Category: Superminis 
Price Range: £12,460 to £12,960
Neat, confidence-inspiring shape, brilliant residual values.
Stodgy handling, not as well made as it's cracked up to be. The virtually identical Seat Ibiza (hatchback) and Cordoba (saloon and estate) are better value for money.
The image is better than the car.
There are no obvious snags, but you'll expend more effort than you would in a French or Japanese car and some Polos have obstructive gearchanges.
Power steering is optional on the 1.0 - its lightweight engine means that you could probably manage without it - and standard on the others. As you might expect from the bouncy, pitching ride, the Polo has stodgy handling and isn't a lot of fun. There's little interactivity with the driver, and the dull engines don't help. The sporty, more firmly-sprung 1.4 16V shows a Polo should be: it handles better and rides better. The forthcoming new models will have revised handling, so should be sharper and more entertaining.
Performance for all engines is turgid. The little 1.0 hums away sweetly enough, but it's out of its depth on the open road. The 1.4 is no livelier than most makers' 1.2s, but at least the 1.6 has an easy, muscular power delivery at low revs.
The speed-orientated Polo buyer will want to wait for the GTI model launched with the forthcoming new range.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Volkswagen Polo
wrote on 03 03 2008
wrote on 29 05 2006