Hello everybody!
Today i'm posting the review of a car I drove back in May 2006: a Volkswagen Polo 1.2 Trendline Pack '05 Facelift.
It is a rented car, first registered in September 2005, painted in brilliant silver. I find it good looking, every panel is painted silver (except the lower ones, which are black), the wheel covers are simple (no light-alloys here...) and it's interior, even if not innovative, looks simple and well built. But - and here start the (bad) surprises - it's cheap plastics everywhere! Not a convincing, rubber-feeling single bit, no. Only hard plastics. I know the previous generation Polo had different interior materials depending on it's equipment level, what meant that, the more expensive trim level, the better the plastics. Later, I discovered that even the top-of-the-range GTI has the same hard plastics : Bad politics, VW! That is not the way to go, and I know that the Golf V and Passat '04 are more of the same, which means that the Golf IV is still my (good) reference.
But let's stop looking at it, and let's drive it. Turning the ignition on and, what the hell is that?! It sounds like something I'd never listened, something powered by electricity, hideous! Of course, 3-cylinder engine...
The driving experience has nothing to do with the Rover one, as the car feels disconnected to the driver. It is, clearly, a city car, with an ultra-light steering and clutch, and an accelerator and brakes that only seem to work when pressed very hard! Every single pedal has a very big travel, and indirect feel. I hate that. The gearbox does not impress, either, it is slow, although reasonably precise. It's feeling is mechanic, as I like, but, again it's travel is just exaggerated...
But let's go back to the engine: it's so weak it needs half accelerator just to get the car moving. Well, keep it moving is another issue, as it seems to need too much accelerator. By this time, the noise the engine makes almost worries me. It seems I'm pushing it too hard, like it will explode, like it is running at 101% of it's reserves. And I'm moving 50 kph, across the city... I start to wonder how will it be on open road and highway. Not very good, I think to myself.
All-round visibility is quite nice. Another indication about this car's habbitat. As I'm driving to the gym, I start to abuse the poor little thing: pedaaaal toooo the metaaaal! Arriving at the (red) lights, hard on the brakes, and OH, NO! Did I broke it? What is all this noise and vibration?! Oh, it's just the ABS working. Brake power? Mediocre, and the ABS works every single time I brake a bit harder... And another thing: as the suspension is very soft, body movements are not that well controlled. At least it is comfy, maybe even more than the Rover. By this time, the biggest advantage I see over the Rover is sound proofing, really, much better. Another one is trim-related noise: it's nice interior built quality means that this is non-existent, unlike Rover's. Even despite it is a rented car, with more than 13k kilometres on the clock.
While on open-road, it's (predicted) weaknesses soon show up. From 0-100 kph it takes two hours, and from 60-120 kph two days. Overtaking is a real adventure, reserved only for brave people (like me :D ). Sometimes, I even had to give up, it was just impossible. With the kilometres passing by, I found there was no real advantage in changing to a lower gear and revving the engine. The engine note went abruptly up, and the car was not much faster than maintaining a higher gear. That is due to it's torque: compared to the Rover, it loses by a massive 38 hp, but only 15 Nm. So, this terrible engine is all about torque, like a diesel one.
And the worst bit was still to come: fuel consumption. The first time I refueled the car, the average was a staggering 8,9 l/100 km (26 mpg)!!! Massive, but I abbused the poor little thing. On the final pit stop, after a much more pacific driving, it averaged a more "acceptable" 6,5 l/100 km (36 mpg), even so, more than the Rover. Why? The reason is simple: as the engine has such a big lack in horsepower, it is always been pushed harder than the Rover's K-series, for the same effect. And that pays in petrol...
Final thoughts: a reasonable city-car, designed with a lazy driving style in mind. Good looking. Terrible engine, it would do much better with a bigger one... Is it worth the price? No...
Vital statistics (portuguese version):
Engine:
1198 cc, in-line 3-cylinder, 4 valves per cylinder
65 hp/5400 rpm
112 Nm/3000 rpm
Red line: 5800 rpm
Official performance:
Top speed 162 kph
0-100 kph 14,9 s
Average fuel consumption: 5,9 L/100 km (40 mpg)
Main standard equipment: twin front airbags, front electric windows, central locking, ABS, radio
Price: 14.000 €
Driven: May 2006, 5 days, 686 kilometres.
Verdict: 11 out of 20
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