[aakash1412]

Congrats on the new purchase. I too am a proud owner of a Polo 1.6 bought recently. The city mileage definitely is a pain but the beast unleashes on the highways. Did a 1500km trip last week and a common observation was that the car does mask your speeds a bit and the broken AC vents have troubled me a lot as well.

[deehunk]

Thanks Ajith for the write up, after having sold my Duster, am in your position to find a reliable hatchback. I have hated Maruti and Hyundai from begining. I found about 30 VW Polo's while searching online, your post is convincing me to grab one of these Polo. I can live with mechanical repairs, but cannot compromise on structural damage and repaired bodyline.

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by ajmat

My wife misses the vanity mirrors in the sun visor! Big omission, chicks love this, Bangalore has the ideal traffic jams to allow them to preen themselves in situ!

I am pretty sure there is a sun visor out there in the VW parts bin that will do the job - I'm surprised that nobody has posted a part # yet

[Epic]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Thanks, yep, its a keeper! I must confess that I did look at your review which help decide to go in for the kill. When I first drove it, I was having second thoughts initially.

Happy to have been of some help. We also own a GT TSI in the family and yes the TSI is more responsive, it has the DSG, I had even considered it to replace my 1.6; but the 1.6 just felt different every time as compared to the TSI and so dropped the idea. Not to mention, there are many who will come up to you and appreciate your car simply because of the '1.6' badge. It's so rare!!

[Vid6639]

What a superbly interesting read. Hilarious but informative. It has Ajmat written all over it. Only you can write a verse about the whole purchase episode.

And as NPV already guessed, the "muddled" one referred in the whole thread is no other than myself. Muddled not because of this but because of my own buying decisions when it comes to cars. lol.

This was an interesting purchase and one that started off by me helping a neighbour out. The car as mentioned was owned by a pilot who was in Dubai. After he moved he gave it to his sister who used it for a while with a driver. The driver left so the car was left in the basement for more than 6 months. The sister was a neighbour in my apartment complex who was moving abroad and sent an email to the apartment owners group asking for help with the car. Battery was dead and she wanted it serviced so she could sell before leaving the country.

I jump started the car but the charge didn't hold even after an hour of running the car. Then I removed the battery and charged it at home using a Bosch battery charger. That worked! The neighbour asked if I could help with a garage nearby and I recommended Bay6. Since she didn't drive I offered to send the car with my driver.

During all this I was chatting with Ajmat and telling him what had happened and that the car was a rare Polo 1.6. I took the car to Bay6 and it didn't feel great but after a general checkup it felt quite decent. The lady was happy to have the car back neat and clean and started search for a buyer and I told her if she sent me details I would spread the word as well. I found out car was transferred to KA from WB but no KA RC card as it got lost in transit. Moreover the owner was not in the country. I knew this car would be a hard sell and dealers would low ball cause of dodgy paper work. Sure enough most dealers refused to even quote for the car cause of missing docs.

In the middle of all this Ajit and myself got this seed in our heads that this car was one to not let go easily and if some guy who doesn't know the potential gets hold of it, will be a waste. The old Swift he had was having minor issues and racked up a lot of kms. IF that went for a decent price and the Polo was not priced too high, would be a perfect upgrade at a very small price delta. Ajit did the maths for car price + denting/painting+ new tyres+full service+new battery and some misc incidentals. If the car was under 3L it made perfect sense.

Ajit contacted the neighbour and came for a TD. I joined him for the TD and it was apparent there was potential but needed work. Would be a nice project to spruce it back. It was like a wheeler dealers show.

Ajit put up his offer and she knew that Ajit and myself were proper car guys who knew what was involved not just with the car but in paperwork transfer process. Even though the offer was lower than what she was getting, she knew we would see things through and would not come back if any issues with paper work or car. Plus the fact that I helped in getting the car in sale-able condition, helped in giving her the reassurance and she closed the deal with Ajit.

Once the car was with Ajit and the tyres were changed, painting/denting repair done and full service done with brakes and even AC vents changes, the real Polo 1.6 was there to see.

With around 28K kms and mechanically good condition for a Polo 1.6, 3L was a great deal. Couple it with the resale price of Swift and money spent on repair work, the net outflow meant he got a much newer car for not a lot of money. One that was better than the old Swift in all respects.

[iliketurtles]

Congrats on adding the teutonic steed to your garage, and thank you for a fun, breezy read. My smile grew a mile-wide as things took a turn for the verse, I can't imagine anyone feeling otherwise.

You got a helluva deal there too. Given Bangalore's skyhigh pricing, it's a steal given its mileage and vintage. A few flies in the ointment, sure, but nothing good ever came easily. Hope you and the missus have loads of fun behind the wheel!

[TheHelix0202]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Thanks, the engine was better than I thought, yes, it ain't a hot hatch, a warm hatch, maybe! I think VW were exploring the segment to see how far it could be stretched and the Polo TSI was the answer.

Engine is "stolid", plenty of torque to have it around but no real kick in the pants

So ideally, it's the same as the 1.6 MPI in the Rapid and Vento. Dynamics-wise, is it any different? Like the deletion of a boot- does it make a difference during high speed corner carving, etcetera? Nicely done up car

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Epic

Happy to have been of some help. We also own a GT TSI in the family and yes the TSI is more responsive, it has the DSG,

The DSG hides the turbo lag, am sure manual 1.2 TSI might have been a different proposition. Beauty of the 1.6 is the low end torque

Originally Posted by Vid6639

What a superbly interesting read. Hilarious but informative. It has Ajmat written all over it. Only you can write a verse about the whole purchase episode.

Next on the bucket list will be a complete poetic car review or would you prefer something Macan style!

And as NPV already guessed, the "muddled" one referred in the whole thread is noone myself. Muddled not because of this but because of my own buying decisions when it comes to cars. lol

.

..and also the reason for remaining a bachelor!

The car as mentioned was owned by a pilot who was in Dubai. After he moved he gave it to his sister who used it for a while with a driver. The driver left so the car was left in the basement for more than 6 months.

More like 18 months based on the paperwork/insurance

The lady was happy to have the car back neat and clean and started search for a buyer and I told her if she sent me details I would spread the word as well.

Thats a relative statement compared to what it was and far from how we would keep our cars!

. Sure enough most dealers refused to even quote for the car cause of missing docs.

Cruel but this is what we were banking on since she was having difficulty getting a price baseline

In the middle of all this Ajit and myself got this seed in our heads that this car was one to not let go easily and if some guy who doesn't know the potential gets hold of it, will be a waste.

Some folks who spotted the car in Bay6 wanted to take the car and strip it into a track racer

upgrade at a very small price delta.

That delta was Rs 2 Lakhs. Cost of 3 years depreciation if I have bought something new!

It was like a wheeler dealers show.

Sorry, I did not think it would be appropriate to hug the buyer - Mike Brewer style

Once the car was with Ajit and the tyres were changed, painting/denting repair done and full service done with brakes and even AC vents changes, the real Polo 1.6 was there to see.

You are yet to drive it with new tyres, brakes and the car loosened up!

[aah78]

Always love going through your threads, Ajit. You bring life & humour into an otherwise tedious process!

[nec2152]

Originally Posted by ajmat

1.6 Highline 103BHP engine, makes the Vento wheeze but makes the Polo go whee!

It is a nice little car, and looks like you found a less used and good piece too. Congratulations on this aquisition, and many happy & zippy miles with it!

Originally Posted by ajmat

The gearbox is like the Jetta, slots well and precise.

Definitely. I too like the short throw and nice slotting gearbox. I have the same car in Pepper grey. My 3rd gear lately gave a bit of slotting trouble (once or twice in the last year). A dumb acquaintance once wanted to drive my car and didnt slot the gear completely and released the clutch, grinded the gears for ~10-15 secs. That may have done some damage, but it was more than 5 years ago.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Cannot control rear windows from the drivers seat. A weird omission.

Yea. I've also been tolerating this problem for many years now. Esp. after dropping a few passengers, if I notice they left the rear windows open.
Due to my back issues, I am not able to turn around sufficiently from the driver seat to reach the power window switches on the rear doors to close them. I've to get down from the car and open the rear doors to close the windows. Very annoying when it happens.

VW made a few awkward decisions around early 2011 on these Polos. If I recall correctly, the first batch of Polos from 2010 didn't have electric adjustments for mirrors, but they did have all four power window switches in the driver's door. Electric adjustments for ORVM was a feature I desperately wanted (my back issues made it difficult for me to adjust ORVMs by stretching out).
In early 2011, VW added electric ORVM adjustments to Polos, but (to perhaps compensate for cost?), they dropped these rear power window switches from the driver's door. I'm not sure when exactly they added the rear window switches back - perhaps early 2012? I had asked the VW SA (Vidyut Motors Pune) to fit those the new, bigger? panel and 2 additional switches to my car but he said they can't do the required wiring. I haven't bothered too much on it later on.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Drinks like a General after sundown - In stop/start traffic, it guzzles (7km/l). On holidays and Sundays, it will return 9 km/l. On a highway , it sips 13-14km/l.

Same here, but not as worse though. My MID shows ~11 in bit heavy traffic (evening 6-7pm drive of 20kms), I drive sedately though most of the time.
During afternoon, in light traffic, I sometimes get ~15-16 on the MID if I drive gently.
Highest I've reached is ~17-18km/l on the MID for a 20km drive with a very light foot in zero traffic.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Mainly short runs ranging from barely 1 km to around 10-15 km in town.

Do watch out for the battery life when commute is regularly very short.
My wife had once taken over my car for ~4months when the car was ~4 yrs old, her commutes were 3km one way. The battery life of the factory installed battery (36Ah IIRC) then plummeted and I had to replace the battery within 3 months. Same low battery charge issues in her next car too.
I had changed over to Exide 60Ah battery in the Polo in Sept 2015, which is going good for 4+ years now and not showing significant signs of wear. It does show a bit of longer, slower crank if I leave the fan and music system ON for 15 mins with engine off.

Your battery also looks much bigger (60+Ah) than the stock 36Ah battery. The stock battery had a black cover around it which couldn't fit on the newer, bigger size battery.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Main spoiler is that the rear parcel shelf is collapsing under the weight of the aftermarket speakers which were crudely installed.

Hmm, my parcel shelf also cracked from the exact same location. I do not have speakers on the parcel shelf though. I had some 2-3kg sweet boxes kept in the middle of the tray one day and it just gave up.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Air conditioner cooling & effectiveness

AC has been the most troublesome area for me. The cooling effect reduces quite a lot in 2-3 years. My AC also develops the AC smell which is very hard to get rid of. I've tried Abro AC cleaner foam multiple times but didnt help, got it cleaned from a AC guy once who ended up breaking the gate that opens/closes with the re-circulation button. Outside odor sneaks in now to some extent even though the mode is in re-circulation. VW SA didn't even open it but they said they opened and checked and everything is ok! They keep citing a feature in AC that it switches to fresh air automatically. Well I know I keep that disabled (by moving the temp. knob one notch higher than the min. setting). If you keep the temp. knob at the min. setting, the AC will start automatically when you switch on the fan. That temp. knob at min. also controls the AC-re circulation switching to fresh air in some intervals.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Accurate but the EPS does numb feedback. Slight friction sound when turning, sounds like a plastic housing part fouling. Need to investigate.

I recall the specs at that time for 1.6 mentioned steering being EHPS. If you happen to open the steering assembly do give us an update with some pics on the EHPS setup.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Brakes have improved but they are not as reassuring as the Jetta.

Very true! Against the Jetta, the brakes on the Polo will seem downright scary.
I recall I had a Passat for a few weeks in the US (presumably all disc brakes on it) and when I got back to my Polo in India, the braking felt really scarily under specced. It took a couple of weeks for my mind to re-calibrate to the Polo's braking. I have a mental note now to make sure all disc brakes on the next car.
The 1.6 engines should have had all disc brakes. But then, even the Ventos of those era didn't have them. This is the area where there should not be any compromises. Especially the Vento TDI, which was the torque king at its launch time and ought to have all disc brakes.

The AC vents are a regular replacement affair for some, I have not bothered to replace them for the last 2 years now. My car is mostly just me 95% of the time so I do not bother much in the AC airflow direction.

My car also seems to be giving coolant trouble lately. I'm trying to diagnose it, initial impression is that the coolant consumption has increased.

There have been some niggles for me - the AC, the vents, poor headlights, missing power window switches, the coolant issues lately, but overall I'm happy and not bothered about these issues much. The car feels very safe so I'm ok to look over some trouble areas. My car has done 85K and no rattles yet! It hasn't let me down ever, so I'm not too worried about some of the cosmetic niggles.

The closest replacement I see I could've gone for, would be Vento/Punto/Linea. I'm sort of glad I didn't go with Fiat as the brand has been hammered after the Punto charm mostly died after 2011.

Originally Posted by ajmat

It is built to last, if I downsize to one car when the Jetta gets old, might buy something nice and pass this onto my daughter.

Likewise here too! I also do plan to keep my 1.6 for a long time, and just keep doing decent level of maintenance to keep it running, later on passing it to other members in the family.
For some reason, I'm glad this is a Petrol car and not diesel, so there won't be huge surprises in the engine bay maintenance as the car gets old, and this can be kept for 15-20 years easily. I might be wrong though, about Petrol vs Diesel 1.6 VW engines, just a feeling.

