Category: Superminis 
Price Range: £12,460 to £12,960
Neat shape, smart interior, strong quality, brilliant residual values, TDI engine.
Handling and ride lagged behind the best rivals.
Competitive, but embarrassed by Skoda's Fabia.
The Polo's minimal depreciation helps keep costs down in the long run (see used value section), so it doesn't matter so much that the engines aren't the most economical (TDI excepted) and that insurance is group three even for the 1.0.
A minor service is needed every 10,000 miles, a bigger one every 20,000.
Lower prices have made the Polo better value than it was, but rivals have also dropped in price. You're still paying a lot for the Volkswagen name, as the cheaper Skoda Fabia, a better car all round than the Polo, shows.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Volkswagen Polo
wrote on 03 03 2008
wrote on 29 05 2006