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VW Polo 1.2 Moda 2010
by cupracraig
After developing an oil leak on my 08 Honda Civic Type-r i decided it was time for a change! I was sick of paying close to £300 a month in petrol, £400 for a service and the cost of tyres etc.
I looked at various cars but the Polo's charming good looks and excellent interior swayed me into a test drive.
I decided early on that ... i wanted to get the 70bhp 1.2 but i couldn't find one in my budget range so i took the 60bhp model for a spin. WOW! This thing didn't feel like 60bhp, sure its not a fast car, far from it... But its geared perfectly and was such fun to drive!
Its great around town, returning an average of 46.05mpg over the last 4 full tanks delivering an average of 393.42 miles before filling up. I do try to drive quite economically, you dont win any races in this car, so a really savvy driver should be hitting the 50mpg around town. I would expect to see mid to high 50's on the motorway as long as you stick to just below 70mph. Little engines dont like to be pushed hard, but saying that, on the motorway its stable, secure and keeps up with the traffic extremely well. You do have to learn to plan your driving a bit more, but this helps in a number of ways, mainly economy, safety and reducing your wear and tear bills.
I have had to use the brakes hard only once, an old man decided to stop on a 40mph road to let a car out of a junction. The ABS worked well but the dip under braking was a shock compared to my other stiffer cars. Dont use the horn in anger mind, its not an angry horn.
Im 27 with 7 years no claims and i'm paying around £250 a year to insure the car. Its in a low insurance group so should be much cheaper for the older owner.
It feels like a much bigger car, the door sills are thick, really thick! If you didn't know you were in a Polo, you would swear it was a Golf.
The dash is made of soft touch plastics and nice synthetic leather looking material on the gear stick. Its not cheap, its not tacky, it just feels nice.
The seats are comfortable and give great back support, although lack lumbar adjustment on the S model.
The stereo is really quite good, it lacks rear speakers on the 3 door (S) model but the Moda comes equipped with them. There is full adjustability of settings such as Bass, Treble and direction of sound.
Air conditioning in the polo is an essential extra. The car is well insulated and can get quite warm inside. During the colder months, the air conditioning is amazing at clearing the moisture from inside the car i.e. cold condensation early in the morning.
Leg room in the rear is reasonable, no complaints from friends and with the rear bench down i can fit my mountain bike in easily (front wheel removed).
The car comes with daytime driving lights, useful for being seen, no complaints so far. I would be tempted to upgrade to HID from factory next time though.
Overall i am very pleased with my "downgrade", i would recommend this car to anyone looking for a safe, comfortable, pleasant, economical but great looking car. The Polo has presence on the road and even in base format it looks brilliant. The Citroen C1 might deliver more MGP, but when taking my boy out an about, im happy knowing that we are in a secure and safe little car.
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VW Passat SE Estate 1.9SE TDI
by GizmoandMoll
Looks-
The Passat has always had a nice look to it but with VW's new corporate front end it looks a more handsome beast than ever before, we went for the standard colours as paying extra for paint seems idiotic to me. Chose the red as i'd seen it look good on golfs and it really sets the Passat off well and makes it stand out ... from the silver grey herd.
Eco bobbins-
The Bluemotion is VW's eco range so has stop start technology (you can turn it off) which can be a bit disconcerting if you are not used to it. I don't know if its to do with this but low speed stalling seems to happen quite a bit, mind you all you have to do to restart is push in the clutch.
We've got the 2 litre sport Bluemotion and its averaged 50 odd mpg on runs.
Now the important bit you've all been waiting for...... does it drive like an eco diesel?????
No it doesn't it drives like a very good car
Spangly Bits
We specced up our car a bit (as its the company paying not us) So had the fancy in car satnav stereo combo with the ipod gubbinsry. its a good system but the satnav is not as configurable as some i've used so can take you some odd routes. however it does have all of europe on it.
We also had the big glass sunroof option which is apparently great if you are in the back but not really noticeably different up front.
Overall
35000 miles in 11 months , its been a great car with only a couple of issues, its on the very end of its second set of new front boots and the tyre sensor has played up along with the central locking when I power washed the car a bit too vigorously.
The biggest gripe has to be reserved for the Dealership, the blokes in the overalls seem great and know their cars really well, however you can't speak to them without going through a lying (yes we'll ring you when its in/done) phone monkey who's job seems to be to annoy and frustrate at very turn.
Make sure your local dealership is good and you'll love the Passat
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VW Golf GTI Hatchback 1.8T GTI 3-door 150bhp
by joecooljoe
Having owned a MK4 Golf 1.8T GTI for the last three years and driven the car on all sorts of roads and in all sorts of weather conditions i have experienced all the car has to offer.
In its factory state the golf is an enjoyable car to drive, offering impressive power from a straight 4 1.8 litre engine. This is thanks to the 20 ... valve engine working with the K03 turbo to produce 150bhp.
I have made many journeys from Brighton to Manchester and the golf never skips a beat even after covering over 100,000 miles.
Winter:
A few winters back when there was the awful snow covering most of england i had to drive to work everyday in the golf. Now being a front wheel drive car i thought it would be a nightmare in comparison to the R32 and the 4motion golfs. But the reality was it coped surprisingly well on the ice and snow if driven with due care. The ABS and Traction control definitely played their part very well.
Summer:
My GTI came equipped with the climatronic AC which i am aware not all GTI's have, it is a brilliant system which keeps you nice and cool on those increasingly rare summer days. My only criticism is that the controls are positioned too low on the centre console which make it difficult to alter when driving.
Servicing:
It is a very easy car to service yourself with the filters and oil being very simple to change. Relatively cheap and easy get the service part as this engine was used in a whole range of other VWs, Skodas and Audis.
Tuning:
With the modern Golf GTI's producing 200+bhp i was left wanting more power but i couldnt afford a new golf and didnt want to get rid of MK4 as it is better looking car than the newer MK5's and MK6's (in my opinion). A remap will set you back around £200 for a generic ECU map, which with the addition of exhaust system and air filter will see a power output of around 200bhp depending on the parts. My golf has had many performance parts fitted which leave it happily keeping up with any modern Golf GTI, Focus ST etc..
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