1993 Volkswagen Polo Coupe GT 1.3 petrol from Portugal

Summary:

Good semi-sports car

Faults:

Rear brake pumps replaced at 82400 km.

Engine oil vapour tube replaced at the same time.

Transmission blew at 82500 km.

General Comments:

A great little hatchback, although too much voracious on petrol for a 1.3 liter.

Legally speaking, this car comes with 145 or 155 size tyres wich I do not recommend. Use 165 or 175 size tyres.

Handling on sharp bends is tricky. Tends to overturn.

Too lightweight.

I don't know how it originally handled for I bought the car with gas suspension.

Beautiful steering wheel and incredibly comfortable Recaro seats.

As with any dealer repair services here in Portugal, it's a complete rip-off. You can get the same job done elsewhere for about half the cost.

It's a very fun car to drive. You get more out of the 1.3 engine at about 3500 rpm.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th October, 2001

29th Nov 2003, 11:04

Hi.

I'm from Portugal as well, from Porto.

The only reason I'm writing English is to avoid deletion of my comment! :P.

I just bought my Coupe GT a few days ago. It's still in my garage, doing a complete check-up. It already has 180.000 km, but it appears to be impeccable, so far.

Do you know how many horsepower does it have? I've heard many kinds of answers, therefore I can't tell which ones are true or false.

I don't know where you're from, but up here in Porto, there is a company named SVP Auto, where you can purchase pretty much everything, not only to Volkswagen. And with warranty as well! I went there to pick up some parts for my '88 GT coupe. They sell used parts, but in top notch conditions :).

9th Sep 2004, 04:54

I have a Polo G40 and standard it runs around 115BHP, whereas the GT coupe has 75BHP standard from the 1.3 multi point injection system.

1993 Volkswagen Polo Genesis Coupe 1.3 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

A low cost, very reliable super mini with VW heritage

Faults:

Thermostat needed changing at 68500.

Head gasket blew at 74000 miles.

Front suspension struts went at 94000.

Rear wheel bearings went at 94000.

General Comments:

Overall a good small car which does the job rather well, 5 speed gear box adds fuel economy along with a thrifty single point fuel injection engine.

Always starts first touch, although in the winter it has been known to stall when the automatic choke brings the rpm down from 1000 to 850.

Solid as a rock internally, good seats, good plastic trim etc etc.

155/70R13 tyres it came with are no good for road holding - 165/65's make the car feel a lot more confident on bends at speed.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd September, 2001

18th Oct 2004, 10:30

I have a 1992 polo, and the same things went on it, altho it is a cracker of a car. My little baby!!!

6th Jan 2005, 14:06

Not a bad little car! mines still got it.

1993 Volkswagen Polo CL 1.3 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Too good to be true!

Faults:

New exhaust back box.

Broken down once, replaced HT leads and plugs.

Engine tuned due to poor cold starting.

Air vent hose came lose (driver's side).

General Comments:

Excellent little VeeDub, great car for a single young person with room for the family. Good image, but parts can be expensive, NEVER take to a main dealer.

Brakes are poor, but the engine and ride are smooth. Supension could be a little harder and trim levels and equipment on the CL are crap!

But car with on a good day can reach 105 mph! Only reached once :)

Door locks are poor and easy for people to break into so watch out!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 13th January, 2001

27th Apr 2006, 09:21

Hi I am an owner my self and I've had mine since new it's a polo cl coupe 1.0L and has never broke down never had to replace anything, but tyres. I was wondering about the backbox why does it go so low to the floor. until I found that when they were built they did not connect properly to the chassis. so what I did I made a mount and welded it on to the original chassis and now you cannot tell if you look under the car.

27th Apr 2006, 09:21

Hi, I am an owner myself and I've had mine since new. It's a Polo CL Coupe 1.0L and it's never broken down, and I've never had to replace anything, but tyres.

I was wondering about the backbox - why does it go so low to the floor? Until I found that when they were built they did not connect properly to the chassis. So what I did I made a mount and welded it on to the original chassis, and now you cannot tell if you look under the car.

6th Feb 2007, 14:30

I have a 1275 cc CL coupe. The car is 14 years old, and still runs brilliantly even in winter. The Single Point Injection engines do tend to be better than carburetor engines (carbs are clumsy devices unless you like squeezing more performance from your Polo). A few squeaks and rattles, and a little rust, but performs brilliantly. Very reliable.

Suspension is very soft however, but you could graft some shocks off a GT for a harder ride. The hanger for the backbox is very poor, and rusts easily.