2000 Volkswagen Polo GTi review from UK and Ireland

Rear washer pipe split, leaked water into car.

Rear brake binding, caused by faulty handbrake cable.

Alloy wheels corroding.

I previously had the same car, but the base model E and I had always wanted the GTi version so I saved up and got one.

The spec of the GTi beats anything in its class, especially at the time it came out (2000). Climate control with Xenon lights as standard and a 6CD changer plus alloys and dual airbags with optional heated and/or leather seats.

The interior of this car also beats anything in its class. Borrowed and slightly modified by the Lupo the dash is stylish/funky and innovative. Chrome surrounds on the dials and at night the blue illuminated instruments look very cool, you really get that feeling of superior build quality.

The exterior is very well done. The best thing about VW is that they style the GTi's in a subtle way. The BBS alloys with honeycomb grille and extended sills and bumper strips and rear roof spoiler with the whole thing lowered 10mm. The car is another VW that will look good in many years time because the styling is subtle and classy.

I found the performance of this car to be good. 125Bhp with 0-60 in 8.7 seconds and a top speed of 127mph. My only comment is that the car needs to be reveed way over 3500rpm before you feel a kick at which point the car seems to spring to life. I put that down to the VVT (variable valve timing) and the fact my particular car has still got problems with brakes.

The problems I have had with the car are shared by many other polo drivers, most of these problems are small and not too costly. But its not what you should get from a VW (maybe its cause they put them together in spain now?).

The main gripe about this car is the dealers. I have dealt with VW dealers a few years now and they are all bad. The problem is the reputation of VW is of reliability and build quality. However the reliability of current VW's is relatively low compared to its competitors. So when things go wrong is a pain trying to get anything done on warranty and the attidute you get from the staff is poor. Often booking cars in when parts aren't available and blatantly lying about design faults (corroding alloys).

I think the predecessor to this model (polo 9N year 2002 onwards) and the face-lift Polo 9N are seriously lacking the spec and look of this model polo. The interior just feels cheap and thinned out, on the facelift model they no longer have gas struts to hold up the bonnet. More money saving adjustments that remove that VW feeling of superior build quality and refinement. Not to mention the fact VW still commands higher prices than its competitors.