Good effort mate. I had a similar problem with this type of tool. My solution was to get a threaded rod like you did , But it must be of higher grade tensile strength steel example grade 10.9 or better still 12.9 steel and similar grade nuts too from a specialist tool fasteners shop.
The console you removed from the Polo will be the same as the A2. It's the Polo 9n model that has the same console. A mistake you made when taking off the console from the A2 is you should have drawn around it on the subframe so when you do put it back on, it will be in the same position as it was, if it's in a slightly different position you will get all kinds of warning lights on the dashboard, how do I know, I've done it myself 😢
