1996 Volkswagen Polo GL from UK and Ireland - Comments

Just usual wear and tear -nothing else. No money spent on servicing as of yet.

PROS:

Very reliable and safe run-about with excellent build quality for a '96 supermini. You obviously pay a bit more for a polo than the equivalent fiesta/corsa/punto/106 etc, but it feels so much more solid than the aforementioned cars. Only just started to get a barely audible squeak from the dash -not bad for an 11 year old car!The panels are very tight fitting and as for corrosion -just a couple of tiny spots under the rear wheel arches. Otherwise the metallic 'dragon green' paint looks as good as new. Alloy wheels have a little corrosion, but again, not bad for a 11 year old car. Comfort is good -the front seats give good support and are pretty adjustable and the steering wheel has tilt adjustment. Little extras include electric mirrors ans a rev-counter.Even a little touch like a rest for the clutch foot is a Godsend when you're on a long journey -by no means a 'given' on a mid '90's supermini. This car comes equipped with ABS and a driver's airbag. I believe that this generation polo has very good crash protection, mainly thanks to it's sturdy construction (a big improvement over the previous generation).Mechanically this car is sound.

Very lively little 8-valve engine:only 75bhp, but has excellent spread of torque across the rev range and is a lot more nippy than you'd expect. Equally at home around town or on the motorway: pulls away quickly from a standstill and is still eager at motorway speeds. Performance figures according to 'Parker's guide'...0-60mph: 11.8 seconds. Top speed:107mph.Engine output:75bhp.Engine torque:135 Nm (100 Ib/ft)

The handling is nothing special (I find it a little stodgy and under-steery ie. designed more for safety than thrills!) but is easily up to the job in hand.However, I still find this little car great fun to chuck around, the body-roll isn't too pronounced and the low-profile tyres at each corner of the car make cornering a doddle.Surprisingly, this car responds quite well to a hard drving style.

Loads of space for something KA-sized: can seat 4 average-sized adults comfortably and has a deep boot. Rear seats fold and I've managed to cram an adult's mountain bike in the back before (without removing it's front wheel!).Admittedly, it wasn't a breeze... but still possible, so great!

Personally, despite the dull middle-class pensioner-mobile image which a lot of people associate with the 'polo' name, I find this model quite nice to look at. The chunky compact shape with low-profile tyres/15inch alloys and a very subtle factory body kit looks pretty good to me. The 'dragon green' colour finishes off the whole look well.

CONS:

Yes, my car has proved very reliable so far, but I can appreciate that if anything does go wrong, it's going to cost more than most other superminis to put right. I don't think VW deserve such a high reputation for reliability these days, but my old polo just keeps going (maybe I'm just lucky).Unless you've got a new car, I wouldn't bother using the main dealers-independents are much cheaper and because there's still so many old polos about, spares are plentiful and don't cost the earth, but ultimately, a cheap and cheerful fiesta, for example, is going to be a better option if you're on a strict budget.

The cost of the insurance is expensive for what is is.Again, the equivalent ford fiesta/Ka etc is usually cheaper to insure.

Because the engine is an old 8-valve, the co2 emissions are quite high for 75bhp and so road tax is not as cheap as you'd hope for.

Fuel consumption is quite high -I've averaged 35+ with a light right foot, but put my foot down (I admit that I do like to chuck this car around a bit!) and it's closer to 30mpg!

Tyre/engine noise is quite intrusive at high speeds, but then again, I suppose, with low-profile tyres combined with a little 8-valve engine screaming it's heart out at high revs, it's to be expected!

I hope this review is helpful...

This review makes Polos seem like great little cars, which in some ways they are, but check through some of these reviews and you'll see that although they have plus points, more than a few that rolled off the production lines were dogs.

I've had no end of troubles with my girlfriend's Polo, which I was reluctant to buy in the first place. It's a 1.6 GL as the one in this review, it has a full service history and the guy we bought it from had changed the oil every 5,000 miles. Sounds great, but also had a huge list of receipts going back to day one. At first I thought great, but when at home checking through them the list of items replaced was cause for concern. Throttle bodies, rebuilt cpu's, power steering pump and many more things I can remember right now.

Since owning the car there have been various problems, not starting, problems with carbs, fuel pumps, all kinds of things.

I've had 3 mid ninties Honda Civics and now a CRX, all of which were high milers and I've not had one problem, not a single blip from any of them. I've never had to replace a single part apart from wear and tear ones and I guess I was expecting that from all manufacturers, especially German ones. If I put all of my Honda receipts together, they wouldn't come anywhere near the amount this one car has had. I was urging my girlfriend to get a Honda (I can only go by what I've experienced and owned) but she insisted on a Polo, I can't express my disappointment enough.

It does drive nicely with plenty of pull from the engine, honestly not a patch on any of the Hondas I've had though. The gearbox is just insanely slushy, laughably so. It gives an impression that it's a bigger car nicely and everything is screwed together well.

All in all, I couldn't recommend this car to anyone, it has some nice points but it's just not worth the hassle. When buying a cheap small car in future, it will always be Japanese. Probably Honda!

I wrote the original review, and in reply to the last comment: if I made it sound like a great little car, that's because it was for me :) I wrote it exactly as it was, objectively.. maybe I just got lucky (sorry to hear about the hassles with your girlfriend's car) but what can I say? Mine was very reliable over 2 years - not bad for a 12 year old car and no major services during my ownership! :)

Anyway, I'm just giving my own experience and of course, that's the whole point of these reviews: to give an unbiased personal account, so people reading it can compare it to other reviews and weigh up the pros and cons and make up their own mind.

I agree that Civics/CRX's are great cars (and Honda reliability is legendary as everyone knows) but are literally in a different class to the Polo and not the best comparison - my '96 Polo was just a sensible tiny Ford Ka-size little shopper.

Anyway, had to sell the Polo a couple of months ago (was reliable to the end!), but I've done my low-powered budget runabout phase now, and recession or not, I'm going to somehow save up for a proper car next time ie. larger and faster! hmm I've always liked the Alfa 156..now that could be interesting if its reliability reputation is anything to go by - maybe I'll get lucky again LOL ;)