Volkswagen Polo Problems

The car is now out of the 3-year warranty, so if you can’t prove that it did fail within the warranty period you will have trouble mounting a case to be fully compensated. The offer VW has made is a standard one typically used by carmakers.

The best way to make a Toyota Corolla faster is to trade it in on a Subaru WRX or Volkswagen Polo GTI. While Japanese cars are known to be loved by boy racers for their easy ability to hot up, the last few series of Toyota Corolla have next to no options for hot-up parts as these cars focus on excellent reliability rather than tar-burning performance. If you have a need for speed, consider looking to the Subaru WRX for a practical four-door Japanese go-fast car, or a Volkswagen Polo GTi for a fast car at a similar price point to a Corolla.

It would appear you’ve got a good claim against VW for repairing the car, even though the warranty has expired. Remember, the car is still covered by the statutory warranty under local law. It is most likely to be the same problem that has reappeared; if it is it’s a well known one. Go back to VW through the dealer and ask for the problem to be fixed again.

The lack of performance you’re feeling is when the car goes into ‘limp’ mode because it has detected a problem. Take it to your VW dealer and have them run a diagnostic check on it, which should identify the cause of the problem.

There’s no reason why the Polo wouldn’t handle the country conditions well, it’s well built and strong, I don’t see why you shouldn’t buy it.

I wouldn't recommend the Polo, it requires the more expensive Premium unleaded, it's got the dual-clutch auto, which can be troublesome, and it will be more expensive to service. The Mazda 2 or the Toyota Yaris are better choices.

The zippy performance and handling is one of the great attractions of the Polo, it handles like a go-kart. The boot is small with the seats up, but it’s a small car and something you really have to live with. By buying a manual you avoid the issues that have plagued the DSG dual-clutch auto. The 1.2-litre engine has a timing belt, which means it needs to be changed every 105,000 km or seven years, whichever comes first.

It’s a common problem. A friend of mine has one and she has taken it back to the dealer so many times to have it fixed that she has lost faith in the car and VW. Every time she has taken it in they have updated the transmission software or adjusted it, but the problem has never been fixed. My reading is that VW is saying that it is acceptable and aren’t planning to do anything more about it. Go above the dealer and speak directly to VW’s customer relations people and let them know that you will not be fobbed off.

If you've had to top-up the coolant twice in four weeks I'd suggest that your problems haven't been fixed and that you should take the car back to whoever supposedly repaired it and have them do the job properly. As for a "safe" option I can't really recommend one, except to say that I would avoid the DSG gearbox. The only "safe" option is to buy another brand, and in that case I would suggest a Japanese brand, such as Mazda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, all of which have a good record of reliability.