What on earth is this I hear you cry..?   To be honest I'm not too sure myself!

It is a Volkswagen Polo that Ipswich VW (Main Dealer) kindly lent me to use while servicing my Polo 1.8 T GTi.  After being handed the keys and pairing my Bluetooth, I almost screamed at the lack of power under my foot.  God help me!  How do people drive things like this..?  The car itself is inviting - the interior is really clean and modern.  It is a comforting experience at the cockpit.  Large and spacious, I would happily hop in this car for daily driving.  I love how everything fits.  It is a shame this model is lacking in even a smidgen of Torque - a 1.0 TFSI would definitely be better than this.

I know now why old people annoy me.  It isn't their fault - it is the extremely low powered cars sold to them that aggravate my journeys in the UK (plus whatever Medication they may be taking).


The Chassis

Power aside.. it is a Volkswagen, and the Chassis more than made me chuckle when enjoying a few B Roads.  This is where I started to be impressed!  Under cornering it is really stable, and begs to oversteer at every chance.  So, although it has what I would call an under powered engine it hasn't turned out to be the worst car I have driven. The worst chassis in the world, for reference, is a MK4 Golf.


The Body

I cannot lie, its a VW Polo.  Not really worth masturbating over.  But - it does have subtle lines and the manufacturer has 'tried' to make it more appealing to the eyes of, lets face it, really old people and women who work for the NHS.  Image Number 4 in my slideshow (top right images on laptop, first images after the text on 'mobile' devices) is a nice angle.  I would probably use that to push sales to younger drivers wanting a brand new car.   Sadly I was given a four door so have nothing else to say other than I wouldn't have one.  Its only saving grace is the Bosch ECU perched anxiously under the bonnet, exposed to the elements and waiting for water ingress or a rodent to chew the exposed wiring loom, thus creating an expensive replacement for whichever poor bugger happens to own this car in 3 years time.  Why do Volkswagen leave the ECU's exposed on their low end cars..?  Maybe I just answered that question.


The Throttle

......Next!


The Exhaust

I didn't even notice a tailpipe on this car.. let me check.   NOPE.. and there is no audible tone when driving.....Next!



To end.  It is not the worst car I have driven.  I quite fancy the engine bay, and love how the air intake points towards the Coolant Expansion Tank (image attached).   Anyway, the car was never designed to win Le Mans, but it does function within its operating limit. I have actually started to like it..

Nicholas Lawrence //ON CARS
nick@on-cars.com