Public service information update:
The Golf is approx 155cm from base of radio to middle (of the middle) of back seat and the Ibiza (and therefore I’ll assume Polo will be near identical) is 150 dead.
The Golf is approx 150cm from near the middle of the door cards across ways and the Ibiza 145cm in more or less the same place with the proviso that the Golf’s door cards are politically hollowed out more to give slightly more elbow room, yet in other places the door cards are fairly evenly matched in cabin width.
All done very hastily as it’s throwing it down.
So 5cm x 5cm.
I don’t feel so short changed for my extra £10k now.
Cabin fit and finish is admittedly loads better in the Golf as you’d rightfully expect. I’ve yet to sample an MQB Polo. Actual interior trim panel construction doesn’t feel massively different though, just the outer faces are much plusher and a bit more solid feeling unless you really press them.
The practical differences are tiny. With my drivers seat adjusted to preference in the Golf R (before we got tid of it) and in our 1st Polo GTI+, The gap between the front of the back bench and the back of the drivers seat was measured:11mm in the Golf's favour. I seem to be sat slightly more upright in the Polo, by preference.
The boot is slightly smaller and the interior width is narrower between the front seats - you can see this easily on the Polo GTI+ because the armrest on the Polo is about 30mm narrower than the Golf's, and the lower console (where the cup holders are) is correspondingly narrower too.
With experience in messing with the interior trim to fit dashcams in both cars, they are equally well screwed together with tight, flush fitting of trim pieces. No creaks on our Polos - but on the Golf...those damn sun visors used to rattle like hell.
The only place that you can really tell more money has been spent on the Golf's interior is in the doors cards - notably the pull handle feels less soft to the touch (a simple single puece hard plastic lump, less angular to look at), there is no rubberised top edge to the door cards to match the dash top, and there's no flock lining in the doors bins. The dash area and infotainment/virtual cockpit are fantastic. The "never touch" electronic handbrake was initially a miss, but you soon get into the habit of applying at the end if each journey. If I do decide to change rear discs and pads myself if it's a long term keeper, manual handbrake will make things easier.
If VW had spent an extra £5 a piece on the door cards to add another £100 to the retail price, it would match the Golf GTI for feel. The doors being marginally shorter, with less span) feel less hollow than the Golf's (they've felt thin since VW adopted the thinner gauge steel that's supposed to be as still as the old, thicker stuff). No rusty brake disc hubs on the Polo.
The Ibiza feels a good bit cheaper inside than the Polo GTI+ - it was a contender for our A1 replacement- looking for a 1.5TSI Evo FR at the time. Seat were having bother getting most engines last May/June because of the WLTP preparations and bother VAG were having with the 1.5 unit. It seemed inconceivable to me that in 2018, Seat were still putting wind-up windows in the back doors for all but one luxury trim level of Ibiza - made you feel like you were buying a Dacia, not a Seat Ibiza.
It's amazing the difference to perception of quality in a car a few slightly more tactile pieces of trim can make between the VAG marques when the underlying mechanicals are the same. A few more chrome trimmed switches here and a bit more rubberised plastic on the door cards and lower trim there can make all the difference between a "cheapo" Skoda and a "luxurious" Audi.
With the new Polo/Ibiza/A1 being so big now, the new Golf/A3/Leon are going to have to grow a lot to restore the interior space differential and justify every penny of the price difference.
