Friday 13th March 2015

Shed Of The Week: VW Polo GTI

A fresh find for Shed this week with the early Noughties Polo GTI

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Yes, yes, it's stanced. But as long as the adjustable coilovers allow a semblance of sensibility to be returned to the ride height, this week's Shed could make you the proud owner of a chunky little German squib with useable performance, tight handling, big car build quality, and the potential to go on for many more years yet.

Clean and tidy from the outside it would seem

Which could be a good thing as VW didn't built many examples of the facelifted Mk3/phase 2 (confusingly referred to among the cognoscenti as Mk5) Polo GTI. This hot version of the 6N2 Polo came late in the model run and left early when the round-light Mk4 arrived in 2003. In 2000, 1,335 three-doors were produced and 685 five-doors. In 2001, our Shed was one of 904 three-door cars, with 445 five-doors also coming off the line that year. The final year of production, 2002, saw just 19 three-doors and nine five-doors. As a result, there aren't many Mk3 GTIs about now. We've seen clean ones advertised at £3K, with low-milers going for even more.

What did you get for your money? For a start, a 1.6 16v engine producing 125hp at a buzzy 6,500rpm. As with many semi-performance VWs, torque wasn't totally sacrificed on the altar of power. The little GTI's 112lb ft was hardly rip-snorting, but its torque peak was delivered at just 3,000rpm, unusually low for a small displacement 16-valver back then and handy when you weren't in the mood for maximum attack. If you were, you could expect to get the 1,084kg GTI up to around 126mph, with a 0-60 time in the low to mid eight-second bracket. For more urge, transplanting a Mk 4 Golf 1.8T motor is a popular conversion, but in that case you'll probably want to upgrade the brakes and most likely the suspension as well. Volkswagen itself went on to chuck a 1.8 turbo lump under the bonnet of later-model Polos, but those who have owned a 6N2 will tell you that that's the one to have.

The biggest and best known weakness on these cars is the gearbox. It's based on an older design dating back to the 1980s when Polos chugged out a gentle 65hp or so. Whining is never a good sound from car or human, and that's your clue for trouble here. Having said that, even fresh GTI boxes are fairly noisy. Budget for a rebuild at 70K.

Cambelts are needed fairly frequently

Our Shed is up to 112K and there's no mention of gearbox issues, which might mean it's already been replaced prior to current ownership, or that it hasn't been nailed about the place, or that maybe it's simply a good'n that isn't even thinking about giving up the ghost. To VW's credit it did acknowledge there was a problem with the 'box and carried out some mods under a recall. Clutch trouble will show itself through difficulty experienced in engaging first or second when warm. Pedal box welds are famous for not standing up to the demands of leadfoot drivers. There should be a sticker under the boot carpet telling you that the recall work has been done on this. Those BBS alloys are notoriously corrosion-prone. It's hard to find official interval figures for cambelt and waterpump changes: some say check at 60K and re-inspect every 20K thereafter, but others are more paranoid, urging changes at the 36K mark. It's not worth pushing it as the collateral damage from a snapped belt will be nasty.

Despite the 'small car' perception, you can easily use a Mk3 Polo to run four bods and their luggage around on a Euro-hol, with autoroute fuel consumption figures in the 40s being perfectly attainable. Good equipment levels and strong build will have you cooing if your previous experience is limited to rattly French or Italian offerings. The cabin still looks contemporary and smart even with that in-your-face '1'-logoed upholstery. Leather was an option, but an extremely rare one. Insurance will be surprisingly low.

And for even less cash...

Just for reference, and to disprove the earlier point about these Polo GTIs being thin on the ground, here's another one that's currently on sale in the PH Classifieds. This one's £350 cheaper, and looks to be standing correctly, but there's plenty of money needing to be spent on it pretty soon - around £800, according to the very upfront vendor. But, as he also says, that could be a lot less if you cut out the paid labour element - which is quite a practical option on these little VWs, as they are pleasant to work on.

The ad for the 128K one doesn't mention gearbox trouble either - or any more reassuring news about replacement, for that matter. So it's a simple case of choosing your weapon, and hoping you're not choosing your poison.

Here's the ad for the stanced car, and here's the ad for the one needing cash thrown at it.

