UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Just joined up as we are about to buy a MK10 Polo. My wife will be the primary driver, but I'm sure I'll drive it a bit as well...

Our recent cars are VW Golf R (MK7) which is now gone. And still have our Mercedes-AMG GLC43, an Audi A4 3.0 Quattro TIP Convertible (going soon), and most recently a Volkswagen Golf GTI MK2 (my daughters for when she turns 17). So daily drivers varied between 240-400 HP...

My wife really fancied the Polo as a daily runabout as she does with all her trips about 17.5K miles per annum, and was using the AMG and sick and tired of filling it up with £70 fuel every 5 days

We both like the shape of the MK10 but were a little bit surprised by the gap in the range; either a 1.0 or a 2.0...Coming from the cars we are used to we instantly discounted the 1.0 engines and it had to be the 2.0 thus GTI. It took us a while to find a dealer with a demonstrator but we had one to drive last Saturday. The other surprise is that the Beats sound system is only on the Beats or GTI models, why not on the rest of the range????

Anyway we had a test drive in the GTI+ last Saturday and were both left really disappointed. The ride in our opinion and comparison to our other vehicles was terrible. Overly firm, you can feel every little bump in the road when sitting in the back. It never felt like it settled and was just constantly moving about. Also found that the engine sounded a bit rough, not a nice sound. And the exhaust was popping which seems to be fake and unnecessary for such an engine. Reminded me a lot of my Golf R where longer journeys on secondary roads can be quite tiresome. But worst to me was that the chassis didn't seem to cope that well with the power through the front wheels. I didn't even floor it and was in Normal but drove off with tyre squeal and skidding tyres. Reminded me off when I had a high powered (280Hp) Saab 93 T18 with front wheel drive. Also in Sport mode there seem to be resonance from a sound actuator, reminded me of the Golf R where I had to use VCDS to turn the volume down. At least I think it was that as it went away in Normal mode. The car had done 7k miles, was on standard wheel, and tyres looked absolutely fine to me.

So unfortunately it is not for us, just didn't find it a relaxed drive.

The sales guy noticed it on the test drive, and it was a decent long and varied test drive where both my wife and I drove. So on the way back I asked whether they have a demonstrator with the 1.0 engine as he kept saying it isn't underpowered. They had to move some cars around but had an SE-L with 1.0 115 with DSG on standard wheels. So 15 minutes later and we took that one for a spin. And wow, what a difference to the car that made. I had to eat some humble pie as that engine had plenty of power to go up and down the hills without screaming engine, was easy to accelerate in a normal way. Was really comfortable both my daughter and wife remarked how much better it was in the back and really comfortable. That was a real surprise to me. My wife didn't drive it, but she could feel that it was plenty powerful and loved the not so rough engine note in comparison to the GTI and the ride and everything.

So we went in totally expecting to buy a GTI+ but ended up with a 1.0 SE-L....Nearly a 1/4 of the power of the daily drive that my wife had until today, I did not see that one coming.

We are thinking off:

• Polo SEL
• 1.0 TSI DSG
• Pure white Black
• 16" Las Minas Dark Adamtium
• Titan Black
• Active Info Display
• Rear view camera display via the vehicle's audio system display
• Electrically heated and adjustable door mirrors, foldable
• LED Headlights
• Style Pack

Configuration code: VRLM3KKE

It is a real shame that the Beats audio upgrade is not available on this model. Anyway, any comments or suggestions around the options or configuration?

Bl4ckGryph0n wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:05 am It is a real shame that the Beats audio upgrade is not available on this model. Anyway, any comments or suggestions around the options or configuration?

It's going to be your car so spec it how you want it. I specced the rear view camera and find it really useful as it gives a view that you wouldn't otherwise see without craning yout neck. Good for reversing out of supermarket car spaces.

I use my GTI+ as a daily and find it comfortable and relatively economical, although it's mainly motorway miles so generally on smooth roads. I did have an SE 115 as a loan car for around 1400 miles and have to agree that the 115 was more comfortable, quieter and refined overall but I still prefer my GTI with it's additional spec (love the ACC) and power.

Bl4ckGryph0n wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:05 am Anyway we had a test drive in the GTI+ last Saturday and were both left really disappointed. The ride in our opinion and comparison to our other vehicles was terrible. Overly firm, you can feel every little bump in the road when sitting in the back. It never felt like it settled and was just constantly moving about. Also found that the engine sounded a bit rough, not a nice sound. And the exhaust was popping which seems to be fake and unnecessary for such an engine. Reminded me a lot of my Golf R where longer journeys on secondary roads can be quite tiresome. But worst to me was that the chassis didn't seem to cope that well with the power through the front wheels. I didn't even floor it and was in Normal but drove off with tyre squeal and skidding tyres. Reminded me off when I had a high powered (280Hp) Saab 93 T18 with front wheel drive. Also in Sport mode there seem to be resonance from a sound actuator, reminded me of the Golf R where I had to use VCDS to turn the volume down. At least I think it was that as it went away in Normal mode. The car had done 7k miles, was on standard wheel, and tyres looked absolutely fine to me.

