UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hiya All,,,
My name is jay and I have popped over from the uk VW R32 owners club,,
We have a mk5 r32 in black ,,five door,,leather ,,sat nav,,etc and only 75;500k miles only but it is my wife’s and often mine lol daily driver and has been for the last six years ,,car has a great history with new clutch and fly wheel in jan 2018 and a recent service and mot ( last week),,2006 reg,
Car is needing cosmetic work only like a wheel refurb etc,,,zero rust and are planning to trade or sell it so my wife can have a vw polo gti with a budget between £12k- £13k so I imagine I be using the forum regularly when we get the Polo Gti in February,,
Looking at a five door,,manual,,blue or silver ideally and leather with heated seats,,,and not over 45k miles
Is our budget realistic? ,( auto is a no no as wife hates them and won’t drive our merc 5.5 AMG droptop for that reason )
And is there anything I need to avoid or anything to be aware off that may bring a problem?
Is the 1.8 engine better and more reliable then the 1.4 engine ? ,,as I notice there is not much more bhp on the 1.8 model
Sorry for basic questions as have never owned a polo and wife wants the polo gti instead of a golf gti or another R so please go easy lol , we are 55 yrs
Any advice greatly appreciated and thanks for reading,,,jasonp

are you looking for a polo 6C or a polow AW?

Polo 6R GTI = 1.4 TSI 180hp twincharged (super- and turbocharging) DSG only
Polo 6C GTI = 1.8 TSI 192hp turbocharged DSG and manual
Polo AW GTI = 2.0 TSI 200hp turbocharged DSG only (so far)

Forum admin; please move this thread to the mk8 / mk9 6r/6c forum board.

Hi Jay. Welcome to the forum.

Based on your criteria and budget, I’m sssuming you’re looking at getting a used example of the previous generation Polo GTI.

The 1.4 twin charger engine in the 6r (pre-face lift) previous generation was only available with DSG transmission, and this engine wasn’t without its problems - excessive oil consumption being one of the more common problems affecting many cars, and many engines were replaced under warranty by VW. If you do an internet search on ‘VW Polo GTI 1.4 twin charger issues’ you’ll find lots of background information. There are also various threads on the Polo 6r / 6c forum board about the issues with the 1.4 twin charger engine.

As manual transmission is a must for you, then you’re looking at the later 6c Polo GTI, which has the 1.8 192ps turbocharged engine. There were a very small number of turbo failures on early examples - seem to remember 1 or 2 members on here had turbos replaced under warranty). Other than that, I’ve not heard of any issues with the 1.8 engine (mine has been completely trouble free - in almost 3 years of ownership, it’s only been back to the dealer for routine servicing). Leather was never offered as an option on the Polo GTI (or as far as I’m aware, on any 6r/6c model Polo), there was a black alcantara option though, but I think most GTI’s came with the classic red tartan seats which, in my opinion really suit the GTI. Cars that had alcantara seats got heated seats as part of the alcantara option, otherwise the winter pack would’ve needed to have been specified for a car to have factory fit heated seats.

Looking at the used 6c Polo GTi’s that are for sale on VW’s website, I’d say your budget looks realistic; the cheapest currently for sale on VW’s website is an April 2015 five door in black with 42k miles at £11,990.

Mechanically, mine has had zero problems. It has good performance, and for the performance model in the Polo range, fuel consumption has been good too. Some forum members who took delivery of some of the early models in 2015 had issues with interior creaks and rattles - mine hasn’t suffered from these and seems very well screwed together. Be aware that the boot space is small though; because the battery is stored in the spare wheel space below the space saver, you lose the lower level of the two boot floor positions. The diamond cut wheels are also susceptible to white worm corrosion and a good quality refurb is likely to cost in the region of £85-£90 +VAT per wheel, so check the wheels on any car you look at carefully for damage.

Good luck with your search. Hopefully you will find a good example within your budget.

iichel wrote:are you looking for a polo 6C or a polow AW?

Polo 6R GTI = 1.4 TSI 180hp twincharged (super- and turbocharging) DSG only
Polo 6C GTI = 1.8 TSI 192hp turbocharged DSG and manual
Polo AW GTI = 2.0 TSI 200hp turbocharged DSG only (so far)

Thanks ichel,,
As mentioned it must be a manual box,,,


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SRGTD wrote:Forum admin; please move this thread to the mk8 / mk9 6r/6c forum board.

Hi Jay. Welcome to the forum.

Based on your criteria and budget, I’m sssuming you’re looking at getting a used example of the previous generation Polo GTI.

The 1.4 twin charger engine in the 6r (pre-face lift) previous generation was only available with DSG transmission, and this engine wasn’t without its problems - excessive oil consumption being one of the more common problems affecting many cars, and many engines were replaced under warranty by VW. If you do an internet search on ‘VW Polo GTI 1.4 twin charger issues’ you’ll find lots of background information. There are also various threads on the Polo 6r / 6c forum board about the issues with the 1.4 twin charger engine.

As manual transmission is a must for you, then you’re looking at the later 6c Polo GTI, which has the 1.8 192ps turbocharged engine. There were a very small number of turbo failures on early examples - seem to remember 1 or 2 members on here had turbos replaced under warranty). Other than that, I’ve not heard of any issues with the 1.8 engine (mine has been completely trouble free - in almost 3 years of ownership, it’s only been back to the dealer for routine servicing). Leather was never offered as an option on the Polo GTI (or as far as I’m aware, on any 6r/6c model Polo), there was a black alcantara option though, but I think most GTI’s came with the classic red tartan seats which, in my opinion really suit the GTI. Cars that had alcantara seats got heated seats as part of the alcantara option, otherwise the winter pack would’ve needed to have been specified for a car to have factory fit heated seats.

