Match 1.2 TDI 5dr Hatchback

Great all rounder

Bought to transport my wife to Uni in a desperate attempt to become a kept man, our wee Polo although not fault free has been a very pleasant little second car.

High speed stability and a torquey little diesel motor grant it excellent distance covering capabilities and it's often been my choice to use on runs south of the border rather than our Honda CRV. Good ride, unusual in a super mini and a decent amount of feel from the steering mean it's enjoyable on B roads too.

The negatives include a habit for causing irritating little electrical annoyances such as boot lock (wish they'd fitted a key lock here), a handbrake that sticks on and an appetite for bulbs. Economy has never came close to matching the claims with 50mpg the norm day to day but exceeding 60mpg can be done on longer runs easily enough, drive like your old auntie and more is possible but then if you drive like that you'd own a Honda Jazz.

All in all a pleasant little car but not as well made as VW would have you believe. But the outstanding local dealer has offset much of this and won several well out of warranty goodwill claims of our behalf from a rather obliging VW. I'd say that I'll buy another but I'm so pleased with it I intend on seeing just how long it'll run for.


Edit: I have now traded the car in and can report that it remained a reliable and pleasant little car for the full 5yrs of ownership. The triggers for offloading it were size, we needed more space and substantial rust appearing on the n/s sill which was disappointing at 8yrs old. I did however get reasonable money for it (£2700) and having paid £7300 5yrs earlier it has cost less than £1,000 a year in depreciation and hasn’t cost me for any major repairs, even the exhaust was original.

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