Cannot say I share your experience with the new GTI. I came from a 2015 polo SE with 15" tyres to the new GTI with 18" tyres and love how comfy the new car is. For me it is comparable and going from a manual to a DSG has made city driving much more pleasurable and less jerky. Bear in mind that the tyres that come with the new Polo GTI is known to very hard and lack grip. Also, the tyre pressures that VW recommends on these cars is up at 41PSI which makes them rock hard. As like many other owners here, I swapped my tyres for MPS4 on day one of owning the car and put tyre pressures at a more reasonable pressure of 35PSI.

The only downside I have is much more tyre noise than my older car.

Regarding the sound of the vehicle, if you were testing a pre-WLTP GTI then it won't have the GPF that now comes on all new polos since late September 2018. The noise from the pre WLTP GTI's are noisier and give pops and bangs. To some, that is desired but if you want a quieter exhaust then the GPF GTI's will certainly suit you well. As for the soundackter, if it is too much for you, as your golf R it can be disabled or turned down using VCDS or something like ODB11.

Anyway, congrats on your purchase of the SEL and welcome to the forum. The SEL with all the kit will be a nice car! I test drove an SEL one almost a year ago and it is what sold me on buying another polo, however, I went with the GTI version based on many YT reviews.

roywolfey wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:23 am

Bl4ckGryph0n wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:05 am It is a real shame that the Beats audio upgrade is not available on this model. Anyway, any comments or suggestions around the options or configuration?

It's going to be your car so spec it how you want it. I specced the rear view camera and find it really useful as it gives a view that you wouldn't otherwise see without craning yout neck. Good for reversing out of supermarket car spaces.

I use my GTI+ as a daily and find it comfortable and relatively economical, although it's mainly motorway miles so generally on smooth roads. I did have an SE 115 as a loan car for around 1400 miles and have to agree that the 115 was more comfortable, quieter and refined overall but I still prefer my GTI with it's additional spec (love the ACC) and power.

Agreed, ultimately it is our choice And yes on smoother roads the GTI would be great. We live out of town on top of a hill and the roads are bad, really bad...My wife never used ACC on the Golf R, nor the equivalent on the Mercedes. I like it as well, although I didn't like where VW put the sensor on the Golf R as the bracket was so easy to break and the alignment cost a lot of money. I had to have three brackets and thus alignments. If they put it in the windscreen like the Mercedes I would have the system again.

Bl4ckGryph0n wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:05 am It is a real shame that the Beats audio upgrade is not available on this model. Anyway, any comments or suggestions around the options or configuration?

A few people on the forum have shared their experience with the beats audio system, I think the general consensus is that you are not really missing out without it. The option is really just adding a base speaker to the boot, an amp under the passenger seat and maybe uprated speakers but ends up producing over the top base. I don't have the beats system so I cannot give an opinion on it. As for the stock sound system, it is just OK. I have adjusted the settings to make the sound as best as it can but because I play music over android auto it is known to not sound as good as Bluetooth, CD or SD card. If you play music over the latter it should be reasonably good sounding as the stock system.

Bl4ckGryph0n wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:50 am

roywolfey wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:23 am

Bl4ckGryph0n wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:05 am It is a real shame that the Beats audio upgrade is not available on this model. Anyway, any comments or suggestions around the options or configuration?

It's going to be your car so spec it how you want it. I specced the rear view camera and find it really useful as it gives a view that you wouldn't otherwise see without craning yout neck. Good for reversing out of supermarket car spaces.

I use my GTI+ as a daily and find it comfortable and relatively economical, although it's mainly motorway miles so generally on smooth roads. I did have an SE 115 as a loan car for around 1400 miles and have to agree that the 115 was more comfortable, quieter and refined overall but I still prefer my GTI with it's additional spec (love the ACC) and power.

Agreed, ultimately it is our choice And yes on smoother roads the GTI would be great. We live out of town on top of a hill and the roads are bad, really bad...My wife never used ACC on the Golf R, nor the equivalent on the Mercedes. I like it as well, although I didn't like where VW put the sensor on the Golf R as the bracket was so easy to break and the alignment cost a lot of money. I had to have three brackets and thus alignments. If they put it in the windscreen like the Mercedes I would have the system again.

Fair enough, horses for courses. I personally specced the blindspot monitoring which is useful for all of the motorway driving I do.

