Straight off, I should tell you I got a bargain. The car everyone dreams about, one lady owner.... no actually it was my dad's car.
He'd had it from new, bought from the local dealers in Cardiff in October 1997, a nice shiny blue R plater. He's just bought a new car, so the polo was destined ... Read review
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Advantages: Performance, Fuel Economy, Specification Disadvantages: None that I can see so far.
Straight off, I should tell you I got a bargain. The car everyone dreams about, one lady owner.... no actually it was my dad's car.
He'd had it from new, bought from the local dealers in Cardiff in October 1997, a nice shiny blue R plater. He's just bought a new car, so the polo was destined for the classified ads in the local paper. I just jokingly said, so how much do you want, five grand came the reply, and that was that.
... ...It is pretty much from what I understand the standard 1.4 CL, apart from the extra pearlescent paint which cost a few hundred more.
The build quality is beyond belief, everything about it says quality. That satisfying clunk when you shut the door, the gentle, almost non existant whirr of the fan when you have the blower on, everything is either gentle or satisfyingly germanic and harsh. It just depends what aspect you are looking ... more
Straight off, I should tell you I got a bargain. The car everyone dreams about, one lady owner.... no actually it was my dad's car.
He'd had it from new, bought from the local dealers in Cardiff in October 1997, a nice shiny blue R plater. He's just bought a new car, so the polo was destined for the classified ads in the local paper. I just jokingly said, so how much do you want, five grand came the reply, and that was that.
The car is a 1997(R) Polo 1.4 CL. It is pretty much from what I understand the standard 1.4 CL, apart from the extra pearlescent paint which cost a few hundred more.
The build quality is beyond belief, everything about it says quality. That satisfying clunk when you shut the door, the gentle, almost non existant whirr of the fan when you have the blower on, everything is either gentle or satisfyingly germanic and harsh. It just depends what aspect you are looking at and your expected perception gained from your previous cars.
About three days after having the car I had to replace the exhaust, just bad luck. That said, it should be noted the exhaust that was removed was the ORIGINAL one that was on the car from new. Four years from new. I'd said thats not bad at all. Eighty pounds was the cost for a new exhaust from the catalyst back, this compares to about fifty pounds for the back box section of a 93 Ford Escort, I'd say thats good value after seeing how much extra pipe that thirty pounds gets you!
Performance on this car is highly under-rated, people in larger cars see a small insignificant supermini, yet we owners, know! Under the bonnet lurks a monster, the same monster that powers the Polo's bigger brother the Golf, and we all know what they are like! Wow. You will grow devil horns driving this car. I know I have on time. The evil smile spreading like a virus across your face, when you let the monster within loose.
Around town the car is a pussy cat, purring quietly, until you need to pounce, whether for that last space in the multi storey or for the lights on amber.
Fuel economy is absolutely awesome, no I'm being serious. So far this week I've done a hundred and fifty (yes 150) miles on about a quarter of a tank. Thats a whopping two and a half gallons, so the average mpg is about 60 to the gallon. OK, fair enough I have been driving a much to the speed limit and 56mph as I can just to check myself. But sometimes I have let the right foot down and had some fun, so you have to admit thats not bad at all.
I've yet to have the car serviced. That will come in about two months time and cost around a hundred pounds at the local main dealer. Its also due for an MOT which I think it should fly, as long as I remember to fill the washer bottle.
Security on the car is a rather special deal. OK a thief may get in but I don't think he'll be driving you Polo away if its of this style. The steering wheel has a nifty disengager if the steering lock is forced in anyway, this means that the steering wheel will just 'freewheel', not turning the front wheels. This is re-engaged with the key and a few turns of the wheel. This negates the need for a Crook lock type product, so long as you remember to engage the steering lock before getting out of the car. The now standard alarm and immobiliser are present, as they are in most cars these days.
On balance, I would say that this car is most suitable for young people in their 20s-30s who want a sensible car which can become a 'plaything' when the mood turns frisky. OK, a lot of Polos a bought by a whole spectrum of society but, the Polo's young image is one that has a firm fit with 20 somethings, such as myself.
Depreciation on this car has been slow, from a new price of £11,000 around four years ago, you won't touch a decent main dealer/VW approved model for less than £6000-£7000 with around 45-50000 miles on the clock.
I paid £5000 for mine with 44,000 on the clock and one owner, who never took it over about 65mph, and only did fairly nice longish runs. Therefore, I know I had a bargain... They are out there if you know where to look.
Advantages: Excellent quality, lovely looking car Disadvantages: Expensive
I hired a VW Polo at work about 18 months ago. Took it home, and my wife loved it. Then about 6 months later, as our old car was collapsing, we stopped off at the VW dealer showroom, and looked at some cars. We started off in the second hand lot, and loved the Golf, but when we went into the showroom, my wife fell in love with the Polo Match.
The colour sold it to me, I love the Mercato blue metallic paint, and the grey/blue interior really finished ... ...loves or hates a car, and this one gave me a really good feeling. The little touches like the grey dial surrounds, blue and red dashboard lighting, lots of storage space, purpose built storage of first aid box, and warning triangle, well thought out cabin area and flexible boot storage area (large case fits easily) add tremendous value to the car.
I still prefer the Golf for its superior room inside - at six foot tall I am slightly cramped, but ...
MrMargand 17.10.2002
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Volkswagen Polo 1.4
Advantages: Very good quality Disadvantages: Costly
...start my opinion on the Volkswagen Polo, I would like just to let you know that I don’t actually own this car, but am very near to purchasing one. I have trawled through internet sites, opinions, magazines and company reps to gain the knowledge that I have; I hope it helps anyone interested in the Volkswagen Polo!
