Faults:

At 6,000 miles main belt broke and major oil leak; belt poss broke due to oil on belt. Car was taken in to VW who had the car for 5 days.

After the car had its 10,000 mile service from another VW garage we noticed there was another oil leak. The car was taken to our local dealer who had the car for 2 days and replaced 2 seals.

At this time we were also experiencing problems with the clutch, they replaced slave cylinder. Within days the problem reoccurred, we booked it in again and they replace the master cylinder and slave cylinder again. This time they had the car 3 days.

A few thousand miles later I hear a noise coming from what seemed to be the front drivers wheel area. Couldn't see anything, popped the bonnet and found the main belt starting to shred - again. Called VW assistance, who did arrive promptly, and they said for us to take it to the dealers in the morning, cheers mate!

By this time they us and our car quite well, they had the car back to us within 2 days.

Just the other day one of the knobs on the boot lid that holds the parcel shelf on broke off. As it is molded to one huge piece of plastic, we won't be replacing it too soon.

We have tried to get some compensation from VW for our hassle and it's loss in residual value due to these problems. Its not much, but they said they would pay for the next service and have given us another years VW roadside assistance; that's faith for you.

General Comments:

The car has now done just over 24,000 miles and my fiancee has owned the car from new.

The front tyres have just been replaced. 20,000 of those miles are motorway miles. We're okay with that.

Oil leaks aside it doesn't seem to lose any oil.

We both enjoy driving the car and I love the sound it makes on acceleration - which is due to it being a three cylinder.

We find it quite practical. Recently I took my best mate and wife to the airport for their honeymoon. They had two huge pieces of luggage that managed to fit in the boot, I was very impressed.

Fuel consumption is okay, nothing to shout about.

Conclusion.

The Polo is a nice practical car to drive and it can be fun. It had always been my fiancee's dream to own a Polo after her 2 previous Mini Metros. Would she go back to her Metro now, probably not, but I know one thing there will be no more VW's in our household again.

VW has lost its reputation for reliability. I just bought a car for myself and I was not about to compromise what I now know, I went for a Subaru Impreza 2.0 AWD Sport.

Faults:

Dashboard rattles all the time - dealers cannot provide a permanent fix.

Oil leak from cylinder head gasket from new - fixed under warranty.

Fuel low warning buzzer 'pinging' randomly - fixed under warranty.

Brake squeal from both front (fixed by dealer, but introduced similar squeal from front during the 1st annual service!)

Engine management problems - dealer blamed it on the brake light sensor (???!!!)

Condensation problems from new.

Cabin heating randomly blowing extremely hot air despite position of temperature control dial. Heater control unit replaced - no effect. Currently waiting for replacement parts for dealer to attempt 2nd fix.

CD stuck in dash mounted 6-CD changer.

General Comments:

Top of the range Polo (1.9 TDi PD Sport 3-door) :bottom of thr range for relaibility.

Both the girlfriend and I order this car from new, based on previous 'build quality' and overall good-standing of VW cars. What a disappointment to have so many problems with it since.

What is most annoying is that VW reduced the price of the Polo just 3 months after launching the car, and added the 6-CD changer as standard to our model (we bought it as an option). Result: poor reliability car, and annoyed owners!

Performance-wise it is another matter! This 1.9 TDi engine makes the Polo go like stink - I didn't think I'd have so much fun in a diesel. Handling is also pretty impressive.

It is also surprisingly frugal, returning 55+ miles to the gallon even when driven hard (be me) - topping 60+ mpg for a lighter-footed driver!