SE TDI 1.6 (75ps) 3dr Hatchback

A Very Poor Effort By VW - Avoid

I bought this car in February 2010, and took delivery in May 2010. The car never got anywhere near to its stated fuel consumption of 65.7 MPG (combined). Typically it returned between low 30s and mid 40s in mixed motoring (dual carriageway, “A” roads and a small component of urban), even when driven with an eye to economy.

As fuel economy was a central reason for my purchase decision, this was a “big deal”. The car suffered 3 sensor failures since February 2011. Out of the last 4 months of my ownership, the car spent 2 months of it at the Main Dealer for repeated attempts at rectification of poor fuel consumption (my own figures were actually corroborated by the dealer) and warning light investigations. The final attempt at rectifying the fuel issue involved applying a new version of ECU software – It didn’t make any perceivable difference.

Added to all that, I discovered that the bottom of the rear seat had no trim fitted. When seat was raised to facilitate carrying shopping (etc), you could see an expanse of cream coloured foam with factory identification marks stamped on it. When I flagged this as a defect at the dealership; I was shown a car in the showroom that looked identical. In short, it appears that VW had shipped cars in this condition by design. So much for the “superior” VW trim!

With respect to Post Sales support, I found VW UK unhelpful in the extreme. The dealership was not unhelpful, but were glacially slow (nothing they tried took less than a working week) and they didn’t seem to know what they were doing.

With respect to the ride of the car, I found it harsh and unpleasant over speed ramps and rough roads, even at very moderate speeds. I traded this car in at a little over a year old because I had no confidence it could ever be made to perform to anywhere near the sales specification as far as fuel consumption was concerned, and I could foresee a trail of aggravation up to and beyond the end of the warranty period.

Recommendation: Avoid this model 2nd hand. I believe VW no longer market the 1.6 75PS Polo diesel.

The car was traded in for petrol Fiesta Zetec, which has so far been faultless, and the in ride quality and handling department, nothing short of superb. The fuel consumption of the petrol Fiesta easily exceeds that of the diesel Polo.

A more detailed account of experience of Polo ownership can be found here:-

http://evingar.www.idnet.com/polo_review.html

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