Polo newbie - please help

[Jerry Buzzard]

After parting with my M135i I've decided to save on fuel and go back to the fun, lightweight hatches. I'm dead set on polo gti, I just need help getting the right one. Any previous m135/140/235/240 owners opinions would be great!

Firstly, I'm going for a dsg with up to 30k miles. Aside from the usual (fsh, oil levels etc) what are the key things to look out for on these? I imagine with this mileage problems should be few and far between? I'm going to look after the car like a baby so will be getting it serviced right away and putting some new boots on it. Any recommendations to help avoid the bad examples and start ownership on the right track with preventative maintenance would be appreciated.

Secondly, I'm unsure on whether I "need" the performance pack. I've always had fun, fast cars, and imagine the polo will be a little more subdued which I'm fine with as it's going to be a long termer and I need a jack of all trades rather than a "chavvy" ST that goes sideways (which I did enjoy mind). However, for me, sound is right up there in terms of enjoyment. Especially leaving a 6 cylinder m135i, I dont want the lack of sound to be too upsetting. I know the sport button pumps sound through the cabin - is this really all that noticeable? Also, does the steering feel and throttle response improve the drive when "pushing on"? In comfort my 135i is dull as anything and I cant imagine it without the change in character in sport and sport+. I really really REALLY dont want the polo to just be a housewife car that accelerates quickly but gets confused when driving fast and starts to trip itself up. Surely if it's a sporty hatch, it's either always on edge or always in commuter mode? I use the paddles all the time when going for spirited drives - does that allow you to dictate the nature of the drive or is it always a bit "bland" when going quick?

As I'm coming out of a wannabe race car, I want the polo to feel as sporty as possible and as I'll be keeping it long term, I dont want any regrets once I've bought one. Is the performance pack just a gimmick or as someone looking for fun should it be a must have?

Finally, back to the "sound" point. Dont ask me why but I love a good old "dsg fart". Always have. I know the polo does the occasional "prrt" on upshifts which is actually very very high up on my wish list (dont judge me). I'm thinking of a res delete to make these more noticeable. If I do this, would this make more of a difference to cabin noise than the sport button?

Basically what I'm trying to say is, as somebody who loves driving on b roads, should I hold out for a performance pack model to come on sale or is it a novelty? And does a res delete make those dsg farts noticeably louder?

I know the "purists" will come for my head on this post. I've had every time of "petrol head" car going, fwd, rwd, auto, manual, turbo, supercharged, naturally aspirated blah blah blah. As a fellow polo owner help me make sure I get the right one is all I'm asking.

Thanks in advance!

[Tex]

Hi,

Let me try put your nerves to ease, I have been in the gti many times and currently have a tsi as in my country it's rare to find the gti never the less like 3 times the price than in the UK.

The polo drives well, compared to many cars ive had and driven the polo is a great all rounder, my only complaint on mine is the suspension, it seems stiffer and harder than other superminis, which means its great for handling and corners, but over bumps its noticeable.

I have taken my 132hp tsi to the track and with my foot flat almost all the time there was no noticeable understeer, and everything was predictable, you point and the car goes there, with the dsg it also helped as sometimes the tires spin to much and the gear changed automatically even in manual, helped me when in was holding on and didnt have time to shift. Basically it handles well, even on my 15" rims there wasnt to much body roll, i wanted to lower the suspension but after the track day im going to leave it as body roll was really low.

I imagine the gti is more stiff, however id recommend the sport pack, it has adaptive dampers so when its in sport the suspension should stiffen up, in comfort it should soften.


In terms of the exhaust. I chose my car over a manual A1 1.4 tsi and Leon FR 1.4 TSI just for those DSG farts. On stock they very muted, i did the res delete and it did nothing , so i reinstalled the res, removed the muffler, added a second res for drone, and the dsg farts are great, did a second decat recently and it doesnt make a huge difference but the throttle response seems nicer. So id go with a more sportier backbox than a res delete.


With the performance pack you should be able to switch between steering and pedal response, the steering wheels are a little Light , so being able to put them in dynamic or sport is a great option to have.

The artificial car sound pumping in was really annoying, however you can actually disable it/remove it completely, on the golfs they located under the bonnet near the windshield, id imagine its the same on the polo.


Overall, id get the performance/sport pack, well worth it, see if you can get a deal with a dealer to include it in the price.


The polos are really fun cars, they light as well and predictable on the roads. Im moving back to the UK end of this year and actually started looking at the polo gti or Ibiza cupras to get when im there, cars are so expensive here that if i sell mine here ill have enough for a gti and insurance in the uk.