On the Polo, the Radar is built into the VW badge in the grill. Does the Merc have Radar in the windscreen? I thought windscreens had camera used for lane departure systems rather than radar for Adaptive Cruise Control.

l3rady wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:46 am

Bl4ckGryph0n wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:05 am Anyway we had a test drive in the GTI+ last Saturday and were both left really disappointed. The ride in our opinion and comparison to our other vehicles was terrible. Overly firm, you can feel every little bump in the road when sitting in the back. It never felt like it settled and was just constantly moving about. Also found that the engine sounded a bit rough, not a nice sound. And the exhaust was popping which seems to be fake and unnecessary for such an engine. Reminded me a lot of my Golf R where longer journeys on secondary roads can be quite tiresome. But worst to me was that the chassis didn't seem to cope that well with the power through the front wheels. I didn't even floor it and was in Normal but drove off with tyre squeal and skidding tyres. Reminded me off when I had a high powered (280Hp) Saab 93 T18 with front wheel drive. Also in Sport mode there seem to be resonance from a sound actuator, reminded me of the Golf R where I had to use VCDS to turn the volume down. At least I think it was that as it went away in Normal mode. The car had done 7k miles, was on standard wheel, and tyres looked absolutely fine to me.

Cannot say I share your experience with the new GTI. I came from a 2015 polo SE with 15" tyres to the new GTI with 18" tyres and love how comfy the new car is. For me it is comparable and going from a manual to a DSG has made city driving much more pleasurable and less jerky. Bear in mind that the tyres that come with the new Polo GTI is known to very hard and lack grip. Also, the tyre pressures that VW recommends on these cars is up at 41PSI which makes them rock hard. As like many other owners here, I swapped my tyres for MPS4 on day one of owning the car and put tyre pressures at a more reasonable pressure of 35PSI.

The only downside I have is much more tyre noise than my older car.

Regarding the sound of the vehicle, if you were testing a pre-WLTP GTI then it won't have the GPF that now comes on all new polos since late September 2018. The noise from the pre WLTP GTI's are noisier and give pops and bangs. To some, that is desired but if you want a quieter exhaust then the GPF GTI's will certainly suit you well. As for the soundackter, if it is too much for you, as your golf R it can be disabled or turned down using VCDS or something like ODB11.

Anyway, congrats on your purchase of the SEL and welcome to the forum. The SEL with all the kit will be a nice car! I test drove an SEL one almost a year ago and it is what sold me on buying another polo, however, I went with the GTI version based on many YT reviews.

Thanks...Yes it was a 19 plate so I guess post WLTP. I fully appreciate that some like the pops and bangs, I appreciate them as well when I have a spirited drive but as they are slightly artificially introduced they should have in my opinion a mode where that is switched off. Regarding the sound actuator, we did switch it off using the display but it was still giving a resonance. It may be the specific car I don't know, or maybe I'm just sensitive to it.

roywolfey wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 12:01 pm

Bl4ckGryph0n wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:50 am

roywolfey wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:23 am
It's going to be your car so spec it how you want it. I specced the rear view camera and find it really useful as it gives a view that you wouldn't otherwise see without craning yout neck. Good for reversing out of supermarket car spaces.

I use my GTI+ as a daily and find it comfortable and relatively economical, although it's mainly motorway miles so generally on smooth roads. I did have an SE 115 as a loan car for around 1400 miles and have to agree that the 115 was more comfortable, quieter and refined overall but I still prefer my GTI with it's additional spec (love the ACC) and power.

Agreed, ultimately it is our choice And yes on smoother roads the GTI would be great. We live out of town on top of a hill and the roads are bad, really bad...My wife never used ACC on the Golf R, nor the equivalent on the Mercedes. I like it as well, although I didn't like where VW put the sensor on the Golf R as the bracket was so easy to break and the alignment cost a lot of money. I had to have three brackets and thus alignments. If they put it in the windscreen like the Mercedes I would have the system again.

Fair enough, horses for courses. I personally specced the blindspot monitoring which is useful for all of the motorway driving I do.

On the Polo, the Radar is built into the VW badge in the grill. Does the Merc have Radar in the windscreen? I thought windscreens had camera used for lane departure systems rather than radar for Adaptive Cruise Control.

Sorry you are correct, it is behind the grill logo for the lidar. The windscreen has got the other cameras for traffic signs and lane departure etc.

The Golf had it below the bumper in the valance, interesting that they've moved it up for the Polo...

Good shout on the blindspot monitoring, that can be useful

The Mk.7.5 Golfs have it moved to the VW Logo too.

I may be biased, but it might be worth looking at the Ibiza and A1 too. My Ibiza Xcellence Lux has all those extras you've specified, plus ACC, keyless entry, and alcantara upholstery, and it's cheaper! The A1 also has the 1.5 TSI engine available, with 150PS, which might be worth a look. It's a real shame they removed that engine from the Ibiza, and never offered it in the Polo in the UK.

