VWwA Used Car Guides :Polo 6N: 1996-2000 (1.6 GL & 1.6 Open Air) & 2001-2002 1.4 16V

[phaeton]

A new thing I just happened to think of

1996-2000 Polo (Type 6N) 1.6 GL & 1.6 Open Air

2000-2002 Polo (Type 6N) 1.4 16V

If you have owned or own one of the models above please state your experience with the Polo negatives and positives .

Also fill in the below blanks


example
Model: Polo Open Air
Engine: 1.6 with 55kW
Year: 1998
Any Problems ?: tyres fell off

[GoLfMan]

Model: 6N Polo GL
Engine: heap of ****... i mean 1.6 8v 55kw
Year: 1997

Any Problems:
-Waterpump crapped itself.
-engine is breathless, noisy and harsh and only revs to 5500. All this for economy, which is seriously lacks.
-brittle ride but rolls around corners.
-Interior quality a bit hit and miss.
-Road noise is deafening at highway speeds and is very tiring.
-heavy-ish clutch.
-good economy on the highway
-crampt interior
-performance suffers with more than 1 person in the car, you literally have to floor it everywhere to get it to the speed limit. Otherwise the semi trailer next to you with a full load will beat you from the lights.
-fuel economy becomes aussie sedan like with more than 1 person in the car, taking friends out becomes a very expensive exercise in watching your fuel guage drop.

Positives:
-cheapish to run (with 1 person in the car, or highway km's)
-stops brilliantly
-it steers nice and i daresay it'd be a great handler with some swaybars, suspension and tyres.
-takes up bugger all space in car parks
-chicks think its cute

[darthdougal]

The 1.4 16V didn't come out in Australia until late 2000 then enjoyed some brief time in the sun until the 9N came out in 2002.

Having owned a 16V for a couple of years I can say:

Model: 16V
Engine: 1.4 with 55kW. Excellent engine when compared to similar sized engines from any Japanese, Korean or US marque. Delivers torque earlier so you don't need to rev it until you're deaf to see it go anywhere.
Year: 2000
Any Problems ?: Paying $200 per tyre (195/45 R15), have had to replace once. Clutch is heavy but no complaints from wife. Stereo loose connection meant we lost the left speakers for a short time.

[nick1234]

1998 VW Polo

Come on GolfMan, if the car would be that bad, you wouldn't own it, would you ?

Model: 1998 VW Polo
Engine: 75hp
Mileage: 130.000kms
Shape: 5 door hatch

Positives:

really can't complain, the engine is responsive, the car is excellant on petrol and the build quality is fantastic. The car still feels like new and is fun to drive. I love the gearbox. Great and contemporary interior. Love the style - Easy to park and to get around the city with - Straightforward technology. Very reliable. Fair pricing for replacement parts (tires + battery etc.) Superior to all brand new Asian rivals I have test driven in the past years.

Not as positive: The space saving spare wheel is a VW shame. Despite that all or many new cars from a wide range of makes have it, there really should be a full spare tire in the boot but this is a minor observation. But overall an great car that I wouldn't want to give up, not even in exchange for a new Polo or any other vehicle.

[Stephy]

My 2001 Polo

2001 Polo 16V (6N2)
Engine: Small (1.4)
Faults: Still a work in progress.
Positives: I've had it for more than 3 years and I still love driving it - wouldn't get rid of it for anything. Nothing wrong with it (major) to date

[99gti]

2001 Polo 16V (6N2)
Engine: Small (1.4)
Faults: Still a work in progress.
Positives: I've had it for more than 3 years and I still love driving it - wouldn't get rid of it for anything. Nothing wrong with it (major) to date

I see FK angel eyes and g max rims. Tell us more about this little beast....

[Stephy]

It's my baby - nothing much done to the engine.
New head lights & mags, still a work in progress.
Will keep you posted when more stuff is done, so pretty much what you see is what you get

[sports racer]

Model: Polo
Engine: 1.6 with 55kW
Year: 1997

Love - economy (between 5.9 & 6.6 litres per 100 k), torque, engine responsiveness (since removing the massive restriction VW put in the intake tract), space in the back, handling (all 4 springs cut to lower the car about 50mm), brakes.

Hate - gearbox (started getting noisy 50,000 k's ago then couldn't get 5th gear so I drive everywhere in 4th including Canberra to Sydney and back every weekend).

Also hate all the broken bits when I hit a wombat. $500 later the car is better to drive than before but that's with me doing all the work. Still have to get the air conditioner working.

I drive 1400 k's a week, mostly on the open road, so fuel economy is my major concern. Since removing the hot air switch from the intake tract the car has more power without affecting economy. Lowering the car made a huge improvement to the handling so now it goes faster, corners better and has no problem with hills between Canberra and Braidwood.
A very nice car to drive.

Cheers

Paul

[Umai Naa!!]

Picked up a 1.6L jobbie about a month ago off Ebay for $1800.

Pros:

- Had 3 months freight on it.
- Low k's, 115,000.
- Frugal on juice. Got 545klms out of 35L the other week, and 480klms out of 30L last week. Mostly freeway running.
- Responsive chassis is nice and chuckable. Two-wheeled plenty of round-abouts.
- Hums along quite nicely at freeway speeds. A 6th gear would be nice, with a shorter diff ratio. 3,000rpm at 120
- 'Modern' appointments such as front power windows and mirrors, and two airbags. Entry-level Asia-boxes are only getting these now!

Cons:

- It's time to replace the shift bushes!
- Shagged engine mounts make for a jerky ride sometimes.
- Struggle to find 1st gear most times. Most likely a combination of the above ^.
- Flimsy dash plastics.
- BF Badrichs are up for re-newal. Wont be putting those noisy bastards on again!

I had a MK3 Golf before this, and a couple of other small Asia-boxes. Loved them for their fuel economy and hysterical handling. Absolutely smitten with the Polo.

[kenz]

Model: Polo (6N1)
Engine: 1.6 with 55kW
Year: 1997
Mileage: 57,500kms

Mechanically pretty good!

A few things i noticed after purchase:
- It has Central-locking but it's not working at all, suspect pump. Anyone had similar problem?
- Passenger door missing lock barrel completely, still locks/unlocks from inside (thinking of purchasing new set of 3 off ebay?)

After taking it for its first service:
- Back bearings needed replacing
- Front rotors discs and brake pads needed replacing (down to 20%)

Q: Is there any way to open boot from inside the cabin if no central locking?

A few scratches front and back, but other than that she's a beauty! Picked her up quite cheap with 12 month rego n 4 new tyres.

Cheers.

[Umai Naa!!]

Central locking pump failure is common. Sometimes this is caused by a leak somewhere, meaning the pump runs until the motor burns out.

There's no internal boot release that I'm aware of.

[pontiff]

also speaker in the cluster is not uncommon to have failed.. simple $3 replacement from jaycar and a bit of solder fixes it up nicely.