I still can’t quite believe that I’m driving something so much newer than the small 18 year-old hatchback (despite what VW say, the Mk 2 Polo coupé is a decidely usual hatchback shape) that has been part of my life for the last 12 years. The first three months with Y464 GHJ have largely been spent getting to know the car, and, as a freelance graphic designer, have been spent on the UK’s A-road and motorway network. Buying the car must have been an omen; little did I know at the time of purchase that I’d be regularly spending time driving to jobs. Something which in the elderly coupé, while enjoyable, would have been much less relaxing.

In my first report I asked if I’d made the right choice with VW’s baby hot hatch. More fun than the contemporary Golf GTI, but not quite as much of a tearaway as the smaller Lupo GTI with which the Polo shared its engine, I would answer that question with an emphatic ‘yes’. Three months on (to the calendar date) from the point of purchase, I’m still looking for any opportunity to take the GTI out, and every time I do, I enjoy it. A lot…

Part of that must come from the modernity. A well-specified car when new, the climate control, xenon headlights, CD multichanger (paired to a cassette deck head unit), electric mirrors and windows are a world away from the basic-equipped coupé. Of course, kit count is much higher these days, but to a driver used to winding his own windows and unlocking all the doors with a key, the GTI’s added level of usability is impressive.

Extra kit means extra things to go wrong, though. Around a month ago, the driver’s door window stuck in the (thankfully) up position. Booked into the independent VW specialist not far from home revealed that VW has changed the regulator since the car was new, and it now has to be mounted to the corresponding motor. £300 for a repair dismayed my fix-it man, so after wobbling the window free, and a liberal dose of oil and grease, the window was once again back to its sliding self. Bodge-it cost? £39.00 or thereabouts.

Our cars: 2001 Polo GTI

Our cars: 2001 Polo GTI

Our cars: 2001 Polo GTI

Our cars: 2001 Polo GTI – old wheel cap

Our cars: 2001 Polo GTI – new wheel caps

Our cars: 2001 Polo GTI – new wheel cap

2001 Volkswagen Polo GTI: service indicator

Our cars: 2001 Polo GTI

Another impressive quality of a 10 year-old Polo GTI is the engine. A 16V 125bhp unit with variable valve timing, it really does propel the 1084kg car quite quickly, and I can quite believe Volkswagen’s quoted 0-62mph time of 8.7 seconds and 127mph top speed. While not as effortless as Volkswagen’s latest twincharged Polo GTI 1.4 TSI, the driver is rewarded with a sporty growl on acceleration, and it’s all handled in an accomplished manner.

Equally accomplished is the refinement. Some would say that the best small fast cars aren’t about refinement, and while I’d be inclined to agree, it does help life with the car from time to time. Here the Polo GTI doesn’t miss either, with a good ride and general air of calmness. True, it’s not the definitive word in sharp handling, but it’s competent enough, the steering well-weighted and the body roll well contained. Ultimately it will still be too much of an understeerer for some, but overall, it’s on the right side of sporty.

So, 2000 miles in and I’m pleased to report that Y464 and I are getting along just fine. Yes, I’ve still got to fathom out the best setting for the air-conditioning to work at its optimum, and have to learn to look past the peeling plastic interior door handles, but they’re hardly faults of the car itself. As the 70,000-mile mark approaches, I’m hoping Christmas will bring some cosmetic improvements (I’ve already fitted a new ‘bee-sting’ aerial mast and seal, as well as wheel centre caps), with wheel nut covers, new badges and floor mats some of the items on my wish list to the big man in the red and white suit. As the GTI’s been good to me over the past three months, the least I can do is be seasonally nice (and not naughty) to reward it.

Want to know more? Head over to the excellent Petrolblog.com to read how and why Rich bought his 2001 VW Polo GTI

It’s Friday, so here’s something fun. Having just bought our 2001 Volkswagen Polo GTI 6N2, our thoughts have often turned to the Super 1600 GTI version which took to the rally stages of the UK that same year. With pumped-up wheelarches and a larger rear spoiler, it looked the business, especially when we saw it in Ashford, UK, for the Rally of Kent stages of the Volkswagen Polo Rally Challenge, a one-make series especially for 130bhp VW Motorsport-prepared Group N-spec rallying Polos. That car’s not been seen for years, but here’s the next best thing: a tarmac racer built for hillclimbing. Thomas Klingelberger’s Polo 6N2 kit car apparently runs an original 1.6-litre VW Motorsport engine (related to the Super 1600 GTI’s we wonder?), and looks fantastic with its extended front bodywork and skimming-the-ground stance. Goes quickly, too…

