1992 Volkswagen Polo review from Portugal
"An underpowered gas guzzler.."
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Exhaust pipe & muffler fell some 4 times to the ground supposedly due to misalignment of the whole setup that caused extra load on the holding rubbers.
Stop brake light never worked.
Electric system failed twice. Had to be towed to repair. Pricey repair.
Cooling system failed once while on vacations in the middle of a trip... Fortunately I got to a mechanic in time...
Seat retraction to allow passengers on the back failed on both front seats once.
Had a big, growing, rust spot under the front window - some rusty points on the water channel above the rear window on both sides.
General comments?
My fist car - it was either this or a Fiat Uno.
Awfully underpowered vehicle.
It needed some time to heat properly before usage, otherwise the engine wouldn't build up.
Had a tendency to heat up too much - especially on long voyages with moderate load.
Keep your eyes on the water level!
It didn't have a sealed glove compartment - so I couldn't keep anything of importance there (radio, etc).
It doesn't have a low gas warning light which is terribly important when you are young (and I was).
The car is a gas guzzler considering the engine power - 1000 cc - 45 HP... Mine did 8-9 lts at 100 km in city drive...
The muffler is set very low and it hits high obstacles easily.
The exhaust pipe protrudes too much from the rear - be careful not to fold the whole exhaust pipe against an obstacle when your going backwards!
Of course - no power steering - but it wasn't too heavy thank god!
This is a definitely a city car - forget it when your going on vacations and need to take some luggage.
I did get mine doing 150 km/h (on a descent OK) with 3 passengers and fully loaded - and when I say fully - I took luggage underneath my legs in the driver seat!
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| Bullet proof reliability and cheap to run, but slow and boring |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| Year of manufacture | 1992 |
| First year of ownership | 1998 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2001 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.0 Don't Know |
| Performance marks | 5 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 4 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 5 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 4 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 80000 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 125000 kilometres |
| Previous car | - - |
| Date of Entry | 15th November, 2003 |