Faults:

Bushes were an issue, but got replaced with Powerflex poly bushes; not an issue.

General Comments:

Bought the car for the cheap insurance. Performance and fuel economy are really good. The car was a lot faster than expected.

The interior is really poor, but mine got leather fitted all round. A 6n2 leather back bench with Mazda RX8 seats in the front.

I had a 3 door, I sprayed it white and gave it the 9n3 GTI facelift. Fell in love with the car after a few weeks.

It's a great wee car. Would hate to see the day it gets written off or becomes not road worthy, as I don't plan on selling it.

I love Volkswagen cars after my Golf Mk3 1.9 TDI. Although I've tried various other brands, the Volkswagen is in a different league for build quality and reliability.

Faults:

Where do I start. I have had my 2003 1.4 16V 100bhp Sport Polo just over a year, and well it's been a very costly year.

It has the usual EPC light problems, with sensors cleaned, replaced etc with the problem finally fixed after 2 months by a software update... it's a car, not a computer!?

It's had 2 coil packs changed, and I'm sure the other two will go very soon.

I had a £1400 service!!! Front suspension changed, being a big cost, AC had something wrong with it, the brakes were changed, the steering rack was knackered, my cam belt was about to go... so much for German engineering, this car has done 50,000 miles!

It drinks oil, it probably burns 1 litre every 800 miles (if I am lucky), and no garage can tell me why?!

And just yesterday, the gearbox/clutch (they can't tell) went at 80mph on a very busy dual carriage way, not fun.

The car cost me 4,000, and I have easily spent over 2,000 in 12 months, not including sorting out my clutch or gearbox; I'm sure they will rip me out of hundreds for that too.

General Comments:

When the car works (very rare) it's brilliant. It's fast, smooth and sticks to the road like glue. The petrol does however seem to fly down the scale if you drive enthusiastically (above 4,000 revs) for a while.

If it was reliable, I would happily keep the car forever! I love the interior, it's very classy, and feels very grown up, and the blue and red instrument lighting is amazing. The sport has many extras, leather steering wheel and gear knob, red upholstery and fog lights, 6 CD changer are just a few examples. Lovely cabin to sit in.

My patience has finally run out now though, I can't afford to have this car, it has a new problem for me to pay for every 2 months. It may put a grin on my face when it works, and it may take off when you stick it in 3rd and floor it, it may have a nice interior, but what's the point if it's always in the garage.

The heart ache this car has caused me is unmeasurable, I tried to be smart by buying a VW; you think of German cars and you think reliable, solid, good cars. Well this one may as well be french, it's bloody useless. Don't bother getting one, keep your sanity. I wish I had.

Faults:

We just had a service yesterday by a VW specialist (not a VW dealer) who gave a first class customer care and competitive price. Unfortunately he informed us that the car is developing a common fault on 1.2 Polos, which he suggested had its origin in the factory; two of the cylinders are losing compression to the extent that we have only 70% compression and a misfire at tickover. He said we'd likely get another year with the problem growing, but that by then it may become necessary to repair. The cost of this is an astounding £1,300 because the whole top of the engine would need to come off. It is shocking to think that this fault was not recalled early on, and that unsuspecting used buyers have to foot the bill.

General Comments:

We bought the car 3 years ago as it felt as though it was as solid as a tank, and VWs reputation suggested we'd get about 10 years out of it. (We'd already managed to get 10.5 low cost and trouble free years out of our previous Rover Metro and got nearly 13 from our Rover 100. We'd thought of buying a Toyota Yaris to replace them as we'd also had a Toyota Camry reach 250,000 miles!).

After a couple of months of ownership we thought we'd done the right thing after we were hit from behind by another car, and the Polo took the knock with incredible strength - a new rear bumper was needed, but the solid panel behind it was undamaged.

Another reason we chose the Polo was because it looked good with cute styling, and its silver paint still looks new after 3 years of ownership.

The interior is also very solid and durable, and has pleasant fabric and the blue-lit gauges are a nice touch.

The only problem we'd had before now was the rear washer, which failed soon after buying as did its replacement part!

I also frequently lamented the penny-pinching behind the lack of a boot-light!

We'd also always found the 1.2 55 bhp very underpowered, and would always recommend the 1.4 over it.

Until yesterday I thought we looked good for another 7 years of ownership, but think we'll have to move her on. £1,300 is ridiculous.

I may consider a 1.4 as this problem is restricted to the 1.2 - but I think Toyota may be my next stop.

On the other hand - can this be done cheaper?