The following in formation is based on the model that I am considering purchasing which is;
A NEW (New number-plate) Polo 1.4 ... ...can say is that the Volkswagen Golf has been on of the most unreliable cars that I have ever owned. This may come as a surprise. I can say the Golf we had before went for ten years or more. Anyway Volkswagen have always have the better reputation when it comes to cars, so that should settle your mind a little. Until I actually own the car I can’t comment to much.
STREET CRED
The Polo an alright ‘Street cred’ rating; it’s ...
jamespugh 12.09.2001
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Volkswagen Polo 1.4
Advantages: A Hidden Character Disadvantages: Hidden Costs
Firstly i do own a polo (1.4cl), as does my sister (1.0cl), we previously owned a golf (1.6cl). Clearly this may indicate a possible subjectivity to my views. However i will concede this car is not perfect in any right. We have had the cars for a few years now so we have a pretty good idea about how they handle, run, their quality and looks.
Handling
I have driven a few other similar cars all different makes but all similar engines and all hatch ... ...as one or two of the others but is solid and you always know what the car is doing. The suspension is average witha a fair ride but a bit sloppy on corners. At any speed it does certainly have more grip than expected but probably not worth testing to find out anyway!
Running
As a car it has relatively high running costs for its class (about 25mpg). Petrol consumption is quite poor especially when in traffic. It is efficient when driven on motorways ...
olly1 15.10.2003 (25.10.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Volkswagen Polo 1.4
Advantages: Great fun to drive, nippy and reliable Disadvantages: Strange pedals!
The Polo 1.4 was the first car that I ever bought myself so will always be quite special in a weird kind of way!
I traded in my old battered Fiesta that my mum and dad had bought me and purchased a VW 1.4 Polo Match special edition for around £10000.
The car came with quite a few extras for the money including manual air conditioning and an electric sunroof (very nifty gadget on such a small car!) I am not too sure why the car had both a sunroof ... ...or the other! It also came with metallic paint and I chose the Silver colour which was great as it hardly shows up any dirt at all and comes up very nicely when it's polished.
I owned the 3 door version and you did have to be careful with the front doors as they are very big and heavy and can sometimes blow away in heavy wind.
For safety the car has ABS (the brakes are quite soft in the Polos but definitely do work when you need to use them!) There ...
nickjj78 23.12.2003
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Volkswagen Polo 1.4
Advantages: Very Reliable, Cheap to run. Great looking car. Disadvantages: Handling, and does lack some character and fun
I have recently bought a 1999 T-Reg model for £1990 with just 49,500 miles on the clock. Which was an absolute bargain considering the vehicles reputation for reliability and also the fact that it is hard to get one with such a low mileage for its age. Since I have had it I have had no serious problems with it, but have experienced a few minor annoyances. These include the drivers side door barrel breaking so that I had to use the central locking ... ...the coolant system hoses disconnected because the clip came off. Another minor thing is that when it has been raining or the windows are wet, they stick and the motors cannot close them without a helping hand. This could however be caused due to a dying battery and not the motors themselves, also I have to consider the fact that it is not often that I open the window when driving in the rain. I do however think that there may be some gremlins in ...
s_copsey 19.07.2007
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Volkswagen Polo 1.4
Value for Money
Road Handling
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I have a VWPolo1.4tdi 06 plate
Its the best car I've had, economical, practical, stylish and nippy.
The boot is not huge but can fit one large suitcase and two small at a squeeze so adequate for my family of four.
A full tank of deisel ( around £40) will last me two to three weeks with the everyday school and work run and weekend local roaming around.
We took it to Glasgow - around 360 miles from home with a full tank on leaving, it had just under 1/4 of a tank when we got there.
When pulling away it drives more like a 1.6. and will sit very comfortably at 70mph on the motorway.
It feels safe and comfortable to drive, and has excellent build quality ( so my husband says lol ). We've had no mechanical problems so far.
It has cheap Tax and insurance.
Servicing costs £45 to change the oil for its first service ...
Advantages: Air Con, Build Quality, Fuel Economy, Safety Disadvantages: Service Costs
This review is for the VWPolo1.4 TDI S edition on the 52 plate. My experience of the car is that it was very reliable, well built, has excellent fuel economy around 50mpg and a good level of equipment for the class of car.
The interior of the car is well made. The quality of the materials used is excellent. Instead of a plasticy looking dash the VWpolo has a matt ruberised feel to the dash board and switches. Whereas the rest of the interior is finished in good quality materials. The use of grey materials is a bit excessive and in my opinion the quality of the seat materials could be a little more hardwearing but they are my only gripes with the cabin area.
In terms of ride the car is pleasant to drive around town, very responsive, and not much cabin noise under 50mph. The car is very stable to drive with very little body ...
Advantages: Lovely to drive, economical, surprisingly fast!, Disadvantages: a bit slow to pulling off, a little bit noisey
This is the nicest, easiest car I have ever owned and driven. I mixes style wih simplicity and comfort with sportiness. I have driven Golf GTIs, Lupo, Civic Type R, Nova GTE, Cavalier SRI + many more sporty and family cars.
I will keep this car for a long time as i know it will be reliable.
The fuel consumption is so low, the needle doesnt move until about the first 100 miles! Tax is also cheap and the insurance is also very cheap.
The drive is very sturdy and the turbo gives that boost that is neded on a diesel car.
Its true what they say about VW diesel engines, you could forget its a diesel!
I test drove a black 1.4 TDI before I bought mine and I liked it so much that decided that it was worth fully loading the car with extras and going for the colour concept model and it was still good value for money. ...
