Taking driving test soon so thinking what car to buy when I pass (hopefully first time!).
Gonna have to be a used car and Iam considering a Polo so opinions are welcome, good or bad!

Thanks x

not bad for a first car, alot of people i know have VW and say their reliable

I've got a V-reg 1.4L Polo, and I love it to bits. Drives lovely, it's comfy and I've never had a single thing go wrong with it.

Only reason I'd change it was if I did a lot of motorway driving, I'd get something that's got a bit more oomph and is quieter at 70+. For a town-car I think it's superb though.

quite nice. My SO has the 1.4CL and we had a brand new one as hire car in France.

Solid, comfortable, reasonably quite. 1.4 can feel underpowered on motorway, but actually not that bad for a small car, good economy, good resale value.

The other things you may look at are the old SEAT ibiza which is basically the last model polo with a slightly different body or the Skoda fabia which is the new model polo with (again) another body slapped on top!

I had a VW polo several years ago which I ran for a few years and never had a problem with it :) Be aware though that you will pay a premium for the VW name...

Are VW's a bit more to Insure ?? I lurve Golf's :D

Originally posted by Deejay
Are VW's a bit more to Insure ?? I lurve Golf's :D

don't think so, but you can always check the insurance groups on www.parkers.co.uk

I love my polo (shes a 1.4CL 97 R called ruby)!
ive had her since 1999, and shes been a fab runner, she has now done 106,000miles approx and is still going strong. she was second hand when i bought her and i would defo have one again, although im hoping for a golf!

the only bad thing was the electric windows stopped working and were expensive to fix, and polos also have this strange cutting out at road endings thing in their later life (me and a few friends with polos have had the same problem).

All in all a good car and i think they keep their value pretty good too!

I have a D reg Polo C. Excellent motor, very reliable and runs sweet as a nut. Much smaller than the new shape Polo too, so fits into tight spots.

Anything up to M reg is this shape, actually, and the 'pseudo estate' shape means that you can get plenty in if you need to.

I agree with *evil*drneil :wink: , the skoda, seat and polo are all made in the same factory, aren't they? I test drove them all about 6 months ago, and then decided not to buy a car at all.
Personally I would go for a toyota Yaris - maybe not the trendiest car, but cheap to run and insure, and have had very good reviews.
I learnt to drive in a Polo though, and liked it a lot.

Thanks guys! xx

How much are you wanting to spend? My first car was a 1980 odd polo which was run into the ground but the plucky little fella never once let me down, even when the girl in the brand new fiat pulled out on me, it still drove home with no front end!!!!!(wrote the fiat off there and then)ive had verious vw's and audi's since and now i have a 1.6GL polo. it's great in town and on the motorway. i think, by reading, the extra 200cc makes a real difference on the motorway. ive drove various fiesta's and saxo's and the vw is far the nicer car. a friend has a brand new 1.2 three cylinder polo and its a real nice, real smooth car.

Originally posted by fredsredhat
How much are you wanting to spend? My first car was a 1980 odd polo which was run into the ground but the plucky little fella never once let me down, even when the girl in the brand new fiat pulled out on me, it still drove home with no front end!!!!!(wrote the fiat off there and then)ive had verious vw's and audi's since and now i have a 1.6GL polo. it's great in town and on the motorway. i think, by reading, the extra 200cc makes a real difference on the motorway. ive drove various fiesta's and saxo's and the vw is far the nicer car. a friend has a brand new 1.2 three cylinder polo and its a real nice, real smooth car.

I was thinking up to £3000

for that money you'd get a real nice 1999 1.4 cl polo. look for full service history. about 60000 miles. check for the panel gaps (ie run your finger down 1 side of the boot gap, then the other. if they're not the same walk away) and check the central locking all works. (they work on pneumatic and sometimes the seals go) have fun.

Thanks for the advice!

My sister drives one, and they're good little cars.

I opted for an Astra as a first car. I dunno where you'll do most of your driving or when, but I realised how easy it is to spot a lone female on a dark motorway if driving a dinky car. I had a friend at uni who had a terrifying experience once....

