Polo ACT or 1.2TSi R-line

[Robby71]

Hi
I have a Fiesta ST2 on lease which is up in a few months (thank god - can't wait to get rid) - i've been looking at Polos and was set on a 1.2TSi R-Line which is only to get to work and back (80 miles a week) but then saw a ACT

The ACT shows as 150bhp and looks economical on paper but what are these like in the real world - mpg/ problems/ reliability/ etc?
I'm not keen on the seats as i prefer dark and maybe 1 or 2 colours but maybe i'd swap them at a later stage?

The R-Line looks sporty with the bodykit and i've seen some posts saying owners are getting 150bhp after a remap, how do you find it post remap?

What common problems do Polos suffer from and what should i be aware of? do they get stolen more than other cars? (fiesta STs are notorious for this which is why i don't leave it anywhere)

[Bigtam]

I came from and ST2 to a Polo GT Blue I loved the Fiesta great car brilliant handling only downside it only has 2 doors and more expensive to run all round, The polo is not much slower the the ST and is better built 5 doors cheaper road tax and far better MPG than the ST.

[Timmsy]

What makes you want to change from a fiesta ST to a 1.2 polo?

I thought the ST was meant to be the best car ever according to the reviews

[RUM4MO]

What makes you want to change from a fiesta ST to a 1.2 polo?

I thought the ST was meant to be the best car ever according to the reviews

I totally agree with that, but the OP has mentioned the issue with not being able to leave it and find it is still there when he gets back! I have an Audi S4 and suffer a bit from that problem - it has yet to happen to me, but it makes you think every time you leave it parked, probably why it hides in my garage most of the time and we use wife's Polo 1.2TSI 110!

I seem to remember that my S-I-L, when she went to live near Canterbury, fancied getting rid of her Merc and getting a Golf GTI - dealer asked how she would be using it - ie where she would intent to park it, then suggested it would not be a good car to buy as she would not have it for long, so she bought a Polo, one of the last 6N ones with a 1.4 engine, she hated that car and it put her off ever considering a VW, mind you, now she has a BMW 320 tourer now - but that was only due to her Audi main dealer sales people being total ar*eholes - another brand she will never consider!!

[iichel]

I think that 130-135hp after a software remap is a bit more realistic for the 1.2TSI

[Robby71]

What makes you want to change from a fiesta ST to a 1.2 polo?

I thought the ST was meant to be the best car ever according to the reviews

The Fiesta is poorly built (rattles/ creaks, thin paint), has hard suspension, easy to steal and mine has been to the dealers 13 times in the first year for numerous faults which put me off which is why i don't drive it unless i have to.

I looked at Polo 1.2TSis a couple of years ago and thought they looked nice and the figures didn't look too bad for a 1.2. I've had numerous VWs, Seats, Audis and although not exiting to drive the build quality was a lot better than Vauxhalls, Fords, etc, this is why i was looking at the 1.2TSi and then the R-line version when i saw that

I'm not up with the latest VWs and thought the GT ACT was an electric car at first then saw it being a 1.4turbo and thought that would be more exiting to drive?

[vc-10]

It's worth pointing out that the R-Line gets the 90PS 1.2, or the 110PS 1.0. I don't know if the ECU in the 1.0 has been 'hacked' yet to re-flash it.

[Timmsy]

Ahhh I didn't see the bit about them being stolen a lot.

Although being into Ford 13 times in the first year F that! Glad I didn't get one now as if was the polo gti or the St for me

[RUM4MO]

Better ask a lot of questions about delivery times if going for a factory order 1.4 ACT as it looks like Ibiza orders with that engine are looking like "at least November" for some strange reason!

[Robby71]

vc-10 - so the R-Line doesn't have the 1.2TSi engine anymore (110bhp) ?

Timmsy - yep look at the fiestastoc forums and they're getting pinched every day - mainly in Essex and birmingham but it'll spread - they program a new key via the OBD port in seconds

[vc-10]

Nope, in the Polo, the 1.2 TSI 110PS engine which was in the SEL has been replaced with the 1.0 TSI, putting out the same power but using less fuel (apparently!). The pre-facelift Polo R-Line had the old 1.2 TSI with 105PS, but I think the facelift R-Line in the UK has always had the 1.0 TSI, along with the 1.2 TSI 90PS and 1.4 TDI 90PS.

[RUM4MO]

I was sent a flyer from our local VW main dealer last week, and it clearly listed Polo 1.2TSI 110 SEL as one of the typical models being available with a special price - I don't really understand that as back in April 2015, I just managed to get a factory order in for one of them before the model, for new build was changed to 1.0 110, and it seemed that not too many SEL models were made to go into stock!

The main changes to performance when changing to the 1.0 110PS engine were emissions.

[RUM4MO]

vc-10 - so the R-Line doesn't have the 1.2TSi engine anymore (110bhp) ?

Timmsy - yep look at the fiestastoc forums and they're getting pinched every day - mainly in Essex and birmingham but it'll spread - they program a new key via the OBD port in seconds

All this being able to program new keys via the OBD2 port is very bad news, you can buy a metal blanking lock for the OBD2 port, which might make them move on to another car, though by the time they have found the blocked port they have smashed the window! Maybe the disklok on the steering wheel is the way forward as it is visible, or were when they painted them yellow!

It seems that the problem with modern cars interior monitoring is, there is a blind area beside the dashboard at each side, that is where the OBD2 ports must be so that techs etc can reach them from the driver's seat! So, nasty turd person breaks side window and reaches in and down and plugs their equipment in, and immediately programs a key. Now all they need to do is unlock the car and drive away - remembering to either store the car in a shed or park close to a wall to avoid anyone spotting the broken driver's side window, sounds quite easy? So why is the car industry not doing anything about it quickly?

I'm sorry to say, but with this awareness of regional car crime, the first thing that I did before driving into these high crime areas (down South) was to inconvenience myself by buying a disklok!

[vc-10]

I don't understand why Ford allow the cars to be programmed by anyone other than the dealer without having an existing key. Mad.

[Timmsy]

Do Ford still use those stupid keys which are about 20 years old now too?