mk4 Volkswagen Polo review (2002 - 2008)
Volkswagen Polo cars for sale
3.0
Expert review
Pros
Cheap to buy
Plentiful supply
Grown-up interior
Cons
A Ford Fiesta is more fun to drive
Finding good examples is getting trickier
Lacks new car safety features
The CarGurus verdict
It may not be the United Kingdom's most exciting or stylish small car, but the Polo is reliable and sensible.
The Polo Mk4 is easy to drive, and most versions ride comfortably. The 1.2-litre petrols make great town runabouts, and the more powerful petrol and diesel models are at ease on longer drives as well as on urban roads.
There are some downsides. The styling is rather dull, inside and out, and equipment levels on the more basic models are downright stingy. Few drivers today will be happy to manage without air conditioning, but this was on optional extra on entry-level examples. What's more, the Polo tends to be a little more expensive to buy used than a Ford Fiesta, Seat Ibiza or Vauxhall Corsa of similar age and mileage.
Overall though, the VW Polo Mk4 is a sound used car that wears its years well.
What is the Volkswagen Polo Mk4?
A used Volkswagen Polo may not be a bargain basement buy, but it compensates with an upmarket image, solid build quality, good reliability and a practical cabin.
This is the Mk4 Polo, known by the code name 9N. It was sold between 2002 and 2009 and served as a rival to the likes of the Ford Fiesta, the Vauxhall Corsa and the Skoda Fabia. It's usually possible to pick up any of the three aforementioned models for less cash, because they didn't hold their value as well as the Volkswagen, but enough time has passed that prices for this generation of Polo to drop to very affordable levels.
The Mk5 Polo took over in 2009, and prices for that model are much stronger.
How practical is it?
Inside, the Volkswagen Polo Mk4 hatchback is solidly made and there's plenty of room in the front. The steering wheel adjusts for height and reach, so it's simple enough to find a comfortable driving position.
What really made it stand out over rivals was the level of fit and finish, which helped to give it the feel of a car from the class above. Admittedly, by today’s standards a Mk4 Polo will be feeling its age, but for the time it was a remarkably grown-up little car.
Rear-seat space is acceptable for a supermini, which is to say you can just about fit a couple of adults or children in car seats without complaint. Carrying three in the back seats is going to be a squeeze, however. The 270-litre boot, meanwhile, can easily cope with a weekly shop, and cargo space extends to 1,030 litres with the seats folded flat.
What’s it like to drive?
The Volkswagen Polo Mk4 was offered with a broad choice of petrol and diesel engines. The most affordable petrols are the early three-cylinder 1.2-litre units with either 54bhp or 64bhp. A facelift in mid-2005 saw the power outputs upgraded to 59bhp and 69bhp. Those aren't big numbers, but these three-cylinder engines are surprisingly willing. The other petrol engines were a 1.4-litre with 74bhp (79bhp after the facelift) and a 1.4-litre 16-valve engine with 99bhp, along with a 1.6-litre with 104bhp.
A Polo GTI joined the range in 2006, but Volkswagen rather pulled its punches, giving the Polo a 1.8-litre turbo with 148bhp at a time when rivals like the Renaultsport Clio were packing just under 200bhp. It looks the part on its 16-inch alloy wheels, but with its stiff ride and brisk rather than rapid performance, the Volkswagen Polo GTI rather falls between two stools.
Diesels include an achingly slow 1.9-litre SDI with a bhp figure of just 63. There's a lot more going on beneath the bonnet if you opt for a 1.9 TDI with either 99bhp or 128bhp. The latter was fitted to the Polo GT, and is almost as quick as the GTI in real-world driving but with far better fuel economy. This same engine was used in the much larger Passat, so it's overkill in a car as small and light as the Polo. However, these are rather noisy engines, so be prepared to crank up the radio to mask the diesel din.
Remember the days when diesel was thought of as the 'green' choice? Well, the 'greenest' VW Polo mk4 was the Bluemotion, which achieved official carbon dioxide emissions of 99g/km and a combined mpg of 74. Narrow, low-rolling resistance tyres contributed to the Bluemotion's ability to stretch a gallon further than any other Polo, but offer modest cornering grip.
Aside from the stiff-riding GTI, the Polo mk4 has soft and forgiving suspension that allows the Volkswagen to cope well with our imperfect roads. However, the flip side to this comfort-first approach is lots of roll in corners – this is not a car that likes to be rushed. If you want a nimble supermini that feels taut and lively a Ford Fiesta will suit you better.
Technology and equipment
By the standards of the day, the Polo mk4 was a safe car. All versions had anti-lock brakes and driver and passenger airbags at the very least.
When the Polo was a new car in 2002, it was tested by safety organisation Euro NCAP, and scored four stars out of five for adult occupant protection but just one star out of four for pedestrian protection.
However, in terms of equipment entry-level models are very basic. For example, choose S trim and you'll do without air conditioning, unless the original owner added it as an option.
Volkswagen Polo Mk4 running costs
Clearly, the Bluemotion offers the best fuel economy. A miserly carbon dioxide output of 99g/km means there's no Vehicle Excise Duty to pay either. Just be aware that the better equipped Bluemotion 2, which came with air conditioning, has slightly higher emissions and doesn't dodge VED. Mind you, we'd rather pay the £20 a year and have air con.
