Volkswagen ID. Polo Prototype Drive:

• Driving a prototype for next year’s VW ID. Polo makes this reviewer declare that the brand has returned to its roots.
• The ID. Polo looks like a regular Polo, going away from the unusual design of previous ID cars.
• This applies to the interior and driving experience, which are more like what you would expect from a typical combustion-powered VW.

Seeing how well the Renault 5 E-Tech is doing in Europe, Volkswagen wants a piece of the action. Its model to compete in the segment will be called the ID. Polo, which goes on sale next spring promising fun, practicality and affordability all without being as weird as some of VW’s previous ID offerings.

With a starting price of €25,000 (around $29,000), the ID. Polo takes direct aim at the highly successful retro-inspired Renault hatchback with some more traditional touches of its own. It rides on the cheaper front-wheel drive version of the MEB platform, which means it’s not as sophisticated as previous ID-badged cars or the Renault 5, since it doesn’t have independent rear suspension like the French car.

But even so, it drives really well and delivers the engaging, fun driving experience Europeans have come to expect from this class of subcompact car. Journalists have already driven the ID. Polo is in prototype form, and all seem very impressed by its blend of talents. Thomas from Autogefuhl liked the way it drives, its roomy interior with lots of physical controls (which were still hidden during the prototype drive) and the premium touches that it has.

One is the panoramic roof with an electrically retracting shade, a feature which is absent from many, much more expensive cars that have a glass roof. I can’t not think of the Volvo EX90 that I drove across Europe in and costs several times more and it had an awkward cheap-feeling sunshade that you had to jam into place rather than this much more elegant solution that whirs the cover away when you want the sun to shine through.

What’s also good about the ID. Polo is how roomy they managed to make it in the back. Thomas is over six feet tall, but he still just about fits in the rear seat behind his driving position. That’s not the case in the Renault 5 E-Tech, although it shouldn’t be a problem in the 5’s smaller brother, the Twingo E-Tech, which will be available with a sliding rear bench that unlocks more knee room.

Thomas says that even with the simple rear suspension setup, the ID. Polo is remarkably comfortable. The first part of the drive takes place on a gravel road, and the car looks surprisingly smooth over the rough surface. On smoother roads with a few turns, he says it feels great through the corners. This bodes well for the 2027 GTI version of the car, which will be a direct rival to the Alpine A290 with very similar performance numbers.

The ID. Polo shows that Volkswagen has learned a lot in the five years since it started selling ID vehicles. It first made these vehicles bold, unique and quite different from the cars the brand was associated with, which may have potentially driven some buyers away. But now it’s changed course and it is turning its EVs into electric versions of the combustion cars that brought it global success.