Hope this all helps

[MJGTI]

Gona go against the dsg...your asking for problems

[MJGTI]

Gona go against the dsg...your asking for problems

[Tex]

As long as the GTI model is after 2014 and the car has had its proper servicing it should be fine, the dry dsg boxes are pretty good as its zero maintenance oil, the amount of people that have a good experience are more than the ones that have a bad one, im talking about after 2014 DSG models, i know people with the polo gtis that have revo tunes and push the car to the limit and after a year of hard driving everything is fine, but i do agree if you want a long term car that you will take to over 100k miles then it might not make it, its a luck of the draw, i have seen some still good at 150k+ but some getting issues at only 20k, it really is luck, however, if you can get a guarantee for a few years you should be good, i think having a dsg still working after 60k miles has a good chance of lasting longer, as many problems show early in the mileage.


Id say go for it, enjoy the DSG, if your 135 was auto and you go to a manual i think after a while you would have wished you had the dsg because shifts would feel slow, DSG to me its more fun, those shifts are so quick

[Dink]

Dq200 should never have been used on the 1.8 GTI.

Vw had to limit the torque to protect the gearbox and even that didn't completely fix the problems it has.

The zero maintenance in this instance is a bad thing at least with the wet clutches you can change the oil early and actually have a decent amount of torque.

[Jerry Buzzard]

Thanks for the input all.

Have you had bad experiences yourselves of the dsg box in the 1.8 or are you going off somebody elses experience? I dont mean that in a rude way, just a question.

I'm hoping for one with 20k miles and I'll keep for about 3-4 years (that's long term for me). Probably putting about 6-7k miles a year so I'll have up until it has around 45-50k miles.

I'd like to think that VW would make cars to last at least 50k - is that optimistic with the DSG?

Interesting point about not being able to carry out maintenance on the box. Am I right in saying there is a routine dsg service at 40k miles? If so, can this prevent any problems and is it worth getting this done sooner?

Any vag specialists in the North that can crack them open and inspect/repair anything before it goes wrong.

I want the polo and I'd like an auto so the only alternative I'm currently looking at is clio 220 trophy. If the dsg really is made of chocolate I might go for the renault as they seem to last until a minimum of 50k miles.

[Tex]

I have friends with polo gtis, i know 1 that has the 1.4 gti with dsg and one with 1.8 tsi gti with dsg, both have revo remaps, and almost every Wednesday they drag race their cars, post covid, not one has had any faults, however i have 110k km on my 1.2 tsi car and did have dsg issues, all the odd gears had issues engaging , took it to vw and they reset the dsg and updated the firmware, that seemed to help, i do have a issue with 4th it has a delay but only in sport or manual above 4k rpm. For me its fine, after my tune the issue was almost none existent.

The clios are dual clutch as well, as far as i know there arent many EDC boxes from Renault around the previous clio and megane rs were manuals so this is there 1st go at it,and some might also have issues with EDC boxes, i think its to early to say for them but DSG has been around for years, there are a lot of cars with it including seats and skodas, if there are problems its a handful of them out of millions,

Because the dsg is so popular more mechanics have knowledge on it, so support will be greater,

I asked my dealer to do oil change they said the box is sealed and the oil should last a lifetime, however they were willing to change it , obviously at a cost.

The mileage you plan on doing is low, it should be fine, the dsg has a megatronics unit thats smart enough to handle the job and everything you throw at it, if you wont be getting a aggressive tune you should be fine, like i said see if you can get warranty on the car it will give you piece of mind.

Everybody will have their own opinions about DSG, you will get mixed feedback, some like it some dont.


Sorry for the long responses but i want to express my situation in as much detail as possible so you make the right choice.

If you want create a new topic to ask people about their DSG experiences.

[Dink]

You have to think why did vw lower the torque to 250Nm on the 1.8 dsg yet the manual gets 320Nm.

No other polo had to have this done so not really comparable.

I've had my gti for 5 years so been around forums and groups for that long and glad i picked the manual.

So seen loads of people have problems with the dsg (clutch wear, mechatronics failing etc) and when it does go it's always expensive and usually parts are on back order.

You might be lucky and get a good one but I'd say do some research before you commit.

[Jerry Buzzard]

Thanks for that Tex, appreciate it. I know a lot of DSGs are bought by young lads, mainly on pcp where longevity isnt a thought and thrash them before everything has warmed up, get it remapped with no supporting mods etc. which may be to blame in many instances.

