Chris M Wants a V-10
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Gutless Wonder - VW Polo 0.somethingSpent 4 days in Scotland on a mixture of work and pleasure; I hired a one-up-from-the-bottom-group car again, should have been a 3-door non air conditioned supermini like a Clio or Corsa. I was given the keys to a black VW Polo 5-door with aircon, just under 4000 miles old. No badges or writing on the keyring to indicate trim level or engine size, but, boy, did it have no "go" at all once outside town/city. It strugled to maintain 60mph on slight inclines on the dual carriageway between Aberdeen and Dundee, and needed to be revved in town to maintain reasonable progress. Upsides were a comfortable seat, smart-looking alloys, good visibility, slick gearchange (a first in my experience for VW) and smooth clutch take-up. Downsides include the lack of power, the need to use the key to lock and unlock the car (no remote control), and a dreadful vibration at idle, that shook the whole car and almost made me start to feel sick every time that I stopped in traffic etc. I put this down to the engine perhaps only having 3 cylinders and well under one litre of displacement, but who knows? Finding out how to open the petrol filler flap was a bit of a game too... fortunately the full set of manuals had been left in the glove box.
And no award to BAA Aberdeen for totally messing up the hire car returns system at the moment - park in the long-term car park and catch the shuttle bus to the terminal. Thank goodness it was dry when I took the car back on Sunday evening
I'd never buy one myself purely because of the vibration issue at idle. Other than that, it was a very good set of wheels, even if the interior matched the exterior in colour (or lack of it). Just under 400 miles for £35 of petrol means that it wasn't much more economical than my Galaxy 1.9tdi - and I know which I'd rather be driving
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Boxer6
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Re: Gutless Wonder - VW Polo 0.something | Chris M Wants a V-10 wrote: | Spent 4 days in Scotland on a mixture of work and pleasure; I hired a one-up-from-the-bottom-group car again, should have been a 3-door non air conditioned supermini like a Clio or Corsa. I was given the keys to a black VW Polo 5-door with aircon, just under 4000 miles old. No badges or writing on the keyring to indicate trim level or engine size, but, boy, did it have no "go" at all once outside town/city. It strugled to maintain 60mph on slight inclines on the dual carriageway between Aberdeen and Dundee, and needed to be revved in town to maintain reasonable progress. Upsides were a comfortable seat, smart-looking alloys, good visibility, slick gearchange (a first in my experience for VW) and smooth clutch take-up. Downsides include the lack of power, the need to use the key to lock and unlock the car (no remote control), and a dreadful vibration at idle, that shook the whole car and almost made me start to feel sick every time that I stopped in traffic etc. I put this down to the engine perhaps only having 3 cylinders and well under one litre of displacement, but who knows? Finding out how to open the petrol filler flap was a bit of a game too... fortunately the full set of manuals had been left in the glove box.
And no award to BAA Aberdeen for totally messing up the hire car returns system at the moment - park in the long-term car park and catch the shuttle bus to the terminal. Thank goodness it was dry when I took the car back on Sunday evening
I'd never buy one myself purely because of the vibration issue at idle. Other than that, it was a very good set of wheels, even if the interior matched the exterior in colour (or lack of it). Just under 400 miles for £35 of petrol means that it wasn't much more economical than my Galaxy 1.9tdi - and I know which I'd rather be driving |
Nice write-up, if not a nice car, Chris!!
Re the economy...... I would kill, literally, for 400 miles/£35 petrol. Try 200 miles/£48 for size!!
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DaveGibson
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AC58 NVT is a 1.2l 4-cylinder model with a magnificent 59bhp and 80 torques.
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Chris M Wants a V-10
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Yes, a quick trip to VW's UK website suggests that it's a Polo Match with 1.2 4-cylinder 60PS engine. Must be the worst performing engine I have ever driven
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Dr. Hfuhruhurr
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Re: Gutless Wonder - VW Polo 0.something | Chris M Wants a V-10 wrote: | | Downsides include ... the need to use the key to lock and unlock the car (no remote control) |
What? It didn't have that universal VAG key-blob where the blade folds out? As found even on Bentleys.
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Frank Bullitt
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Re: Gutless Wonder - VW Polo 0.something | Dr. Hfuhruhurr wrote: | | Chris M Wants a V-10 wrote: | | Downsides include ... the need to use the key to lock and unlock the car (no remote control) |
What? It didn't have that universal VAG key-blob where the blade folds out? As found even on Bentleys. |
You have to pay extra for this on boggo Polo's, only with the remote locking option!
Think yourself lucky Chris, this car benefits from the recent power upgrade; it used to be 54bhp...
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Dr. Hfuhruhurr
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I'm amazed there are any European cars now that still have a plain old-style key.
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Rodge
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I can top your gutless wonder.
I had a Ford E450 RV for 2 of the last 3 weeks and it had all the negatives you hilight and a few more.
It had a 6.8 V10 that made a hell of a racket but was completely useless. I tried timing it to 60mph and it was somewhere around 18 seconds.
The fit and finish were non existant and on one 400 mile journey, I put $220 into the tank, at an average of $2.40 per us gallon (about 3.8 litres- sorry liters), so my rough maths place it at about 90 gallons, giving maybe 5-6 mp(US)g
I was tempted to do a test drive write up but to be honest, I've given it enough space here already.
It would have made a very interesting contender for the 30-60 challenge. Through the gears it was about 13 seconds. In top, I doubt it'd do it if it was pushed off a cliff.
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Gooner
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The Fabia also only gets key locking on the base model. I thought the 1.2 was a 3cyl engine. Not that it'll make a lot of difference what it is, it'll still be overtaken by snails.
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Frank Bullitt
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| Gooner wrote: | | The Fabia also only gets key locking on the base model. I thought the 1.2 was a 3cyl engine. Not that it'll make a lot of difference what it is, it'll still be overtaken by snails. |
Indeed, it is a 3-pot
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Boxer6
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Lower-spec models throughout the Skoda range don't get plippers... certainly, they didn;t 2 years ago when my last boss got her Octavia lease car.(sorry, can't remember the exact spec now, and she's moved on!)
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DaveGibson
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| Frank Bullitt wrote: | | Gooner wrote: | | The Fabia also only gets key locking on the base model. I thought the 1.2 was a 3cyl engine. Not that it'll make a lot of difference what it is, it'll still be overtaken by snails. |
Indeed, it is a 3-pot |
If that is the case, blame must be laid at the door of WhatCar, whose tables show it as having a 4-cylinder 16-valve engine.
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