1989 Volkswagen Polo C review from UK and Ireland

Problem with car cutting out after long distances whenever gears are disengaged.

Problem with car drastically losing power after long distances bringing car to a crawl. Not good on a dual carriageway where everyone is doing 70mph...

Rear wiper doesn't work, most probably wiring fault.

Rear heated windscreen doesn't work. A real nightmare when the car gets fogged up as you have to stop to clear it!

Car overheats when in traffic jams pretty quickly...

The brakes leave a LOT to be desired. The moral of the story is leave about four times the normal braking distance...

This Polo was my first car, and I must admit has been a blast to own and drive. I get a lot of stick from my mates, but that doesn't bother me because I know that their cars will probably not be on the road for as long as this.

Funny quirks on the car include the way that if you leave the indicator on and kill the engine, the corresponding headlamp will come on and stay on, draining your battery if you don't notice.

The car is pretty nippy with good acceleration, and pretty good fuel economy on long runs. I have had a top speed of 92mph from the car on a straight. Although this took about a mile to build up to!

The overall design of the car is quite odd with it resembling an estate car. Visibility is brilliant though because of this.

Parts are getting harder to come by now, as all original parts from this model are nearing 20 years old now, as 1990 was the last year of this model. However, when you get your hands on a part, working on this car is very simple. Parts just seem to fall off it! To change the bumper on the car took me about 5 minutes, as it was only held on by 2 nuts and bolts!

To conclude, get a Mk2 Polo C if you have fallen on hard times but still want a very reliable car. Even after having 6 inches of snow on it and being frozen shut for 5 days, it started first time.