In 1980, the Derby underwent a face lift together with the polo. The restyle attempted to separate the styling of the polo and the derby more significantly, which also brought the styling of the derby in-line with its bigger counterpart: The Volkswagen Jetta. These revisions included square headlamps, a restyled grille and plastic bumpers, together with some interior changes including a new dashboard and instrumentation taken from the mk1 golf.

In 1984, the Derby was re-badged as the Polo Classic in Europe, and the derby's unique square headlamp front end, which had been carried over from the mk1 was replaced with standard polo equimpent.

In the UK, the Derby name was dropped with the mk1, and the Polo Classic name was used from the mk2's inception. However, early Polo Classics still retained the Derby styling. In turn, the "Classic" branding for the saloon was dropped in 1987 which meant that the polo and the derby's integration was complete

In 1991, The polo saloon was withdrawn and would not return until 1996, when a version based on a badge engineered SEAT Ibiza/Cordoba platform was launched. This version was known as the VW Derby in Mexico.