Don't call it "small" now: with the IQ package .DRIVE Travel Assist (optional) the Polo prides itself on entering a category of cars so far restricted to the "larger" models such as Golf, Passat, Tiguan, Arteon and Touareg. These are cars that benefit from the IQ.DRIVE packages, the umbrella brand in which Volkswagen includes its automated driving systems, which are becoming increasingly important for the Wolfsburg company. And the new Polo restyling is here to take its piece of cake.
The system uses the combined action of adaptive cruise control and lane change assistant: it engages thanks to pressure a command on the multifunction steering wheel and once active takes the reins of the car, always leaving the driver the possibility (and responsibility) to make any sudden maneuver necessary. Once inserted, the system will keep the car in the center of the roadway, adapting to the flow of traffic. Let's not forget that the adaptive cruise control on the new Polo is also able to read road signs - and therefore the maximum speed allowed on a given stretch of road. Thanks to the synergy with the anti-collision system, the car can stop and restart in total autonomy (if equipped with a DSG gearbox, otherwise up to 30 km / h).
Already a great obstacle has been overcome! If we then add Lane Assist to the recipe, with the use of a camera integrated into the windshield to read the lanes and keep the car in the center of the one it is traveling on, the possibilities that open up are enormous. Possibilities that Volkswagen engineers have seized upon to create the first compact with partial autonomous driving.
The system will be on board the more complete Style and R-Line equipment, a version that will arrive in dealerships next October. The price will start from 22,200 euros for the 95 bhp 1.0 TSI version.
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