If not the Polo, then......

[instigator]

i allways had sporty cars,
my first car was a old mini cooper, still have it.
complete new engine and got it tuned, got around 90 - 100Hp.
weighs about 650kg.
but go over 100Hp and they get unrelieable and break all the time.
fun car but not as a daily drive.
so wanted somthing elmse as a fast daily car.

so i bought a Ford Sierra 2.0 RS with only 125hp and 180nM.
not realy a performance car but i had it for about 8 months, just for fun and drifting around (good old days)
i once beat a Ford Puma 1.7i zetec with it
good car to have fun with, but not that fast 8.2sec to 60mph and topspeed of +-200Km.
but the fuell consumption was HORRILBLE!
so, search for a quicker car.

found a Swift GTI 1.3 16V twin cam with 101Hp and 113nM ON 730kG.
it goes like hell!
did 0-60 in 7.55sec and topspeed was not that high, also about 200Km.
verry good car, from 1st to 3th gear it was pretty quick.
fuell consuption was verry good also when you drove normal.
redline was at 8000rpm

after that, i wanted a new car, something even faster.
so i looked after:

-Fiesta ST 2.0 16V (150Hp)
-Citroën C4 VTS 2.0 16V (180Hp)
-Suzuki Swift Sport 1.6 16v (125Hp)
-Mini Cooper S 1.6 16V supercharged (163Hp)
-Honda Civic Type R (200Hp)

not impressed by any of these cars,
Fiesta looked good, but was (and still is) verry slow.
Citroen was something a friend told me, but i knew i would never buy it.
suzuki was a good economical car, goes good for 125Hp but no power potential.
Honda Civic was a big bummer, Vtec kicked in and nothing happend
only the Mini was good, specially in corners, but in a straight line it felt slow...
supercharger whine is great.
but it was TO expensive for such a small car.

problem with all of these cars is that it is all N/A (exept the mini)
so tuning potential is not much and it will cost alot.
in Belgium here we have technical control and they are not happy with tuning.
so putting a turbo or a SC on a Civic or Swift would not do it.
it would be banned for going in to traffic.

so, i just stuck to my first thought, the Polo GTI 1.8T.
i saw it on the internet when it wassn't even realeased and i fell in love with it,
looked fantastic!
once i knew they were going to put in the legendary 1.8T engine in it, i knew if i ever wanted a new car, it would be that one.
but i had to check out the other brands...
nothing convinced me, only the polo.
specially after a testdrive, that same day i ordered one.
i probably was the first in Belgium also
it goes good, price was good, looked good,
and i never regret buying it

it will be mine for a verry long time, 2 much fun that thing!
+ tuning potential is enormous without getting a ban at the technical control!

[Gti Dave]

About a year prior to finally purchasing the Polo Gti, I was damn close to signing the contract and driving away in a mkV R32 blue 5dr. But a sudden decision due to ridiculous fuel prices at the time hitting $1.50 plus doing a hell a lot of driving in addition to the prospect of needing to bump up our loan by a hell of a margin made me walk away from it. And I guess until about a month and a half ago, I still regret it somewhat until my recent acquaintance with the Octavia RS. Anyway after much regret on passing up the opportunity with the R32, my fascination and crush on the polo began and went for a good 10 months involving looking it up several times a week on the net and oogling it over and over again in the VW brochure whilst sitting on the loo and testing driving 2-3 times just to make sure it wasn't just going to be a short lived love affair nor an emotional purchase that I'd live to regret. So, not too long after the 10 months, I built up the courage and asked the missus if I could go buy myself a "fun" daily car and without giving her too much time to change her mind to say the famous two letter word "NO!!!", I went ahead and got myself acquainted with my petite silver mistress. Even after my recent purchase of the much bigger Skoda Octavia vRS, I still like to take the good old polo out for a squirt from time to time but its now living a more lazy life now that the wife is driving it. I guess even after giving up on the idea of having an R32 parked in my driveway a few years ago, I still wouldn't mind having the R32 but definately wouldn't be too impressed with the fuel bills.

[Tarq57]

I needed a replacement vehicle for my old Sentra, which had been a good, pleasant, trouble-free car but was rusting out.

I viewed a possible replacement as nothing more than a weather-resistant box to get me from a to b. Had been browsing second hand (very second hand) Magnas, Accords, Camry 2.2's and the like, comfortable elderly utility vehicles that would soak up the speed humps our local council likes to put everywhere (in response to the large number of pedestrians that seem to be more interested in listening to their i-pods or making phone calls rather than looking before stepping into oblivion) but I couldn't find any that were reasonable.

Newer cars seemed to come in automatic. Manual variants of anything I was interested in were rare.

I happened upon the Polo in a used car lot. It was reduced to clear, and about the only car in the lot that was manual. I'd never thought of getting anything that small. A friend who knows stuff about cars was with me, and encouraged me to investigate further.

One test drive and the car sold itself to me. I was hooked. I love it.

[Daly87]

Bit of a thread revival, but I thought it might be better here than start a new one.

change in jobs and location means I am now living in a city apartment and I am looking at downgrading the Supra TT and Pajero to a small runabout, to save some money in fuel, insurance etc but I also still want to have my fun. The Two I am looking at is Clio 172 and Polo Gti 9n3. I just can't decide which is going to be the better to live with! Having only test drove both its not a good indication of what they are truly like.