I think for the mileage I'm going for and will be doing in my ownership I should hopefully be ok. I better invest in a warranty just in case....

[Jerry Buzzard]

Dink- sorry I havent worked out how to quote on here!

I'll have read up now on dsg failures and see what everyone is saying. I'm assuming a lot of them are not standard and have been tinkered with? I'll have a look anyway.

Since you're a polo vet, gearbox aside, any ownership tips or comments on spec/must haves? Have you got the performance pack equipped?

[Dink]

Dink- sorry I havent worked out how to quote on here!

I'll have read up now on dsg failures and see what everyone is saying. I'm assuming a lot of them are not standard and have been tinkered with? I'll have a look anyway.

Since you're a polo vet, gearbox aside, any ownership tips or comments on spec/must haves? Have you got the performance pack equipped?

nah they fail on completely stock cars just as much, i'm pretty sure vw would of fitted the dq250 if it fitted but doesn't in the 6r chassis.

spec wise you get very little as standard and most things are options so you will more than likely have to compromise on some things. I'm guessing you mean the sport select pack which i did select. it's good for stiffening up the shocks and adds a little weight to the steering. i used vcds to turn down the noise so it adds just a little noise (milltek exhaust drowns most of it out).

The one major thing to look out for is a leaking thermostat housing as that is very common on the ea888 gen 3

[Jerry Buzzard]

Dink- sorry I havent worked out how to quote on here!

I'll have read up now on dsg failures and see what everyone is saying. I'm assuming a lot of them are not standard and have been tinkered with? I'll have a look anyway.

Since you're a polo vet, gearbox aside, any ownership tips or comments on spec/must haves? Have you got the performance pack equipped?

nah they fail on completely stock cars just as much, i'm pretty sure vw would of fitted the dq250 if it fitted but doesn't in the 6r chassis.

spec wise you get very little as standard and most things are options so you will more than likely have to compromise on some things. I'm guessing you mean the sport select pack which i did select. it's good for stiffening up the shocks and adds a little weight to the steering. i used vcds to turn down the noise so it adds just a little noise (milltek exhaust drowns most of it out).

The one major thing to look out for is a leaking thermostat housing as that is very common on the ea888 gen 3

Is the dsg in the 1.8 the same that was in the 1.4 polo gti and ibiza cupra?

Could you link me a thread that discusses dsg issues? I can only find 1 that's from aus and the others i can find are just saying to avoid the dsg but not actually having problems themselves.

Is the sport button a must have? I've found one with the right spec (everything bar arm rest which I'd fit myself anyway), but doesnt have the sport button. I dont want to get it and regret in 6 months because it's a bit dull - is the throttle response and stiffer suspension a massive improvement over comfort and can you have fun without it?

Also, what miltek are you running? I had a non resonated custom cat back on an ep3 type r and it was unbearably boomy. Only experience of an exhaust mod I've had. Does the polo sound good with a decent exhaust? Any drone?

[Tex]

I researched a lot before chosing my DSG, i completely ignored the 1.4 TSI GTIs because of its chain and DSG issues, with AUS, the issue was on post 2014 DSG boxes, they had to change the oil or something, that's why I'm saying to get one after 2015 at leaste.

The polo has the DQ200 because it's cheap and it's light, all DQ200 boxes are limited to 250nm, with APR they told me if I do the tune they won't give me more than 240 to 250nm ,just to be safe, it's not bad it's just a limit to prevent any more agressive wear.

There was a world-wide recall on the boxes to service them, as far as I'm aware , most of the UK polos weren't affected, I lived in South Africa for a while and if I'm not mistaken the VW polo was made there for the UK market, and they mostly stocked 90% DSG GTIs in SA and no complaints there , and in South Africa they really push the cars, also because of the big roads and insurance doesn't care about your mods.

The car will still be fun without the sport suspension, with regards to the steering wheel I adjusted mine through Carista to make it a bit more weighted but turned it back as I prefer a lighter feel.


With the exhaust, I had bad drone with the res deleted that's why I reinstalled it and just played with the backbox and 2nd cat, no drone and it's bearable.

[Dink]

pretty much the same gearbox as used on the 1.4 Twincharged GTI (think some minor tweeks that's all)

i don't know of a thread that discusses the dsg as i kept well away from it.

i wouldn't say it's a must have especially if you think of putting coilovers on it as you need a £200 delete kit to stop you from getting warnings on the dash about failed suspension and it is nice to knock it on when having a bit of a blast.

yeah doesn't drone at all at "motorway" speeds (ive also got the sports cat with a non res).