VW Volkswagen Polo

VW Volkswagen Polo
... car

bought new, in June 2011

rated 4/10: lots of faults, no major problems

We bought our brand new VW Polo in June 2011. Right from new, it has been the worst car we have ever owned. There are only two bright spots: it runs well along the freeway; it's not the diesel.

We wanted a "safer" car, one with lots of airbags. The Polo was rated high in safety; it had plenty of airbags. The RAC ranked it high in its category, though also the most expensive. Final test, there was room for my legs, with the seat adjusted to where I wanted it. (At least one other car totally failed this test.)

So, in June 2011, we bought a VW Polo.

Okay, I knew that the indicator controls are on the wrong side of the steering wheel. I owned another car with this same problem, twenty years ago. I had forgotten how very annoying that can be.

We also drive a car with the indicators on the correct -- standard for Australia -- side. In that car there's no need to think when indicating... so of course that's where we hit the wrong control. In the Polo we know we have to think about it -- to think, because it takes conscious thought to overcome years of standardised action. So using the Polo indicator is seldom wrong... just slower.

Why would VW do this ? Cheap, I guess. Use the standard European design. Why spend money on design changes, when marketing can simply gloss over the problem.

Speaking of cheap design... The control knob for the external wing mirrors is terrible. One knob to rule them all. One knob that cannot be used without serious concentration...

Turn the knob to the pointer that says R, for right. You have to watch while you do this -- because it won't stop turning. There are four positions on the knob and no way to tell which is which -- not without looking, anyway. If you're driving, you realise the right hand mirror needs a minor adjustment... you have to take your eyes off the road while you get the control knob to the correct position.

To move the right hand mirror up, push the knob up and slightly away from you. Nothing as simple as up and down, it's up and away, or down and towards...

... Until you want to adjust the left hand mirror. Turn the one knob. About 90 degrees. Then adjust the mirror: up and *towards* or down and *away* ! Yes, the knob has turned. So the directions to move the mirrors up and down -- are different for each mirror !

It seems obvious that the designers never drove their own cars. They just said, Ooh,Ooh ! One knob is so cheap ! And built in a system which is very difficult to use.

Speaking of difficult... There's a small display area which can show all sorts of exciting measurements. Distance till out of fuel, rate of fuel consumption, temperature... There are ten or more options, only one can be seen at a time. Since each display is identified with a universal icon -- I have no idea what most of them are.

You select which one to display by pushing a small switch on the end of one of the control stalks. It's nowhere near the display. Just a matter of luck if you find the appropriate switch.

Somewhere else on the multiple control stalks, is the cruise control. At least, I think that's where it is... Amongst all the choices, I've never managed to learn how to use the cruise control. (Two years ago we rented a Suzuki. Took me two minutes to understand the cruise control. It was so simple that I never had any trouble remembering what to do.)

Moving around the car...

There's an arm rest / small item container, between driver and passenger. When it's down, it is too high -- it hits my elbow. So I can either rest my elbow -- and lose some control of steering -- or hunch my shoulder up and put up with an aching shoulder.

In fact... If the arm rest is down -- you can't use the park brake ! So the arm rest is permanently up... Out of the way, absolutely useless.

We did use the arm rest / container to hold things. But the catch broke. Just fell apart. So now it hangs open. And is extra useless.

Back to the dashboard display... The speedo needle glows in the dark. Very useful when driving through Perth's one tunnel... In the middle, where the lights are dim, you can still see the speedo needle. Only one problem -- you can't see the dial !!

So, when the light is dim but not dim enough to turn on headlights... (We are advised to *not* use headlights in the tunnel.) You can see the bright glow of the speed dial needle. But have no idea what speed it is indicating ! Good grief.

Outside the car... There is just *one* reversing light. The salesman went to great lengths to point this out. Too many people were complaining that their second reversing light was not working, he explained.

So why would an idiot designer design a car with only one reversing light ? Cheap, is the most likely explanation. Stupid design. Cheap manufacture.

Then there's the obvious design fault. The windscreen wipers...

You know how you move the wipers out of the way when you clean the windscreen ? Pull the wipers clear, they start out of the way so you can wash the glass ? Well, not on the Polo ! One wiper goes up, stays up, fine. The other wiper -- hits the bonnet !

It is impossible to lift the wiper clear of the windscreen ! Good grief.

And finally, the engine...

When the car was new, it shuddered as I accelerated from a standing start. Remember when VW had to update the automatic transmission software ? Something to do with preventing their cars from suddenly stopping on the freeway... Our Polo was subject to that software update. (No official explanation for the mandatory update. Not even when I asked.)

After the update, gear changes were definitely improved. But the car still regularly shudders when starting to move.

At the other extreme, the engine often fails to change up a gear. The engine will be roaring away, twice as fast as at "cruise". Refusing to change up a gear. This is not as bad as it was before the software update, but it still happens regularly.

The start-up shudder is so bad that I always use "sports" mode. The shudder happens in sports, it is far worse in standard drive.

Once you get going -- at freeway speeds -- the engine runs well. Pity the world is not all freeways.

There's another bit of stupid design... When you start, take your foot off the brake pedal -- the brake does not release ! It hangs on for just a little while, then gradually releases. No information on how long it grips... Just put your faith in the supreme being who designed that particular piece of intrusive software...

What it means is, if you want to break into traffic you need to adjust your driving style. Don't just release the brake and press the accelerator -- the car will start slower than you expect. In fact, the case will not move at all, for an unknown fraction of a second.

The obvious response is to press the accelerator: I'm not moving, traffic is flowing fast, have to get moving, accelerate ! The car suddenly leaps forward, squeals the tyres... To be safe, it's best to use the handbrake...

On the bright side, the Polo runs well on the freeway. Pity it's a small city car.

And at least we did not buy the diesel.

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"Let not the sands of time get in your lunch" ... per Ginger Meggs