All-electric Volkswagen ID.Polo revealed with 282-mile range
Thu, 30 Apr 2026
- New electric hatchback goes on sale later this year
- Three power options
- Battery range of up to 282 miles
- Prices expected to start below £25,000
Volkswagen has pulled back the covers from the new ID.Polo, the all-new electric hatchback that arrives later this year.
Promising lots of space for the size and a generous helping of tech, we'll see the spiritual successor to the combustion-powered Polo arrive at the end of the year, likely with a very tempting price that should be considerably below £25,000.
The ID.Polo is the first car to feature VW's new design language, called Pure Positive. It features what the company calls a "likeable front end" and a "powerful rear", with full-width light bars front and back. Inside, physical buttons return to the steering wheel, with the hard-to-use touch-sensitive panels of recent VWs banished. The same is true of the window switches, with individual toggles for each pane.
When the VW ID.Polo goes on sale, it will rival a growing number of small electric cars, including the likes of the Renault 5 and the Fiat Grande Panda.
2026 Volkswagen ID.Polo prices and release date
No firm release date has been announced, but we can expect to see the Volkswagen ID.Polo on sale by the end of 2026. While exact prices haven’t been confirmed, VW has previously said that it aims to start the range at around £22,000. In Europe, it start at 24,995 Euros, which is around £21,650.
2026 Volkswagen ID.Polo styling, interior and technology
The look of the new VW ID.Polo is taken directly from the VW ID.2all concept car, with a short sloping bonnet, and sleek headlights a la Volkswagen ID.7. A smiley-shaped bumper adds to the friendly look of the front end. There are hidden rear door handles, a full-width rear light bar and illuminated rear badge and an integrated roof spoiler. Matrix LED headlights are available, although it's not yet been revealed on which trim levels they'll be included.
The ID.Polo is 4053mm long, 1816mm wide and 1530mm high, with a 2600mm wheelbase. The boot measures 441 litres in capacity, which is a substantial jump from the 351 found in the regular Polo. Fold down the back seats and that expands to 1240 litres.
Inside, there's a 12.9-inch central touchscreen and a 10.25-inch digital driver display, as well as physical buttons for key functions like heating and audio. Soft-touch materials should improve the interior quality aided by classy-looking controls with knurled finishes on the dials. There's an all-new steering wheel with buttons to control various features.
A fun feature is the inclusion of a retro display inspired by the VW Golf of the 1980s. A press of a button on the steering wheel or within the infotainment system can bring this up on the digital driver display.
Options include a 10-speaker, 425-Watt Harman Kardon sound system, a panoramic glass roof and a massage function on 12-way electrically adjustable seats.
The VW ID.Polo GTI will follow the now-traditional styling exercise used for decades by VW on its petrol-powered GTIs. The bodywork will be beefed up, the stance lowered with sportier suspension and some eye-catching alloy wheels added.
2026 Volkswagen ID.Polo performance and range
The VW ID.Polo features a choice of two batteries – a 37kWh (net) unit for the entry-level model and a larger 52kWh pack for long-range versions. The former will have a 204-mile range and the latter should deliver up to around 282 miles on a full charge.
Both models support fast charging at up to 125kW, allowing a 10%-80% top-up in 23 minutes for the smaller battery and 24 minutes for the larger one.
Power outputs will vary by model and three have so far been announced – 116PS and 135PS with the smaller battery, and 211PS with the larger battery. VW has previously said that the GTI model will have 226PS.
Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) is included as standard, letting you charge external appliances from the car's battery through a three-pin socket at up to 3.6kW.
2026 Volkswagen ID.Polo trim levels
In its native Germany, the ID.Polo comes in three trims – Trend, Life and Style. UK specifications have yet to be confirmed.
Will there be a petrol version of the ID.Polo?
No, the ID.Polo is electric only and represents VW’s push to make electric motoring more accessible to more buyers. The firm will hope that bringing in the Polo name will help bridge the past and the future.
How big is the new VW ID.Polo?
The ID.Polo is 4053mm long, 1816mm wide and have a height of 1530mm, which makes it slightly larger than the current petrol-powered Polo and a similar size to its key rivals.
What will be the VW ID.Polo’s main rivals?
The new ID.Polo will have to take on other electric hatchbacks such as the Renault 4 and 5, MG4 and Peugeot e-208, while the ID.Polo GTI will face other fun EVs like the Alpine A290.