Other diesel versions are also inexpensive to fuel and run. The regular 1.4 TDI doesn't hit the eco heights of the Bluemotion, but real-world economy of better than 50mpg is still achievable. The 1.9 SDI is capable of similarly impressive economy, although it's considerably slower. The punchier 1.9 TDI engines can also beat 50mpg if you don't drive too hard.
Although not as economical as the diesel models, the petrols are by no means thirsty. Reckon on 40-43mpg in normal driving for the 1.2 and 1.4 engines. Unsurprisingly, the GTI drinks fuel quicker than other Polo models, but can still return an mpg figure in the high 30s.
If you want to keep a tight lid on insurance costs, the 1.2 petrols are a good bet. These cars sit in insurance group 3-5 depending on the specification, which makes them a good choice for a newly qualified driver.
The 1.9 SDI is also affordable to insure, sitting in group 5. The more powerful 1.4-litre diesels are in group 11, as is the 99bhp 1.4-litre petrol. The top-spec diesel, the GT, sits in group 17. The petrol GTI will be the most expensive to insure, as it's in group 26.
Servicing is needed every 10,000 miles or once a year, whichever comes first. Major and minor services alternate, with the major service costing around double the price of a minor one. Expect to pay just over £350 for a major service at a franchised dealer, less if you have the car serviced at an independent garage. Cambelt and tensioner changes are needed every four years, which pushes up the price of servicing considerably. Check when this is next due on any car you are thinking of buying – if it's coming up use this to help haggle a discount on the asking price.
Volkswagen Polo Mk4 reliability
In most respects the Polo mk4 is a reliable used car. There are some problems to be aware of, however.
If the timing belt snaps the engine can be ruined, so avoid any car which hasn't had the belt replaced at the correct intervals. This suggests the owner has been willing to cut corners to save money in the short-term, while risking a much bigger bill in the long run.
Some owners report that the 1.4-litre petrol engine is prone to bore wear. If the car starts getting through a lot of oil without any obvious sign of a leak, bore wear could be the culprit.
The electric windows sometimes go on the blink, so be sure to check they are working, and check the sills and wheel arches for signs of rust. If the engine cuts out when coming to a stop, it could be that the throttle body needs a good clean.
Believe it or not, some Polos made in 2006/07 were recalled because their seats could catch fire. This was due to an incorrectly sewn-in tension wire strap in the backrest cover of the front seats coming into contact with the filaments of the seat heater. The problem was solved by having the wires insulated.
As with any used car, once you have your eye on a particular Polo mk4 we'd recommend putting the reg number into the recall checker on the gov.uk website to confirm if any outstanding recall work is required.
- If you're one of the few supermini car buyers who prefer a saloon to a hatchback, you are out of luck with the Polo mk4. In the UK, it was sold as a three-door or five-door hatchback but not a four-door saloon. It's not that the Polo saloon didn't exist – it was sold in other European markets as well as South America, Australia and China – but there wasn't thought to be enough demand to bring it to Britain. If you want a pint-sized saloon from this era, built by the VW Group, take a look at the Seat Cordoba instead.
- Volkswagen worked hard to squeeze the maximum out of every gallon with the Polo Bluemotion diesel. As well as low rolling resistance tyres, the car was fitted with higher gearing so the engine would run at lower revs. In practice this means you often need a lower gear than you expect to maintain speed. The grille and front bumper were different from the standard Polo's, and VW added a rear lip spoiler to help the Bluemotion cut cleanly through the air.
- The Polo Dune had SUV swagger disguising a front-wheel-drive supermini underneath. But, along with other faux-4x4s like the Rover Streetwise, you could argue this niche experiment was ahead of its time. With a stiff premium to pay over the regular Polo, the Dune didn't sell in big numbers, but there are a few around on the used market if you look hard enough.
- If you're looking for an all-rounder: Try the 99bhp 1.4-litre 16-valve petrol. It's a little flat at low revs, but it's better suited to motorway driving than the little 1.2-litre three-cylinder engines. The 1.4 hits the sweet spot between performance and fuel economy for general driving, and after so many years on the road the extra cost over the less powerful petrols isn't too great.
- If you're looking for strong performance: Go for the 128bhp 1.9-litre diesel GT. It might be missing the 'I' from its model name, and it may drink diesel rather than unleaded. But it's a better car than the Polo GTI. The diesel has loads of pulling power, so it will accelerate hard even if the driver is too lazy to work the gearbox. The Polo GT is a little slower than the GTI against the stopwatch but in the ebb and flow of everyday motoring there's really very little to choose between them, while the diesel GT's fuel economy is in a different league to the petrol GTI's.
- If you're looking for an automatic: Choose the 103bhp 1.6-litre petrol. Most examples of the Polo have a manual gearbox, and the engine options if you prefer an automatic gearbox are rather limited. Our pick would be the 1.6 petrol with a six-speed semi-automatic transmission, available from the mid-2006 facelift onwards. Don't expect the slick double-clutch DSG automatics of newer VW Group cars though, as they came later.
- If you're looking for excellent fuel economy: Pick the Bluemotion for the lowest fuel bills. We've been over the modifications Volkswagen made to make the car so economical, such as high gearing and eco tyres. What we haven't mentioned is that the Bluemotion's 79bhp 1.4 TDI has much more life to it than the insipid 1.9 SDI. And while 74mpg may be optimistic, close to 60 miles to the gallon is achievable without too much effort.
