2003 Volkswagen Polo review from Australia and New Zealand
"Fantastic car, good service and satisfactory customer service.."
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Air-conditioning recycle unit malfunctioned.
Thermostat malfunctioned.
Rattle in dashboard.
General comments?
The moment I bought this car I was in love with it. There is nothing that can be said about German engineering other than the fact that it is nothing less than near perfection.
Other than the problems mentioned above, which I promptly had fixed, the car has performed fantastically. The air-con recycle function problem while having been extremely annoying (the same problem occurred in my friend’s polo), I was told that this problem occurs because the mechanism that operates the flap did not reset correctly at the proper location so continued to remain open even when I tried to activate it. The mechanism was replaced and I have not had a problem since.
The thermostat problem also occurred in my friend's polo also. But this was quickly fixed by replacing the thermostat and no problems have occurred since.
The rattle in the dashboard was also willingly replaced. In Australia Volkswagen advertise that their vehicles do not rattle so they didn't have a problem fixing the issue, even if it seemed a minor point.
I get great fuel economy, especially on those long drives and I am very happy with the vehicle, in fact I am preparing to buy the new Polo Match. This model is now manufactured in either South Africa or China, I can’t remember which one now, but hopefully there will be no degradation in the quality of the manufacturing process that I have come to expect from Volkswagen.
If the new one is anything like the one I have I would seriously recommend a Polo to anyone!!
Recommended reviews
| A great car let down by unacceptable manufacturing faults in only 4 months of |
|
| 2002 - Polo PD100 Sport 1.9 TDI Another high quality German import |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Model year | 2003 |
| Year of manufacture | 2003 |
| First year of ownership | 2003 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2006 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.4 petrol Engine Manual |
| Performance marks | 10 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 10 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 10 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 8 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 10 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 8600 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 48500 kilometres |
| Date of Entry | 18th January, 2006 |