1982 Volkswagen Polo C Formel E review from UK and Ireland

Original seat covers in poor state.

Rust on the sides and undercarriage.

Oil leak.

Petrol tank leak.

High emissions.

Extremely unreliable (a poor starter even though it was garaged, as well as habit of engine cutting out when approaching junctions and traffic lights!) This was mainly in the winter months, though.

Water pump leak.

Radiator leak.

'Long' brake pedal.

Had to be scrapped after failing MOT test Dec 2001. Repairs would have cost too much, and car would still have been as unreliable as ever despite them.

Engine felt fragile, as though it was just ready to cut out at any given minute.

With it being my first car, this was not a good introduction to car ownership!

It stood out from the modern 'crowd'

Fun and simple to run and pretty nippy.

Actually drove very well in summer months.

Repairs were pretty cheap, but it gets to a point where you're fed up with constantly putting things right, only for something else to crop up weeks later.

Hard-working car, despite the problems.

Would have been good in its day.

The problems with it still didn't stop me from buying another, better model of the car.