Shed:
Lovely little car, good bodywork and sound runner.
2 keys and remote central locking.
Alarm, fog lights, interior in very good condition.
15" BBS alloys.
6 disc CD changer
Climatronic Control
Adjustable coilovers
MOT til end of May
Some service history and receipts
Electric windows and mirrors (driver window temperamental)
Xenon headlights
Space saver spare wheel
40+ MPG on motorway
Overall car is in great condition for it's age and has been very well looked after and will be sorry to see it go.
Selling as I have a new car arriving and no space on my drive.
Only advisories would be that the rear two tyres will need replacing very soon and that the driver window is a bit temperamental.
Call or text any questions on - 07958 121 772.
Priced for a quick sale and with advisories in mind.
Thank you

£650 Polo GTI:
2001 Volkswagen Polo GTi For Sale
- 128,000 miles
- Service History
- 4 owners
- MOT until 17th November
- Taxed until 30th May
- Last serviced 1st October 2014
If you are viewing this ad then it should be pretty obvious to comment on just how good these little 'hot hatches' still are!
This Polo has been cherished and is in fantastic condition for its age- not a hint of rust and is still in its very original and unmolested state which are hard to come by. The vehicle has never been in any accidents and is HPI clear. No big dents or bodywork problems just a few signs of wear and tear from 14 years of motoring life on the bumpers. I decided to purchase brand new identical 15" BBS wheels early last year to replace the original corroded ones and as you can see in the pictures are in superb condition. The interior is still in good condition with no colour bleaching/rips/tears or burn marks to the upholstery- to my knowledge this vehicle has been a non-smokers car all of its life- but as you can imagine is looking a little tired in the usual places. I still have the original emergency plastic key and a heap of receipts, MOT certificates and other paperwork that proves its genuineness.
This car is still a perfect little runner and for its last 4 and a bit years of ownership has done mainly motorway miles however it does come with its downsides and if money was spent on its mechanicals, I'm sure it would happily keep going but sadly for me the costs out way the benefits. It could either be a great project or a good car for spares and repair.
- It is due its second major service- cambelt, water pump, auxiliary belt and clutch.
- The left hand brake caliper has become a little sticky and clearly has slightly warped the front disc at some point after I did a full pad and disc change 20,000 miles (ish) ago. Both disc and caliper could do with a refresh. Its noticeably but not dangerous in anyway.
- It would require a new themostat as the temperature gauge is always floating around 75 degrees- it returns to 90 degrees when stuck in traffic. I had recently replaced this with an OEM from Jayar autoparts but have a hunch its a duff one. I also replaced the temperature sensor at the same time!
- I had my local garage replace the starter motor as it had started to skip teeth whilst starting. Sadly it still does it, so it will also now need new ring gear on the fly wheel too. This does no way hamper its starting process but over time will obviously wear out.
- The last MOT advisories were that the middle exhaust bracket has broken.
- It will require 4 new tyres too.
This to my knowledge is all that is required of the car for the moment and I have been quoted £800 for all the work on clutch/cambelt and new ring gear but if you're handy on the tools, have the time and the inclination then my guess is it will be a lot cheaper! I have been as honest as possible in my description and if you are truly interested then please feel free to contact me for a genuine chat.
If you have anymore questions then ring Ed on 07920804553.

[V8 FOU]

Boring, boring, boring.
Shed returns to default German silver boring hatch. Oh dear.

Bring back the Reliant / Mitsuokas etc.... Need a good laugh on a Friday morning.

[Krikkit]

Cracking cars these, despite their slightly dour looks. Good, but not terribly exciting shed this week.

[ManicMunky]

Good cars these, not quite as fun as the Lupo GTI, but still a laugh.

[Mouse1903]

Aww my first car. Not the quickest car in the world but still fun to drive. Decent handling but even better when the suspension is upgraded. Gearbox really lets them down, I'm sure the original design dated to the Mk1/2 Polo designed for not a lot more than 60bhp so 125bhp was not a good idea. Interior well ahead of it's rivals and still looks modern today, especially if you get the heated leather. Still miss mine. Lupo GTI got all the credit as it was smaller, same engine so slightly faster and dynamically a bit better.

This was mine, lowered around 60mm. I was into VW's but never into the whole ridiculously low, stretched tyre nonsense:

[anonymous-user]

Nice little car.

I'd happily run on as an alternative to the usual Ford or Citroen offerings.

[Geoffcapes]

I would imagine that makes a perfect first car.

However, for your average 'shedder' its just another dull VW.

