UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hi all, just joined.
I am starting the process of buying a new Polo bluegt and wondered what other owners felt had been worthwhile options and which they wished they hadn`t had.
I am thinking of:
Pearl Black
Convenience pack
Heat insulated glass
Front rear parking sensors
Front arm rest
I am not sure if I should drop the arm rest and Parking sensors and go with Sat Nav?
My other dilemma is DSG or manual, I have driven the manual and enjoyed it but have a real temptation for the DSG box, but what is it like to live with?

So what are your options and do you wish you had dropped some for others? and what has been the most worthwhile.
Any opinions would be greatly appreciated
Rob

Colour is a very personal thing, but I think a small car like the polo suits the flat colours. If you want pearl though, go for it!

Re parking sensors, and again this is a personal thing, I really don't see the point unless you only have tight on street parking when I can possibly see it might help. Otherwise, you can see pretty well where the nose and tail are I find.

Sat Nav? Well, again personally, don't see the point in a factory fit one. They're expensive and I doubt whether you see that money back at sale time. It might make it marginally easier to sell over one that doesn't have it I suppose. A dealer won't care either way come trade in time. Far better to get a full screen digital radio with Bluetooth and music connectivity and then use a smartphone sat nav which will have up to date maps and be transferable between cars, and useful for walking to a city destination after parking up.

Personally, I do like arm rests, so would go with that and the convenience pack is a nice little thing to have too.

I have heated seats and Xenons on mine, two things I will always look out for on a new or used car as I like to see where I'm going properly and I like a warm backside!

DSG or manual, again a very personal thing, but I like both. I do like the Jekyll and Hyde character of the DSG bix though. Docile and lazy when you are, good in traffic jams, and switching to the paddles when you want to 'drive it' is good fun too.

It just adds a bit more to what is a supermini at the end of the day, kind of elevates it above a similar manual car?

Thanks Tooks, really appreciate the input.
I think you have a point about Sat Nav, I could put the money to winter pack as like you say a warm bum in winter is a good thing.
Hoping to test drive a DSG tomorrow and take it from there.

I ticked almost every box for options .

Now I have it I think I could actually do without the arm rest as it gets in the way a little.

I enjoy the DSG and integrated SAT NAV as I don't really like standalone things all over the dash.

As already said a lot of this will be personal choice in the end I guess.

I find the reversing camera very useful and would not be without the folding mirrors. The sunroof is a bit small but lightens up the interior and being able to open it and all the windows remotely is a god send on a very hot day. Arm rest, gets in the way. The sat nav is very good as even when it is not in use it shows the name of the road you are on. The sat nav taps into the traffic report system and will reroute you around known problems. I find voice control very handy too.

Whatever you decide upon I'm sure you will find the car a very good compromise between performance and economy something that in my opinion DSG enhances greatly.

The reversing camera is great, however both that and the parking sensors aren't really necessary. It's a small car with good visibility and I've never struggled once. It doesn't manoeuvre as well as my golf did when reversing I find so I can see some benefit to the camera. The arm rest is the same, in a bigger car it's great but it gets in the way of the handbrake a little bit in my opinion. It is comfy however. The convenience pack is great, xenons look good too if that's still available. Tinted windows and sunroof are really nice options. The Sat Nav works very well, but for the price I'd rather get a Tom Tom and keep the change.

All I know is if you're buying through VW finance then when they value your car they DON'T include any options, they value it as if it's a standard white BlueGT. I was warned about this by my dealer so kept the options to the minimum as it's quite a well specced car as standard. Whatever you get it's a great little car and having had mine 5 months and done 8200 miles I can honestly say it's the most fun I've had whilst being reasonably eco when I want to.

You say the reversing camera is not necessary, perhaps not for you but if you are disabled by spinal injury it is just about the best extra available and it makes my life much easier. My son, who is not disabled also finds it very useful if he has to reverse out of our garage across the footpath. As he says you can only look over one shoulder at a time, the screen view however covers both sides.

One mans luxury is another's necessity.

talking about luxury... sliding sunroof?

A bit small but the remote roof & window opening facility is handy on those rare scorching days and for me having a little less black headlining is a plus.

Ricmondo wrote:You say the reversing camera is not necessary, perhaps not for you but if you are disabled by spinal injury it is just about the best extra available and it makes my life much easier. My son, who is not disabled also finds it very useful if he has to reverse out of our garage across the footpath. As he says you can only look over one shoulder at a time, the screen view however covers both sides.

One mans luxury is another's necessity.

Sorry no offence was intended, it was just in my opinion. It might be necessary for some people. Having said that I find the polo so rubbish at reversing I wish I'd got one now. I don't understand why I could turn my golf on a sixpence whilst reversing but the polo has a much wider reversing arc!

lancslad1985 wrote:

Ricmondo wrote:You say the reversing camera is not necessary, perhaps not for you but if you are disabled by spinal injury it is just about the best extra available and it makes my life much easier. My son, who is not disabled also finds it very useful if he has to reverse out of our garage across the footpath. As he says you can only look over one shoulder at a time, the screen view however covers both sides.

One mans luxury is another's necessity.

Sorry no offence was intended, it was just in my opinion. It might be necessary for some people. Having said that I find the polo so rubbish at reversing I wish I'd got one now. I don't understand why I could turn my golf on a sixpence whilst reversing but the polo has a much wider reversing arc!

According to brochures for current Polo and Mk6 Golf the turning circles respectively are 10.6 m's and 10.9 m's, so Polo has a tighter turning circle.

I also like the reversing camera but didn't add it to my order as I felt the parking sensors were sufficient. However we have it on our A6 Avant which is used for towing and it is very handy when aligning the tow ball with the trailer. And I can see the benefits for Ricmondo; makes it essential I'd say.

All the options you list are standard equipment in France, so that kind of shows you how nice they are to have.

Personally, I wouldn't go for a black BGT, because you won't be able to see all the add-ons that make it stand out from boggo Polos. Also, black is a nightmare to keep clean and you'll be able to see swirl marks in the paint, even while it's still at the dealers on delivery day!

The only options I went for - and which I don't regret at all - are heated seats and a sunroof. The car is parked outside in the garden all the time and on a hot day I can open the sunroof slightly with the key through the lounge window. Very nice! I have a reversing camera in my panel van and it is fabulous, but I didn't see the need for it in the Polo.

As for the gearbox dilemma, I have owned two VWs with the DSG and regretted it on both occasions. Even if it had been a no-cost option on the Polo, I wouldn't have taken it. I loved the auto box on my Jaguar XKR, but the BGT is better with a manual, IMHO.

On delivery I fitted some 10mm spacers to the rear wheels, so they didn't look recessed.

Sunroof is a must and heated seats.

Hey guys, no offence taken. I did my spine in by driving sports cars with rock hard suspension in my younger days, fun at the time and later you just have to go with what life has dealt you...the ability to get a blue badge and park on yellows etc is a nice bonus.

If you are thinking about lowering and stiffening take my experience as some kind of warning!

Reading the comments about Polo lock, turning circle etc strikes a cord, the BGT is far harder to turn out of my garage than previous cars that have been longer, wider or both. I can think of no logical explanation.