So just a quick follow up as you seem to know a lot about it. Were these Tiptronics any more economical than the traditional torque converters in the Polo? Also does one tend to be more reliable than the other with this age of Polo?

The name Tiptronic was coined by Porsche for the auto transmission on the then new 964 generation 911. It was simply a torque converter auto whereby as well as using "P", "D", "N" etc, you could slide the selector across to a separate plane and change gear manually using "+" and "-". But as I said, it was still a torque converter auto and as such the changes were not especially quick (and for the 911, it was also hampered by only having 4 gears). Since then, while VW and Audi, (through their close ties with Porsche), have officially been able to use the name Tiptronic, others have pounced on the name (in much the same way as the name Jeep or Hoover) in reference to any automatic car (including DSG/DCT) where you have the obvious facility to change gears manually (I say obviously because as has been mentioned, you can select gears manually on pretty much all auto's, it's just that you would use "1", "2". "3" and "D" depending on how many gears were involved).

The only difference between the 4 speed and 6 speed boxes in the Polo's you mention are the amount of gears and the fact that the 6 speed version can be changed manually using "+" and "-" on the separate plane. They both work in exactly the same way and are both torque converter. The 6 speed should be more efficient (though not by a huge amount) than the 4 speed if driven in a relaxed manner, but little difference if driven hard.

A DCT, DSG in VW parlance is completely different as they are actually a manual gearbox where the (dual) clutches are operated automatically. These are, in most cases, more efficient, but they are also not very tolerant of abuse which is why most potential buyers asking on the forum will be advised against buying one. They can be reliable, but that is dependant on the previous owner or owners having driven the car with a degree of mechanical sympathy. Not something you can easily find out on a used car.

No probs!.

Can I ask if there is a particular reason you want a Polo?. You want a small auto and presumably have a particular budget. But with that budget, there is not going to be a huge supply of candidates. Also, when looking at cars of this kind of age, condition really is everything, much more important than make or model. So by limiting yourself to a Polo you could be ignoring other potentially better cars within your budget.

As an example, the first generation Nissan Note (2005-2012) springs to mind. These are incredibly reliable, likely to be more so than a Polo, much more spacious and practical (being a sort of mini MPV) despite not being much bigger. I know you said the car you linked was just an example, but assuming that was the approximate budget you are working with, here is a Note on Autotrader of a similar price to look at,

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