2001 Volkswagen Polo Classic 1.6 from Costa Rica

Faults:

The passenger electric window engine was changed in the first 6 months twice.

The tires that come with were so bad...(Firestone). I use Pirelli P6000 tires, changed it the first year and with 1 year on road looks like new(good for my road average!).

To noise at 80+ Km/h.

Low A/C power for Tropical environment, compared with Japanese cars. The "cold" level take 10 minutes to "cool" the interior in a sunshine day.

General Comments:

A very good engine and general construction for a small car.

It looks too luxury comparing it with others cars in the same range at similar price with extras included (Full extras from Toyota Echo- Yaris in LatinAmerica, Honda Civic Sedan basic, New Toyota Corolla basic model).

Too comfortable and excellent interior design. The meter clocks and other controls are very nice and good distributed for me, pure VW style.

Very good engine, torque and handling. With a strict and scheduled maintenance plan, it will have a strong engine and long live future.

I plan to own it for too many years!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th April, 2003

2001 Volkswagen Polo SE 1.4 60(BHP) Version from UK and Ireland

Summary:

If you are buying this car, ALWAYS buy the 75BHP version or greater

Faults:

No problems detected so far.

General Comments:

Comfort leaves a lot to be desired. When cornering even at moderate speed, the driver follows afterwards. You are not at one with the car! Very firm ride, which means you feel every single bump. Great for town driving, but hopeless on the motorway or long distance driving.

Performance for this version is extremely poor with most reviews stating that the 60BHP version is totally inadequate. Even climbing moderate hills, this little beast struggles. Indeed, when we took it down to Dorset, we were having to change to 2nd gear to get up a basic hill! Recommend you buy the 16V 75BHP model for OK performance.

Styling

This is a nice supermini for looks, although I find the back end of the car drops off too suddenly. Not good for rear shunts.

My model had Air Conditioning instead of sunroof. Good performance from the A/C, especially for de-misting.

However, I have had enough of this car and I have traded it in for a common vauxhall Astra 1.6SXI. Suffice to say, I drove the Astra and loved it. Luxury compared to this polo!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 18th January, 2003

2001 Volkswagen Polo 1.4 16V 1.4 16v petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Solid, classy, well-built car

Faults:

There was a very loud rattle from the CD player which the dealer fixed.

The trim on the rear doors is not very well attached.

General Comments:

A delightful car to drive.

The exterior looks solid and expensive as do the interior plastics, which have a wonderful feel - barring the steering wheel which is too thin.

Engine is very fizzy, but has a low red-line for a 16V - only 5750 RPM.

Handles very well.

Comfortable and roomy, but the boot is tall, but not deep. Increasing luggage space by folding the rear seats is not easy due to having to push the front seats forward and removing the rear head-rests.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th June, 2002

2001 Volkswagen Polo GTi 1.6 16v from UK and Ireland

Summary:

High spec, sporty and fun

Faults:

Rear de-mister elements faulty - window replaced under warranty.

General Comments:

I like just about every aspect of this car.

Nice and quick. Pulls from 20mph in 4th and still has all you need at 80+ on the motorway. 70 is reached at 3200rpm with power climbing to a peak at 6500rpm.

Very comfortable. Sports seats mean that you can drive for hours without any aches or pains. Electronic A/C, CD changer and PAS just add to the pleasure.

Excellent handling although the stiffened suspension trade-off means that bumps in the road are a lot more noticeable.

Rare, distinctive and very high spec including Xenon headlights and internal sensor alarm system.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 23rd April, 2002

4th Oct 2002, 08:31

Like all VW's overated, the polo gti's performance is not that outstanding, as for beating 90% of cars off at the traffic lights that can be said of a lot of vehicles.

1st Jan 2003, 18:37

What, you mean the other 10%??

1st May 2005, 04:12

Hey, this car is amazing, I love it loads!

It pulls fine in 5th doing 40. I love everything about this car!

Another thing good thing about this car is there are hardly any about!

I got 0-60 in just over 7 seconds, and had 137 out of it on a flat. An amazing car!

Shell.

12th Aug 2005, 18:04

In fact, I think you'll find that for a 3-door, the Automobile Association, or 'AA' have quoted a 0-60 time of 8.70 seconds, and a top speed of 127mph. 10.3 seconds? Even a 2001 Ford Fiesta 1.6 16v will do 0-60 in 10.80 seconds! That's truly pathetic.