Base model without the base feel (VW New Polo E Specification)

Member Name: rooooo

Product:	VW New Polo E Specification
Date:	21/02/02 (578 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks, Reliability, Style

Disadvantages: Price

Few cars I have driven at this end of the market feel anything special. I have owned and driven a number of super minis but the Polo was the first one I drove that felt safe.

It all started back in 2000 when my Wife's current car, a Micra, got a very scary crash test rating. That was it, she never felt safe in the car after that, so it was off to buy a new one. I'm not going to pretend we looked around at a host of different cars, because she knew the car she wanted was a Polo, so that was that! Choosing the model was easy too, the only model to happily fit into her budget was the 1.0 E.

We took the car for a test drive, and it immediately felt safe - it handled the road well and had very decent performance for a 1 litre. The interior was nice, very different, and the blue illuminated dashboard, well that's a deal clincher on its own! So she went for it.

That's the history and first impressions, so what is it like to own?

The service we got from the garage was first class (I bought my Golf from the same garage pretty much on this experience), they couldn't do enough for us, and this remains.

The car has been great to own, bar a few minor niggles. The fuel economy is still very good, averaging at around 45-50 mpg, and as stated above the performance is very good for around town. Take it on the Motorway and you realise its limitations, but then this ain't no cruiser. We have had a few slight problems with it not starting on a couple of occasions, but don't let that put you off, it's probably just this particular car.

Inside it really feels like a more expensive car - there are rear head rests, electric mirrors, a lockable glove box, split folding rear seats, rear wash wipe and a decent stereo, all as standard. We have even added a VW CD player (which just slots in a hold in the dashboard and takes 5 minutes to install), and also the VW cup holders (costing £20 screw underneath the
main console - very easy) to upgrade it a little.
The car is also very roomy, and can easily seat 4 adults. The boot is not big, but it is very deep, so is easy to get 6-7 bags of shopping in it - just don't stack everything on top of your bread!

If you look at a Polo from the outside, you can't really tell what model it is, there are no model markings, no extra bits, and unless you are one for details, they all look pretty similar, and they all look good, very fresh, clean, slightly understated looks.

So inside and out it looks and feels a really great little car, it has that VW class and gives you a level of trust I haven't has with another make

So now the niggles. The major problem I have with it is the build quality - when we first had it, we felt the build quality was first rate, far better than any Micra, Saxo or 106 we had been in, but when I got my Golf, it was easy to tell that these cars weren't made in the same place. I believe Golf's are made in Germany, and Polo's in Spain, the Germans winning again! Maybe it is unfair to compare (like comparing a Granada to a Rolls perhaps), but it gives you an idea.

The other problem I have with it is the main beam light - it is right in the middle of the blue dashboard, so it is difficult to tell when it is on, and so we frequently dazzle people! Sorry!

But apart from that, we're well impressed, the first VW we had, and made me get one too, which is probably the best recommendation I can make.

So how does it manage to be better than everything else I have driven? Well in a word, price. It is more expensive, but as the saying goes, you gets what you pays for, and here you get a reliable, well built, sound motor, that will be easy to sell at a good price. And I'd happily pay the extra again.

Summary: