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View Full Version : Should I buy the Polo 77tsi?



chief
30-12-2010, 11:02 PM
Currently own a 2010 3dr Holden Barina with Sunroof with 11,000km which I hate!

I was looking at the Nissan tiida sedan and the VW polo 77tsi. I have driven the Nissan tiida while I was learning to drive (instructor car) which was nice and way better then the Holden barina (aka daweoo crap). Made a list of pros and cons for both cars but is the polo worth the money. Did some reading on the forums here and there seem to be issues with them and I'm hearing alot of vw issues throughout their models.

Polo

Pros:

heated power door mirrors
brake assist
speed alert warning
electronic stability control
traction control
cruise control
disc brakes (front & rear)
electronic brake force distribution
electronic differential lock
rain sensing wipers
multi-function leather steering wheel
automatic climate control
automatic dimming rear-view mirror
sports suspension
low tyre pressure indicator
front fog light
17" alloys
fuel efficient 5.5l/100km
front arm rest


Cons:

price
built in south africa


Tiida

Pros:

cheap price
roomy interior


Cons:

rear drum brakes
built in thailand
would run off crap e10



With the polo list I added comfort/sport pack, list includes what the tiida doesn't have. Tiida drive away is $21,242 according to nissan site and the polo would be around $26,000 drive away with options according to discountnewcars. So looking at a diff of $5,000 but for that you get so much more features.
Haven't seen the polo in the flesh but I will be, If I like it and don't hear major issues with it I will do a trade and buy.
Just want to see what people think I should do.

EDIT:
I have decided to go with the Suzuki Swift Sport for $25,000 drive away

team_v
30-12-2010, 11:24 PM
I would go the Polo, or a Fiesta.

The Tiida's look ugly, and the cheap price means you lose out on a lot of things that are in the polo.

tinto
30-12-2010, 11:57 PM
Built in SA isn't a bad thing IMO. Hard to get your head around on a German car, but It wouldn't stop me buying a VW from there again.
My first Golf (GT Sport) didn't miss a beat in terms of build quality. Current one is from Germany but I cant tell the difference.

What are the Polo GTIs coming in at price wise?
I'll second team_v's opinion - polo or fiesta at this price point - both European in some way.
Tiida is a nissan dealer's courtesy car IMO.

GTi Crow
31-12-2010, 07:19 AM
Had a Golf GTI (Mk5) built in South Africa - didn't miss a beat for the 4 years I had it. Also had a Golf GTI (Mk6) built in Germany and am awaiting another one to replace it (written off - no fault of the Golf). My son has a Polo GTI (last model) built in Spain again no issues. Picked up a Polo 77TSI two weeks ago - while not a GTI (I am also not paying the same price) - the latest model is definitely an improvement style wise and I have nothing but admiration for it.

Why I selected a Polo - certainly I am pro Golf and it made sense to have indicator stalks on the same side of the steering wheel for a change - but I had certain criteria even though the car will be the wife's main drive once my GTI arrives. Criteria was:
1. had to have disk brakes on all 4 wheels (you will be surprised how many have drums on back - definitely old technology),
2. wife will not drive a manual, so need automatic and did not want old transmission box, - had to be a modern DSG or clutchless manual type of transmission,
3. wanted something that was econimcal on fuel Polo 77TSI 5.5 l/100k
4. while wifes car did not want it underpowered - had to have a 0 - 100kph under 10 seconds (Polo &&TSI 9.5)
5. did not want a shape that is "old" and would be replaced shortly
6. wanted a few bells and whistles in it
7. wanted alloy wheels
8. car needed to be available reasonably quickly - sick of being a one car family since the Golf GTI went to car heaven.
9. colour had to be white, grey or silver - wife's choice
10. Prefered 15 inch wheels rather than smaller.

Compared all cars in the high teens to high twenthy thousand dollars and eliminated them - in the end the Polo ticked enough boxes and got a reasonable deal from the saleswoman (probably help as I was signing up for the GTI at the same time), although would have gone for the comfort pack if I had time to wait (and probably sports pack).

Only drawback is that while a number had bluetooth, the Polo doesn't - wife won't answer the phone while she is driving anyway.

Put your requirements down on paper and check them off against all cars. Go to carpoint.com.au or one of the other websites that lists all new cars and their specs and compare.

Hope that helps in your decision.

themmc
31-12-2010, 07:39 AM
The Bluetooth thing is really annoying. Especially when the RCD510 has a module that's working in other cars. One other option I think is sad it's missing these days is the lack of automatic light sensing headlights. My wife's 5 year old car has that. But 77TSI is very good value and really quite nice to drive.

deejay350sl
31-12-2010, 11:09 AM
Alarm with Tow Away & Motion sensors anyone got that pack on their polo? Are the motion sensors parking sensors? Does the polo have option for parking sensors?

Corey_R
31-12-2010, 12:20 PM
If you go to any car forum site, there are lots of problems. Unfortnately that's why many people come to forums, to discuss/figure out their problems. Can't really say that any of the 3 VW's I've owned over the past 3 years have had problems (granted, I've only had my current one for ~2 weeks).

The other thing about Volkswagens, even at the Polo level, is that they include a lot of "features" and little nice things that many other cars don't have, but which aren't "feature list worthy". Things that you only discover by reading the manual and owning and driving the cars.

The other big things that I like about Volkswagens are their ergonomics (my previous gen Polo GTI, despite being a "small car" has much better ergonomics than so many other cars, including the much larger Focus hatch I drive).

And finally, safety. Volkswagen are exceptional at safety. Not only are their cars always great handling and responsive cars, meaning you've got more chance of "crash avoidance" than many other cars at their price, but they have exceptional crash test results. You need to go beyond the ANCAP results though. Australia is still stuck a few years behind where they don't take rear impact or roof impact results into account. For example, the Mazda CX7 is a 5 star car here, yet in Europe it gets a ZERO in rear impact tests, and is therefore only a 4 star car there. VW are always excellent in the rear impact and roof tests (from America).

So there is ways more value in your additional cash than even your list displays.
Good luck on your purchase, which ever way you go.

cameronp
31-12-2010, 01:05 PM
So first off, I'll echo everyone else's opinion so far and say: don't get the Tiida. When I was a student, I used to drive an N16 Nissan Pulsar which is very similar to the Tiida. It was a sort-of-okay car in 2003. In 2010, it's just way behind most of the other new cars out there. Also, you mentioned getting a Tiida sedan; having owned a small sedan in the past and small hatchbacks afterwards, I'd take a hatch over a sedan any time I had the choice. As other people have mentioned, I'd be looking at the Ford Fiesta as my second choice behind the Polo.

Corey also makes a lot of good points about the advantages of VWs.

I notice you've listed a lot of features for the Polo which I believe only come with the optional sports and comfort packs. Personally, if money is an issue that would be the first place I'd cut back. My Golf comes standard with all of those gadgets (auto lights, auto wipers, cruise, climate), but honestly I wouldn't miss them much if they were gone.

There's a couple of other cars you might want to consider that nobody has mentioned yet, too: the Honda Jazz and the Ford Focus. The Jazz is a fantastic car in lots of ways, and although not "fun" like some of the others, very practical for a small car and solidly made. You should also be able to get a base model Ford Focus for about $21,000 drive-away - Ford dealers will discount desperately if you so much as sneeze at them this time of year. It's a very basic car with a terrible interior and no features, but IMHO for the money it's surprisingly fun to drive, and much bigger than the Polo if that's of use to you.

One final thing: you never said if you wanted a manual or automatic. If you want an auto, the Polo is the obvious choice because the DSG is heaps better than the slushboxes in other small cars which are, well, mostly rubbish.

William_Foster
31-12-2010, 01:41 PM
In support of what Cameronp said; we looked at the competition before signing an order for the Polo, the Jazz came a very close second. If money is a concern, this is a good back-up plan.

The big difference we saw between the cars was the fuel economy; the Polo in the test drive was brilliant compared to the others [We ended up getting the diesel so you can't really compare this to the Jazz]; I know the Ford says it has good fuel economy but how you have to drive to get it means I would never see good fuel economy figures. The other big difference was the feel of the interior; it sounds a little stupid but the Polo feels nice to touch; the competition very much felt like hard plastic.

At the end of the day it all comes down to your budget; the Jazz especially gets a lot of features for a good price; but I personally wouldn't buy it over the Polo.

themmc
31-12-2010, 03:09 PM
The other big difference was the feel of the interior; it sounds a little stupid but the Polo feels nice to touch; the competition very much felt like hard plastic.


Not sure why that's stupid. The Polo is a nice place to sit - felt at home quickly - but am familiar with VWs. The others I looked at for similar money weren't. And I agree, the Polo is a nice thing to drive. The turbo lag of the 77TSI takes a bit but I felt comfortable driving it straight away after getting out of my Peugeot 206 GTI.

Billecartz
31-12-2010, 05:11 PM
The Tiida is being discontinued, even Nissan admit to the car being a huge flop. It may be cheap but that's for a good reason, you cannot compare it with a Polo, as the Polo is in a different league.

Our Polo 77TSI has been terrific, economical, comfiortable, reasonably quick and has a lot of character.

It's a no brainer between the two, remember you get what you pay for.

chief
31-12-2010, 08:51 PM
One final thing: you never said if you wanted a manual or automatic. If you want an auto, the Polo is the obvious choice because the DSG is heaps better than the slushboxes in other small cars which are, well, mostly rubbish.

I'm looking at the manual I prefer manual over auto, with an auto you don't feel like your driving. The only downside in a manual is when your in heavy traffic :) get's annoying.

chief
31-12-2010, 08:55 PM
I believe paying the extra $5000 is very well worth it! get so much more for the money. Another question what are the servicing costs for a Volkswagen Polo? Has anyone had a Volkswagen serviced at Muller Muller in Lakemba NSW? I hear it's best to avoid dealers when it comes to servicing cars, as of "apprentices" that don't do the job properly and the high price.

Also how reliable are Volkswagen's I see alot having issues.

chief
31-12-2010, 09:03 PM
Another question though they say the new polo is made in South Africa I found a video on youtube showing the production line at Pamplona, Spain YouTube - 2010 Volkswagen Polo: production line at Pamplona, Spain (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CrxCt0kUJE) (from may 2010).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpbXq8lTEfI&feature=fvst
Any thoughts?

pologti18t
01-01-2011, 02:04 AM
Chief ... how long do you expect to wait for this fully specced 77TSI? May/June of 2011?

chief
01-01-2011, 07:55 AM
Chief ... how long do you expect to wait for this fully specced 77TSI? May/June of 2011?

It's not fully spec'd (just comfort,sport pacakge), gonna test drive one soon and go from there. Gonna also try the golf 90tsi to see what that's like and compare them. I could end up just saving a bit more money for a golf 90tsi if there will be a big waiting time.

themmc
01-01-2011, 09:28 AM
chief - dealers appear to have lots of 77TSI comfortlines with no options for basically immediate delivery, but may/june for anything with options.

chief
01-01-2011, 09:33 AM
chief - dealers appear to have lots of 77TSI comfortlines with no options for basically immediate delivery, but may/june for anything with options.

Ok, but for the extra $2,000 of options it's well worth it

themmc
01-01-2011, 10:01 AM
Ok, but for the extra $2,000 of options it's well worth it

Yeah, I'm going for the c/a/s options. But, I did think seriously about just taking the option free car, but knew I'd regret it later.

anthony
01-01-2011, 10:07 AM
The South African build quality is fine,I have had 2 Jettas built there,1 was brilliant,the other was very good.

pologti18t
01-01-2011, 10:54 AM
The audio upgrade (RCD510) can be done at the dealership. I was offered it for free on the Polo GTI i ordered.

chief
01-01-2011, 12:49 PM
Just found the following Volkswagen Polo (http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/volkswagen-backs-polo-quality-20100709-102rw.html)
3 door polo's built in Pamplona spain, 5 door polo's built in south africa

pologti18t
01-01-2011, 04:47 PM
Just found the following Volkswagen Polo (http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/volkswagen-backs-polo-quality-20100709-102rw.html)
3 door polo's built in Pamplona spain, 5 door polo's built in south africa

Yeah, well documented. So the only european built Polos for Australia are GTIs and Trendline 3dr 1.4L

Hail22
02-01-2011, 05:16 PM
Yeah, well documented. So the only european built Polos for Australia are GTIs and Trendline 3dr 1.4L

Naturally built in a country that is in massive debt, i honestly won't be surprised if in the first quarter Spain will declare they need financial aid from the European Union, its been documented as the Domino affect, so if you want a PoG i would advise placing an order soon.

pologti18t
02-01-2011, 05:38 PM
Naturally built in a country that is in massive debt, i honestly won't be surprised if in the first quarter Spain will declare they need financial aid from the European Union, its been documented as the Domino affect, so if you want a PoG i would advise placing an order soon.

Thought they had already got some...

chief
02-01-2011, 09:22 PM
I have decided to go with the Suzuki Swift Sport for $25,000 drive away

Billecartz
02-01-2011, 09:44 PM
Good luck, especially at resale time!

chief
02-01-2011, 10:00 PM
Suzuki give a 8yr warranty and 8yrs of road side assistance have heard good things about the swift.

VW Convert
02-01-2011, 10:14 PM
Naturally built in a country that is in massive debt, i honestly won't be surprised if in the first quarter Spain will declare they need financial aid from the European Union, its been documented as the Domino affect, so if you want a PoG i would advise placing an order soon.

Really curious as to how this affects the build of the Polo, Spain doesn't build them, VAG do and VAG is not in massive debt.

VW Convert
02-01-2011, 10:16 PM
I have decided to go with the Suzuki Swift Sport for $25,000 drive away

Surprising development, don't recall Suzuki being mentioned as a contender but it's your prerogative to choose whichever car you want. Just out of curiosity, did you actually drive the Polo? What were your impressions of it?

themmc
02-01-2011, 10:24 PM
I have decided to go with the Suzuki Swift Sport for $25,000 drive away

I'm paying $24,990 for the VW Polo Comfortline and the C/S/A packs and tinting.

Billecartz
02-01-2011, 10:42 PM
Suzuki give a 8yr warranty and 8yrs of road side assistance have heard good things about the swift.

I am sure that's fine if your expecting trouble with it, I just don't think I could get over the bug eyed look long term. I also did not remember you mentioning Suzuki, is this run out model you bought as I think there is a new model coming out this year!

FJ Steve
03-01-2011, 07:49 AM
we considered the 'zooki when assessing the Polo (as well as looking at the Jazz, Yaris, Corolla, i30, Focus, Nissan range etc etc). In regard to the 'zooki, we didn't take it for a test drive, as we found the boot space minimal, space saver tyre, lacked features, and generally presented as a car out of it's depth when compared to the Polo.

I even thought of getting the RE4(?) Sports version....but the price and value for money did not even tempt me to even consider investigating it further.

Sorry...but I hope you don't regret the choice.

Corey_R
03-01-2011, 09:27 AM
My mate and I took the Suzuki Swift Sports for a test drive... it was my suggestion after the great reviews that it had on Top Gear and Fifth Gear etc.

It was very underwhelming drive and performance. I'm sure if it were on a track where you can get some decent speed and maintain it through sweeping corners it may be fun, but on the street, it's just not!

Worse though was the interior quality... "hard plastics" everywhere. HOWEVER, those "hard plastics" were so "THIN", that you could literally press the door panels with your thumb and the entire panel would flex in 5cm. I'm sure if you pushed hard enough that you could push the door panels in much more.

A guy from my work, and Suzuki Grand Vitara owner, came to their defense and claimed we were exaggerating. So when we were all at the motorshow recently, we checked it out, and he was shocked to find we were 100% correct. It's kinda scary...

triode12
03-01-2011, 09:49 AM
You have to rev the shyte out of Jap engines to get decent performance out of them. While with the VWs, torque comes on tap at around 2000RPM or there abouts which makes driving around at legal speeds a lot more enjoyable. That is why I am not buying another Jap car if I can help it.

pologti18t
03-01-2011, 12:16 PM
25K drive away ain't that good on a Swift Sport. Do a search on Carsales.Com.au

Even 24K driveaway is advertised....


My mate and I took the Suzuki Swift Sports for a test drive... it was my suggestion after the great reviews that it had on Top Gear and Fifth Gear etc.


I don't think the car we get is the same spec in suspension or engine tune than the one they get in Europe.

I reckon a Fiesta Zetec at that price is a better overall car.

deepdude
03-01-2011, 01:43 PM
You have to rev the shyte out of Jap engines to get decent performance out of them. While with the VWs, torque comes on tap at around 2000RPM or there abouts which makes driving around at legal speeds a lot more enjoyable. That is why I am not buying another Jap car if I can help it.

Totally agree with you. That's why I love driving my new PoG. Lotsa fun, minimal effort.

GTI mk6
03-01-2011, 02:44 PM
I'm paying $24,990 for the VW Polo Comfortline and the C/S/A packs and tinting.

Manual or DSG?
Congrats. BTW :-)
Also considering a Polo

themmc
03-01-2011, 03:28 PM
Manual or DSG?
Congrats. BTW :-)


Thanks - Manual. I don't drive a long way to/from work (12km round trip) so DSG isn't a major issue for me.

chief
03-01-2011, 06:24 PM
Just out of curiosity, did you actually drive the Polo? What were your impressions of it?

No, I was very much looking at getting the polo but what put me off was people complaining about Volkswagen and Volkswagen Australia when it came to issues with their cars and time for warranty work. VW AU = d**ks from what I heard.

My sister's uni friend has a Swift sport and came past the other day and I liked it, though really liked the polo better from what I saw online. The coming week will be going to Suzuki and getting the car.

I will be looking at VW Golf in the future.

anthony
03-01-2011, 08:02 PM
I looked at the Kizashi to replace my Jetta,but was not convinced about Suzuki....so bought a Honda Euro.

You should have also looked at the Jazz ???

Corey_R
04-01-2011, 09:42 AM
The Jazz is a smaller and cheaper hatchback.... why would you look at that if your options were Jetta, Kizashi, Euro?

anthony
04-01-2011, 08:45 PM
The Jazz is a smaller and cheaper hatchback.... why would you look at that if your options were Jetta, Kizashi, Euro?

Not for me,but for chief...

I love the Polo,and think the Jazz is great too.
I would have had a look at the Jazz,to compare it to the Polo and Swift...

pologti18t
04-01-2011, 08:48 PM
Not for me,but for chief...

I love the Polo,and think the Jazz is great too.
I would have had a look at the Jazz,to compare it to the Polo and Swift...

Are they actually selling Jazzs with ESP yet?

Corey_R
05-01-2011, 07:37 AM
Yeah - the Polo is so far ahead of the other cars in quality (yet to be known on reliability though), that basically every car mag or site is calling it a game changer. You only need 1 minute to figure that out. Open the door, hit the dash with your knuckles, close the door... ;)

Hail22
05-01-2011, 11:22 AM
Yeah - the Polo is so far ahead of the other cars in quality (yet to be known on reliability though), that basically every car mag or site is calling it a game changer. You only need 1 minute to figure that out. Open the door, hit the dash with your knuckles, close the door... ;)

The Polo as standard comes with some safety features not even mentioned in the brochure as most people would just go "gaaaaaa blaaaaaa" (means mind blank). the TSI and the GTI (should of had a 6 speed manual GRRRRR). seem to be a soon to arrive benchmark for small sized hatches (although when you sit inside its very roomy and can fit quite a bit around its cabin).

Suzuki 8 years Warranty, well naturally if you do some hard line research just like the brand Great Wall, Suzuki's cars have been known to source parts for their new cars from either older makes of Nissan, Toyota or Mazda as some of the components are carbon copies/identically suited to the "swift".

Caviet Emptor "Buyer Beware" is all i could say, VW have the bank roll to back up the Polo, my "biased" two cents anyways after owning the car for 3 months

However Suzuki make one of the worlds best Sports Bikes there is no lie in that :)

Kane-St-Kane
05-01-2011, 11:34 AM
Suzuki's (the cars) are poorly made.

We have a Suzuki Swift Sport as our work promo car (Real Estate).

The paint on them is so thin and crappy it has to be seen to be believed.... 2 cut & polishes in the cars lifetime will literally leave it paintless.

The rear bumper unclips of it's own accord as does the front one..... Sure the car looks great but the build quality is worse than a 1995 Hyundai Excel.

When I started looking at a new car in September the only ones that made the list for quality build were the VW Polo, VW Golf and the Mini Cooper S (The cooper S lost out because it has cheap plastic parts on the inside).

triode12
05-01-2011, 03:03 PM
Doesn't VAG own a share of Suzuki? In India, Suzuki Altos are badged as VWs.

http://www.4wheelsnews.com/suzuki-rebadging-the-alto-as-a-volkswagen-wagon-r-as-a-skoda/

http://www.allcardetails.com/news/suzuki-alto-in-india-by-volkswagen-6426.html

http://www.auto-industry-news.net/2009/08/suzuki-alto-lapin-vw-suzuki/

chief
05-01-2011, 03:32 PM
Doesn't VAG own a share of Suzuki? In India, Suzuki Altos are badged as VWs.

Something like that they have ties. The 2011 Swift pro due out in 18months time will have a vw tsi engine twincharged or something along those lines. Suzuki Swift Sport still 18 months away (http://www.carsales.com.au/news/2010/small-passenger/suzuki/swift/suzuki-swift-sport-still-18-months-away-22916)

Corey_R
05-01-2011, 03:58 PM
VAG and Suzuki do have "an arrangement", although it might be more about VW being able to optimise the cost of small car production for low cost growth markets, rather than Suzuki increasing the quality of their product.

Everyone (mostly the press) was expecting a few of Suzuki's recent models to feature VAG engines - but this hasn't yet eventuated. Suzuki have stated that the cost of utilising the VAG engines is not yet viable for their targetted demographics of their cars (i.e. it'd cost them too much which would have to be reflected in the price to the consumer).

Ralfi
09-01-2011, 12:33 PM
Saw a 5dr, red TSI with sports kit today at the local supermarket carpark. Very nice.