Anyone who's had both could you shed some light on what I could expect. It will be my daily work commuter too i should mention.

Clio 172 - rattled, was a bit worn interior wise. Engine was awesome, gearbox was tight, steering was epic. 110k km and owned mostly by 2 enthusiasts, Just had $4k spent on belts and clutch and gearbox bearings.
2003 Renault Clio Sport 172,
2003 Renault Clio Sport 172 | Cars, Vans & Utes | Gumtree Australia Joondalup Area - Ocean Reef | 1116004936

Polo GTI - 3 yrs newer, interior plastics a little better, but seats are worse I think, cruise control, not as fast but have not experienced the thing when chipped.
2006 VOLKSWAGEN POLO GTI,
2006 VOLKSWAGEN POLO GTI | Cars, Vans & Utes | Gumtree Australia Cottesloe Area - Cottesloe | 1116648193

[rgvlee]

Standard polos are slow. Tune wakes them up heaps.
I'd seriously consider picking up that polo just for parts if it was white. I could do with a spare motor to hotrod. 6k with 120k on the clock is cheap.

[Daly87]

yeah just wish I had one to try and see for myself. I have about 48hrs to decide before my paj gets sold and then I have zero transport haha

I guess the thing holding me slightly reserved on the polo is the gearbox for 2006 range I read has issues. apparently the polo had its timing belts change at 120k... finding this choice difficult i must say!

[rgvlee]

Where abouts are you? Maybe able to give you a run in a stage 2 polo if you want.

[Daly87]

Where abouts are you? Maybe able to give you a run in a stage 2 polo if you want.

I live in Fremantle, where abouts are you based?

Have you drove a Clio 172? If so, could you compare to a chipped polo?

If the polo had upgraded suspension, would it begin to come close to the clio?

[rgvlee]

Nah I haven't driven both.
You're miles away from me hah.

[seangti]

yeah just wish I had one to try and see for myself. I have about 48hrs to decide before my paj gets sold and then I have zero transport haha

I guess the thing holding me slightly reserved on the polo is the gearbox for 2006 range I read has issues. apparently the polo had its timing belts change at 120k... finding this choice difficult i must say!

The early gearboxes had some crunch, but that was all evident very early in their life, well within warranty. It's not an issue on their longevity. Much of the crunch can be resolved with a fluid change, very easy and relatively cheap. People have broken boxes, but that's another story. Some common sense and they are fine.

I've driven the 182 clio. Entirely different cars, for better or worse. On the track the 182 was brilliant, but around town it was ordinary/awful. Heavy steering, poor ergonomics, heavy/ordinary gear shift at normal pace. The polo will be better 80-90% of the time, for the other times we all modify them I've had my polo since Jan 09, a clio would not have lasted that long.

Modification wise, you'll get more performance per dollar in the polo just being turbo.

[Daly87]

The early gearboxes had some crunch, but that was all evident very early in their life, well within warranty. It's not an issue on their longevity. Much of the crunch can be resolved with a fluid change, very easy and relatively cheap. People have broken boxes, but that's another story. Some common sense and they are fine.

I've driven the 182 clio. Entirely different cars, for better or worse. On the track the 182 was brilliant, but around town it was ordinary/awful. Heavy steering, poor ergonomics, heavy/ordinary gear shift at normal pace. The polo will be better 80-90% of the time, for the other times we all modify them I've had my polo since Jan 09, a clio would not have lasted that long.

Modification wise, you'll get more performance per dollar in the polo just being turbo.

Thanks Sean, had not really understood the gearbox issue, just seen all the complaints. So I guess logic does say that if its done 120ks and had the same owner since 2010, the gearbox issue would of well and truly been evident by now.

Yeah, I understand they are 'horses for courses' cars, I did like the weighty feel of the clio in the test drives very direct and gokart like, again - would I get fed up of this on the road in 12 months down the line... The standard Polo was no where near this direct, would a set of springs bring it up to par or is it in the chassis?

[hardy_bm]

I'll sell you my 2008 Polo GTi Stage 1 + intake if you want. I'm in Newcastle though...

[Daly87]

I'll sell you my 2008 Polo GTi Stage 1 + intake if you want. I'm in Newcastle though...

Cheers, juust sold my pajero so could you bring it round for a test drive.

[seangti]

Thanks Sean, had not really understood the gearbox issue, just seen all the complaints. So I guess logic does say that if its done 120ks and had the same owner since 2010, the gearbox issue would of well and truly been evident by now.

Yeah, I understand they are 'horses for courses' cars, I did like the weighty feel of the clio in the test drives very direct and gokart like, again - would I get fed up of this on the road in 12 months down the line... The standard Polo was no where near this direct, would a set of springs bring it up to par or is it in the chassis?

Nah, a set of springs won't be close, if anything it'll be worse. Springs alone will result in a under damped ride, so it bounces more over bumps and can take a few phases to regain composure. You'd need a good suspension set up to get close on grip/corner speed, but the clio has been engineered really well for hard driving, it will feel better and more engaging. Doesn't make it faster, but makes you laugh and smile more.

I looked at 3 of them years ago when they were late model cars, all had issues. A mate looked at 5 before finding one worth buying. He sold it after 12 months as it was too compromised.

[TDIfan]

Cheers, juust sold my pajero so could you bring it round for a test drive.

If you want to try out what a polo drives like with loads of suspension mods, I might be able to help
Not the same engine though [emoji14]