[VolvoT5]

The 'stanced' car... no, just no. What other abuses have taken place?

The one for £650 sounds like it needs 1k spending on it to get it up to scratch - brakes, 4 tyres, major service and cambelt, issue with the temp gauge that hasn't been fixed by a new thermostat, fly wheel issue...... it sounds totally shagged.

edit: sellers said he was quoted £800 for the work. That is excluding the new tyres and exhaust bracket. Could probably just buy a tidy one for £1500 and save the hassle.

And that is before even considering it is a dull 14 year old VW polo.

Edited by VolvoT5 on Friday 13th March 09:43

[J4CKO]

Surprised it hasnt been hit with the Dub tax, a grand seems pretty reasonable.

Is this perhaps a less rusty/knackered alternative to most MK2 Golf GTI's, similar size and the power output is slap bang between 8 and 16 valve MK2's ?

Not really doing a lot for me but suspect it could be quite a decent little car with a modest turn of speed.

[rallycross]

Good choice for a cheap warm hatch SOTW a solid little hatch with a/c, xenons etc, rare to find in a small hatch.

When these were new they offered a very high spec for a small hatch but they never handled or performed like a hot hatch (a Saxo VTR was in another league handling wise)

The same engine is used in the Lupo Gti which is an absolute hoot to drive and a proper little pocket rocket.... but the Polo Gti was never that great to drive but if you wanted a well built high spec hatch that goes well with 125 bhp then it was a good choice. Being a Polo it makes a good used choice as it should still drive well.

As said check for noisy gearbox and worn pedalbox.

Edited by rallycross on Friday 13th March 10:34

[simoncorrigan]

9 years ago mine ended up like this after coming second in a fight with a tree

[graham22]

Why did VW wait a couple of generations later to follow Seat's lead?

The Spanish cousin took the simple option of putting Golf GTI based engines in their supermini - Ibiza GTI/Cupra Sport 1.8/2.0 8v & 16v or Cupra 1.8 20VT.

I had the 2.0 8v Cupra Sport and 1.8 20VT Cupra, neither suffered mechanical issues but the first one did have a pedal box done under warranty - are these shed money yet?

[gowmonster]

for £650 what's not to like, quite a bit of car for the money. Not specifically driven this model but have driven the 1.2 model after this, and from that I found the steering was a bit rubbish and the brakes over servoed, I thought the 1.2 was nippy till I got in a 1.1 Pug 106, 125bhp should be fun if it's as light as it looks.

[dbdb]

I'm fast loosing interest in Shed of the week.

[B'stard Child]

Great little shed - bought one a few years back and whilst it didn't live up to my expectations of 205 GTi handling and dynamics it was a fun car.

From the how dirty is your car thread (500 miles in all weathers in 4 days)







The BBS wheels corrode like heck and the gearboxes have a poor reputation (although mine never failed) and the interior trim on door furniture and dash parts flakes and peels

Edited by B'stard Child on Friday 13th March 10:36

[culpz]

Friend of mine in work had one of these in black. Right nippy little thing. I really like the looks of it too, especially those BBS style alloys. Looks so much nicer to these modern polo GTIs which i find just really bland and boring IMO. Unfortunately it got stolen and crashed and eventually written off. If that hadn't of happened he said he would probably still be in the thing. Didn't put a foot wrong in the few years he had it apparently despite its high mileage and not so great service history (or lack of).

[DaveyBoyWonder]

I had one of these for a year whilst we needed a second car for the wife to knock around in doing nursery and work runs etc. Was fantastic. I'd have another in a heartbeat - a little car with a load of character and comparable to a mk1 MX5 which I've owned a few of. Nice little well built nippy car.

[pti]

Rusty little buggers but not bad cars at all.

[loveice]

culpz said:

I really like the looks of it too, especially those BBS style alloys. Looks so much nicer to these modern polo GTIs which i find just really bland and boring IMO.

Those are real BBS wheels, not just look likes. However, post 52 reg Lupo GTI with its 6-speed gearbox is the better car when buying new at that time. It has it's own unique headlights (not just Xenon, but different shape altogether compare to standard Lupos), aluminum bonnet/wings, magnesium rear hatch, wider front and rear track, unique dashboard design... Of cause, they are much more expensive second hand.

[Mouse1903]

I sold mine at 9 years old and not a hint of rust on it

[CountryBumkin]

This or a Yaris T-Sport?