Looking at the used 6c Polo GTi’s that are for sale on VW’s website, I’d say your budget looks realistic; the cheapest currently for sale on VW’s website is an April 2015 five door in black with 42k miles at £11,990.

Mechanically, mine has had zero problems. It has good performance, and for the performance model in the Polo range, fuel consumption has been good too. Some forum members who took delivery of some of the early models in 2015 had issues with interior creaks and rattles - mine hasn’t suffered from these and seems very well screwed together. Be aware that the boot space is small though; because the battery is stored in the spare wheel space below the space saver, you lose the lower level of the two boot floor positions. The diamond cut wheels are also susceptible to white worm corrosion and a good quality refurb is likely to cost in the region of £85-£90 +VAT per wheel, so check the wheels on any car you look at carefully for damage.

Good luck with your search. Hopefully you will find a good example within your budget.

Thank you SRGTD,,,
Much appreciated for posting your reply,,,
Very re-assuring,,,
We would like blue or silver although the right car in black might be ok,,
Mmmm,,,battery in the same place as the r32,,,,a bugger in dark nights lol,,
Is there jump points under the bonnet?,,
Like the sound of the alcantara as my wife works for the NHS so heated seats good for night shift or early s ( if me then it would be the tartan lol but will try to get her the heated seats),,
They have Bluetooth and aux for I phone music I believe? ,
Many thanks again mate,,,, jay


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Hopefully all cars with the battery in the boot have heavy duty posts under the bonnet for jump starting and charging, my S4 has, hopefully your R32 did as well.

Edit:- good reliable cars with the 1.4 twincharger engine are as common as hobby horse poo, most of these engines supplied into UK ended up in Fabia VRS and Ibiza - so forums for these two cars are where the bulk of the horror stories reside.

SRGTD wrote: Sun Jan 06, 2019 8:23 pm Forum admin; please move this thread to the mk8 / mk9 6r/6c forum board.

agreed & done

RUM4MO wrote:Hopefully all cars with the battery in the boot have heavy duty posts under the bonnet for jump starting and charging, my S4 has, hopefully your R32 did as well.

Edit:- good reliable cars with the 1.4 twincharger engine are as common as hobby horse poo, most of these engines supplied into UK ended up in Fabia VRS and Ibiza - so forums for these two cars are where the bulk of the horror stories reside.

Thanks RUM4MO,,,
That’s good to know and yes the r32s are under the bonnet,,,
Ours has to be a manual box so once realised the 1.4 wasn’t a contender with dsg only,,
Thanks again,, jay


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Yes, I was just pushing home the idea to avoid the 1.4 twincharger which was a heavily flawed "genius" of an engine, won many international awards, while going on to empty many owner's wallets.

I'd hope never to need to get access to the jumping points, unless like with my own car, and S4, sleeps a lot in my garage and I keep its AGM battery in condition by connecting it to a CTEK battery charger at all times.

jasonp wrote: Sun Jan 06, 2019 8:48 pm Is there jump points under the bonnet?,,

There seems to be jump start points, see the red cover on the right in this photo:

RUM4MO wrote:Yes, I was just pushing home the idea to avoid the 1.4 twincharger which was a heavily flawed "genius" of an engine, won many international awards, while going on to empty many owner's wallets.

I'd hope never to need to get access to the jumping points, unless like with my own car, and S4, sleeps a lot in my garage and I keep its AGM battery in condition by connecting it to a CTEK battery charger at all times.

Thanks RUM4MO,,,
Yes the 5.5 AMG is on my trusty CTEK and on winter setting but due a new battery for the Merc this year,,,jay


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cheba wrote:

jasonp wrote: Sun Jan 06, 2019 8:48 pm Is there jump points under the bonnet?,,

There seems to be jump start points, see the red cover on the right in this photo:

Many thanks Cheba,
Perfect pic,,, much appreciated.,,,jay


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Hi Jason

Some really comprehensive replies covering the reliability etc of the 1.8 GTI none of which I disagree with as my car has been pretty much trouble free.
Clearly you and your wife have a love of fast cars with the R32 being a good example and if you decide to go for a 1.8 manual I don't think you will be disappointed as I've been fortunate to a own a reasonably long list of performance cars and find the 6c GTI every bit as good if not better.

You did mention the fact that the 1.8 has only a few more BHP than the 1.4 which is true, but if you do go for the manual as you have said, it has considerably more torque (236 ft/lbs across most of the rev range ) that's where the difference lies.

As for your budget you shouldn't have any trouble as I paid £16200 for a 3 month old car with 30 miles on the clock from a VW dealer

Hope you find the right car

Gee40 wrote: Mon Jan 07, 2019 8:28 pm You did mention the fact that the 1.8 has only a few more BHP than the 1.4 which is true, but if you do go for the manual as you have said, it has considerably more torque (236 ft/lbs across most of the rev range ) that's where the difference lies.

Yes, this is the strength of the GTI 1.8 with manual. The GTI 1.8 got only a 12HP power increase from the 1.4, and with DSG it got no torque increase at all, it was still on 250Nm like the GTI 1.4 (which was DSG only). However the manual GTI 1.8 has 320Nm, which is 28% more than the same engine with DSG! That says it all about the capacity of the DSG in that car...

Thanks Gee40 and Cheba,,,
Off to our local VW dealer in Loughton tomorrow,,
Gonna be interesting what they will offer in trade for the R32?
,,,, car is low mileage ( 75,500 miles and last two owners female ) with an excellent history but has been a daily driver for last six years so cosmetically needs tidying up,,
I will post tomorrow to inform people what I was offered for a five door,manual, panther black with leather and sat nav,,all original with no mods,,, mk5 R32,,


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