[2000rpm]

Finally a dedicated 1.6 Polo thread.

The car gets completely hidden in the normal Polo thread which has 200 variants in total.

I have purchased one three months back and keep hunting for specific discussions on the 1.6.

Originally Posted by nec2152

Same here, but not as worse though. My MID shows ~11 in bit heavy traffic (evening 6-7pm drive of 20kms), I drive sedately though most of the time.

AC has been the most troublesome area for me. The cooling effect reduces quite a lot in 2-3 years.

The AC vents are a regular replacement affair for some, I have not bothered to replace them for the last 2 years now. My car is mostly just me 95% of the time so I do not bother much in the AC airflow direction.

My car also seems to be giving coolant trouble lately. I'm trying to diagnose it, initial impression is that the coolant consumption has increased.

I get not more than 10.5 in Mumbai driving.

AC is OK for me, but I think it does frost once in a while which I remove by switching it off!

I have a broken right side AC Vent, which the interior cleaning guy broke. Not replaced it yet.

I think my car did too, but after doing the engine oil leakage work, The coolant problem has gone away.

I have a new question here though, what is the ground clearance of a 1.6?

Did the 1.6 have any under body protection?

[Viraat13]

Originally Posted by ajmat

My wife misses the vanity mirrors in the sun visor! Big omission, chicks love this, Bangalore has the ideal traffic jams to allow them to preen themselves in situ!


Flat spaces between the seats. Yes, that's a piece of the old vent over there!

Another hidden advantage of a VW is that a lot of parts are common across cars. Go onto AliExpress and you will have a variety of sunvisors to choose from. In fact, I am planning on a mod where (additional) vanity lights light up when the mirror is opened.

An armrest may be a worthy addition. Many people complain of creaks, but those are easily sorted out with some furniture foam pads here and there.

The parcel shelf is available off the shelf at VW for 1700 or so. I was planning on changing it because one of the rubber rings around the mounting point/hinge was broken. It evened out when the other one broke too. No rattles, so I haven't found the need to change it either.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by ajmat

The battery change however generated an error code – an ABS sensor was kaput. Azaan got the car on the hoist and got the ABS sensor changed in 10 min. It cost me Rs 3000.

...and the other rear sensor went kaput. Took it to Azaan who got it sorted in 90 min. Note to myself, when the front sensor goes, will replace both together.

[ajmat]

One year on and the Polo came into its own.

March 2nd, my father-in-law in Kochi died and to cut a long story short, we sorted my mother-in-law out with help etc. due to the impending lockdown and my wife returned.

April 7th - my mother-in-law goes to the shops, falls and breaks her legs. Its in the midst of a lockdown. We used all the influence available to get me wife into Kochi. Basically, we found a driver who would drop her in Kochi and back within a day. I won't go into the fact that the journey was smooth traffic wise but harrowing Police/border wise.

The Polo left Bangalore at 4.30AM. Reached Kochi at 1.30PM after a 2 hour stop in Walayar while awaiting permissions. It turned around and got caught in a police wrangle in Thrissur but was in Salem by 7.30 and in Bangalore by 9.20 PM.

When checked, it covered 1300km in a day, averaging 80km/h and returning 15km/l. Wow.

I was impressed

Last week, these came through the mail



10 speeding tickets from the Palakkad area. My wife was too frazzled to realise there were speed limits and the driver was ignorant about this.

I paid up and am not happy about this

I was depressed

It was time for a much needed service. The suspension was a little wooly and creaky. took it to Azaan. The suspension was seized and shot. The good Czech bits had seized due to non use and the bad bits (the VW India spec parts) were worn out . Struts, drop links, tie rod ends, everything! At least, I got 32000 km out of it. (it normally lasts for 20000km).

Azaan pulled the whole undercarriage out





He sourced original VW German struts for the front and TRW items for the rear. Slapped it together. Took it for alignment and it was dead on in terms of alignment. i.e nothing needed to be adjusted so the body shell mounting points are spot on.

Fuel filter was clogged and that explains the increasing bottom end lethargy.

It drives like a frisky puppy although the new 1.0 TSI Polo that I tried at a local dealer has an awesome mid-range.

Also added front component speakers and wired in the amplifier and sub which had been in the Swift. The ladies are going to love it!

[AbelAFC]

Originally Posted by ajmat

10 speeding tickets from the Palakkad area. My wife was too frazzled to realise there were speed limits and the driver was ignorant about this.

I did not realise the KL system could process fines for non KL regd cars. I got the flashes each time I drive in Kerala but I haven't received any notices yet. Time to watch out methinks