PoloDriver

Following the first covered prototype drives and technical detail reveal of the new ID Polo in Barcelona during December 2025, Volkswagen has now released images and videos of the production car’s interior. And… there’s not just one but many reasons to be cheerful; proper, click-clack, physical buttons are back!

However, it’s more than just the interior of a new car; the cabin of the ID Polo holds importance as a precursor to the brand-new style of cabin that will feature on all Volkswagen ID models from this point forward. Highlights include the return of high quality materials and the introduction of more widespread recycled content. The company says customer feedback has played a big part in this new shift. And it’s not before time; it’s well-documented how reviewers and some drivers of the first wave of ID-badged Volkswagens didn’t gel with the almost exclusively digital controls. The fingertip sliders – often not backlit at night – noted as the biggest offenders.

‘Intuitive operation’
That’s all set to change, though. A renewed focus on ‘intuitive operation’ leads the way with the ID Polo. Just as the exterior of the car, due to be revealed in the coming weeks, is said to be more ‘classic Volkswagen’, the interior of the ID Polo will, it’s said, reflect ‘familiar VW thinking’. The first evidence of this is the steering wheel – its shape may be an unfamiliar squared-off circle, but there are spaces for a potential 22 (!) buttons, none of them haptic.

Not only that, a bank of toggle-like switches for air conditioning and other heating functions sprout shelf-like from the centre of the dashboard, with a rotary wheel on the centre console to control infotainment media functions. Not only that, a quartet of door panel-mounted electric window switches returns, ousting the pair of buttons that had to operate both the front and rear windows by way of a fiddly separate touch interface. Common sense prevails!

Pair of digital screens
In common with other current all-electric ID and combustion-engined Volkswagens, the ID Polo receives a pair of digital screens, a 10.25-inch driver’s display, and a 13-inch high resolution infotainment touchscreen. Like the combustion-engined Polo, these are arranged along a single line of sight, with the whole cabin taking a horizontal-focused architecture approach. The ‘ID Light’ strip, an interactive feature of electric VWs until now also takes on a new detail, extending into the front door panels for the first time.

One thing the ID Polo doesn’t share with its siblings is its uplift in material quality, another past Volkswagen trait, which has, at times, been diluted in recent years. Fabric covers the ID Polo’s floating shelf-like dashboard, with a dividing ledge made from recycled material, notable from its marbled or textured appearance. Fabric returns to the door panels, too, a very much-missed element missing from the current combustion-engined Polo. There are new pull-up lever-type door handles from the just-released second-generation T-Roc, and lots of knurled finishes to button edges.

Retro-themed displays
A playful touch from the ID 2all concept on which the ID Polo is based, has been carried over; a retro-themed setting that turns the driver’s display into a representation of an early Eighties Volkswagen. (The Golf is most often officially mentioned when referring to this, but the facelifted MkI Polo shared the layout, too.) It’s a brilliant touch we’re here for, along with the matching infotainment display that shows a ‘paper’ map for the navigation function, and a choice of a period ‘cassette player’ – with moving spools! – or a radio tuner. They serve no real purpose aside from being fun, but it’s nice that they’re there.

The ID Polo will also debut a new software generation that will, Volkswagen says, deliver more comfort and functions. This includes the third generation of the Travel Assist suite of driving assistance systems, which will recognise red traffic lights and stop signs. One pedal-driving, is set to feature, too, an oversight that has been missing from ID models up until now.

A big step forward
Encouragingly, the first reviews, such as this video from review channel Autogefühl, are positive. We think it appears to be a big step forward, especially from a practical and quality point of view. The use of more natural and fabric materials in particular gives it an elegant and upmarket look, especially in the lighter trim option, as seen in the images and videos Volkswagen has released so far. (A dark option will also be available.)

The combination of the new interior style, the simpler exterior design, and the €25,000 starting price all points to backing up the ID Polo as one of the most significant Volkswagens of the past few years and possibly since the company’s transition to electrification began in 2019 with the launch of the original ID 3. With the camouflage set to be stripped from the exterior very soon, we’ll have the full picture of what must surely be one of the hotly anticipated new cars of 2026.