This wasn’t supposed to happen. In the space of four days, I thought about getting a car, went and saw two locally, and ended up buying the first one I saw. Little over a month ago, I hadn’t even considered driving anything other than my 18 year-old Polo GT Coupé. But that was before the Volkswagen UK 2011 Polo GTI arrived, and unwittingly – and starkly – pointed out that even a 1993 car is now an antique. Lovingly referred to by family members as ‘the classic car’, the coop has covered 164,000 mies, 116,000 of those in my 12-year ownership. But, surprisingly (both to me and those that know me), it now has a new driveway mate.

As I hadn’t considered buying another, newer, car, I hadn’t really thought about what form that more modern, refined, yet cheap fun potential purchase would take. Being a lifelong fan, I guess it was always going to be a Volkswagen, although when I started looking at my £3000 limit, all sorts of machinery presented itself. From early Renaultsport Clio 172s (I’ve always liked the look of the first-generation cars) through to first-year, high-mileage Audi A2s, the search was quite an eye-opener. But as you can see from the picture above, I again plumped for a Polo, my fifth. Was it really going to be anything else?

A 2001-model GTI, it has a 1.6-litre, 125bhp VVT engine, and is seemingly a lot of car for the money. With ABS, CD player, digital air-conditioning/climate control, EDL, headlamp washers, power-steering, remote central locking, sport seats and xenon headlights, it ticks all the equipment boxes, and the fact that it looks natty with its 15-inch BBS alloys and Reflex Silver paintwork sealed the deal. It’s only covered 67,000 miles, too and comes with an almost solely Volkswagen Retailer stamped up service book. There are some little bits and pieces that need sorting naturally (it is a 10 year-old car after all), but that’s half the fun. The interior needs a good clean, too , but it’s nothing an afternoon of elbow grease shouldn’t sort out.

I’ve got no plans for the car apart from the initial tidy up, as I’d like to keep it standard. The first parts have been bought – a set of mudflaps to protect the paintwork, and also a replacement whip aerial mast to replace the corroded chrome one that’s on the car at the moment. There were things to look out for, though. Volkswagen issued a pedal box recall around seven years ago, and this car’s been done, and it’s also had a recent cambelt change. The gearbox feels fine too, as these can cause problems.

At 38, is it my ‘mid-life crisis’ car? I don’t think so, it’s just a much more sensible option for these modern times we live in (although not as sensible as a three-cylinder TDI might have been, of which I only saw three advertised at a 2000-2002 vintage). Yes the Clio 172 would have been more fun in an enthusiast sense, but the possibly flaky build and cheap-looking interior did it no favours. Have I made the right choice? I’m hoping my first foray into GTI ownership will be as much of a pleasure to own as its driveway predecessors, but only time will tell. But, when your other half tells you it’s a good-looking car, you know you could be onto a winner.

Climair UK Ltd are the sole agent for Climair wind and rain deflectors, and the Sidcup company has a small number of Polo deflectors for 1994-2000 models that it is offering to PoloDriver.com readers at a significantly reduced price of £27.62, inclusive of carriage and VAT. This special price for a pair of deflectors is not available on the company’s website – the usual price is £59.95 – so if you would like to secure a set, call the dedicated phone line on 020 8308 9649 and quote Polo 282 (part no 1730) when ordering. The offer is available on a first come first served basis due to limited stocks.

A tarmac or gravel-spec motorsport Polo is nothing new. Volkswagen launched the club-level Volkswagen Polo Rally Challenge in 2001 and officially fielded a Super 1600 version of the Polo GTI around the same time. There were Series 4 Polo-based rally cars, too, with entries in events in South Africa and Europe from 2002. Super 2000 (S2000) Polos were even running in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge as late as year. If WRC participation becomes a reality and the new Polo goes rallying, it will add yet another motorsport string to its bow; the track-based Volkswagen Polo Cup India starts in June.

Now that the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup championship has been replaced by a Scirocco-based series and with the WRC reportedly switching to S2000 cars in 2011, the time could be right for a new motorsport version of the Polo. Autocar states that even Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen thinks a new Polo (or Golf) rally car could be a possibility: ‘If we decided to go with the WRC, my view is that we would need at least a year and a half to prepare, so we would be looking at coming in for 2012,’ he said.