons, in response to customers’ complaints.

According to VW, the ID.Polo’s button-laden interior is part of the brand’s new design language under the leadership of its design head, Andreas Mindt, who previously vowed to bring back as many physical controls as possible to future VW models.

As a result, the affordable EV hatch gets a pretty conventional cabin setup while retaining some of the modern amenities, with the biggest highlight being the 13-inch main infotainment head unit that supports mobile connectivity and even Google services. Said main screen is accompanied by a smaller 10.25-inch digital metre cluster that comes with customisable graphics, including a retro-inspired one modelled from the original Golf Mk1’s gauge cluster.

What’s gone and definitely won’t be missed are the controversial ‘slider’ controls for the volume and climate functions, with the latter now being replaced by a row of physical buttons located below the central A/C vents. As for the media control, VW adopts a BMW iDrive-style rotary dial located at the central console, while the drive selector is located behind the steering wheel.

Speaking of which, the ID.Polo’s new steering wheel features a unique flat-bottomed design that makes it look almost like a square while being laced with tons of physical buttons for both the infotainment and driver assistance feature controls.

Despite being billed as the brand’s most affordable EV to date, VW did not skimp on premium materials in designing the ID.Polo’s cabin, with noticeable finishes such as the fabric-covered dashboard panel plus the contrasting stitches on the door panels and the seats. As for the main upholstery for the seats and doors, VW says it is made from a type of thermoplastic derived from recycled water bottles, featuring colours inspired by "shades of the sea."

The all-new Volkswagen ID.Polo is slated to make its global debut sometime later this year, where it will become one of Europe’s most affordable EV models with a tentative base price of €25,000 (RM118,777). That said, currently there are no plans from VW to make this affordable EV hatch available beyond the Old Continent’s borders, meaning that it will be a Europe-exclusive model, at least for now.