I also opted for a vauxhall because parts are so cheap and readily available - something my sister found out the hard way with the polo.

I could get more stuff and more people in it too :D

Originally posted by Strix
My sister drives one, and they're good little cars.

I opted for an Astra as a first car. I dunno where you'll do most of your driving or when, but I realised how easy it is to spot a lone female on a dark motorway if driving a dinky car. I had a friend at uni who had a terrifying experience once....

I also opted for a vauxhall because parts are so cheap and readily available - something my sister found out the hard way with the polo.

I could get more stuff and more people in it too :D

how easy is it then.
I find that I can't see into cars when the motorway is dark.

And i'm not silly enough to assume who is driving based on the model of the car.

Originally posted by Cyclone
And i'm not silly enough to assume who is driving based on the model of the car.

Here we go :rolleyes:

It's just about common sense. Many people don't get attacked walking along the street talking on a mobile, but the police recommend keeping your mobile out of sight and keeping your attention on your environment.

Specific groups of people choose specific cars to reflect who they are. It doesn't always hold true, but it's surprising how few Volvo's can drive in one lane or remember to indicate!

Not only are small cars popular with young 'independent' (read 'lone') females, but this type of vehicle is easier to bully on the road than something slightly larger, which has the added advantage of generally being occupied by a bloke with a suit jacket hanging in the back, so is not so high on the 'shopping list' of such renegades

I disagree, many men drive small cars as well, not everyone can afford a bmw.

I see a lot of cars, spending at least 2hrs/day driving up and down the motorway. And whilst you are right, that on average smaller cars are more often driven by women, the difference isn't as great as you make out. It's probably about 60/40 for smaller cars being driven by women and 30/70 for exec cars like the bmw you mentioned being driven by men. This leaves the other larger cars, mondeo's and the like probably at around 40/60 in favour of men.

At night you can't see into cars, simple as that. So I would have said that nightime is a far harder time to spot a woman driving alone on the motorway.

I'd be interested to hear what the experience was though?

Followed from Newark ish to wisbeach by a group of men who were waving and gesticulating. If she speeded up, they did. If she slowed down, they did. They kept driving far too close. It was late at night, so there was little else on the road.

They followed her right to her house. When it was reported to the police they said the car wasn't registered in the area so it was unlikely to be coincidence.

Perhaps it they were just getting off on frightening a 19 yr old out on her own. Some ******** have such sad lives.

And just don't say 'what's her problem?'. People make mistakes when their mind isn't on their driving. Perhaps that's what they were aiming for? There would be no evidence either, as they cut her from the wreckage. Good job she's not the sort to be easily intimidated

Originally posted by Strix
Followed from Newark ish to wisbeach by a group of men who were waving and gesticulating. If she speeded up, they did. If she slowed down, they did. They kept driving far too close. It was late at night, so there was little else on the road.

They followed her right to her house. When it was reported to the police they said the car wasn't registered in the area so it was unlikely to be coincidence.

Perhaps it they were just getting off on frightening a 19 yr old out on her own. Some ******** have such sad lives.

And just don't say 'what's her problem?'. People make mistakes when their mind isn't on their driving. Perhaps that's what they were aiming for? There would be no evidence either, as they cut her from the wreckage. Good job she's not the sort to be easily intimidated

why would i say that. it sounds most unpleasant.

Shame she didn't pull into a service station or petrol forecourt and ask for them to call the police.

I think that suggesting that this might happen if you have a small car is probably verging on the paranoid though.

just had a thought.

if you were convinced you were being followed (which she obviously was by then), would you drive home late at night?

I wouldn't. I drive to somewhere either with police, or with lots of people around and stop there.

She was too petrified to think straight. And although you may (given 10 a spare half hour) gain entry to Moss Way at midnight, you sure as hell ain't going to find the same facilities in a 'town' the size of Wisbeach.

Getting yourself lost in an unfamiliar town is a bad idea too. One way systems and deadends could be far more dangerous than pressing on.