Got to give a +1 for the 1.0 115PS engine. It might only be a 3-cyl 1.0, but it doesn't drive like one (except for the fuel economy!). I'm very, very happy with it.

I guess it comes down to what your used to. I came from a 2015 Ibiza Cupra to the polo gti and I find the polo pretty smooth in normal mode, it is a more compliant over bumps and a comfortable car in my opinion. I do find the engine makes alot of weird groaning noises but generally sounds good to my ears. Mine is a 68 reg and it doesn't make any banging or popping noises, I feel robbed. lol! I also havent found any problems with grip as yet but have only driven it in dry warm weather so far. perhaps yours was remapped?

@Bl4ckGryph0n; it’s possible that the GTI+’s suspension was set to ‘Sport’ mode in the driver profile selection if you found the ride was overly firm. Owners of the GTI+ on the forum have commented on how compliant the suspension is ‘Normal’ mode.

The 1.0 115ps engine mated to the DSG transmission does seem to be a good combination. Did the dealer give any indication on current expected lead times for a factory build and when you might get your car?

Bl4ckGryph0n wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 12:02 pm

l3rady wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:46 am

Bl4ckGryph0n wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:05 am Anyway we had a test drive in the GTI+ last Saturday and were both left really disappointed. The ride in our opinion and comparison to our other vehicles was terrible. Overly firm, you can feel every little bump in the road when sitting in the back. It never felt like it settled and was just constantly moving about. Also found that the engine sounded a bit rough, not a nice sound. And the exhaust was popping which seems to be fake and unnecessary for such an engine. Reminded me a lot of my Golf R where longer journeys on secondary roads can be quite tiresome. But worst to me was that the chassis didn't seem to cope that well with the power through the front wheels. I didn't even floor it and was in Normal but drove off with tyre squeal and skidding tyres. Reminded me off when I had a high powered (280Hp) Saab 93 T18 with front wheel drive. Also in Sport mode there seem to be resonance from a sound actuator, reminded me of the Golf R where I had to use VCDS to turn the volume down. At least I think it was that as it went away in Normal mode. The car had done 7k miles, was on standard wheel, and tyres looked absolutely fine to me.

Cannot say I share your experience with the new GTI. I came from a 2015 polo SE with 15" tyres to the new GTI with 18" tyres and love how comfy the new car is. For me it is comparable and going from a manual to a DSG has made city driving much more pleasurable and less jerky. Bear in mind that the tyres that come with the new Polo GTI is known to very hard and lack grip. Also, the tyre pressures that VW recommends on these cars is up at 41PSI which makes them rock hard. As like many other owners here, I swapped my tyres for MPS4 on day one of owning the car and put tyre pressures at a more reasonable pressure of 35PSI.

The only downside I have is much more tyre noise than my older car.

Regarding the sound of the vehicle, if you were testing a pre-WLTP GTI then it won't have the GPF that now comes on all new polos since late September 2018. The noise from the pre WLTP GTI's are noisier and give pops and bangs. To some, that is desired but if you want a quieter exhaust then the GPF GTI's will certainly suit you well. As for the soundackter, if it is too much for you, as your golf R it can be disabled or turned down using VCDS or something like ODB11.

Anyway, congrats on your purchase of the SEL and welcome to the forum. The SEL with all the kit will be a nice car! I test drove an SEL one almost a year ago and it is what sold me on buying another polo, however, I went with the GTI version based on many YT reviews.

Thanks...Yes it was a 19 plate so I guess post WLTP. I fully appreciate that some like the pops and bangs, I appreciate them as well when I have a spirited drive but as they are slightly artificially introduced they should have in my opinion a mode where that is switched off. Regarding the sound actuator, we did switch it off using the display but it was still giving a resonance. It may be the specific car I don't know, or maybe I'm just sensitive to it.

I don't think the salesperson has done you any favours on the set up of the Polo GTI, there's a lot of stuff there that could've been changed.

Was the demo on 18" or 17" wheels? If on 17", it'll have been on fairly comfy Michelin Primacy tyres. If on 18" tyres, likely stock Bridgestone Turanza tyres which are noisy, rock hard and lack traction and turn in grip.

After suffering Bridgestones on a number of previous VWs and knowing what a hindrance they are, I was first here to swap out to Michelin PS4 after the back end got away from me doing a pretty standard manoeuvre on the Bridgestones. PS4 are much grippier, it's much harder to initiate tramping from a standstill and they're softer/quieter. We have both an 18 reg pre-WLTP and 19 reg GPF equipped GTI+. The 2019 variant has no pops or bangs, and on the 2018 version, they're very subtle anyway.

If the soundaktor annoys and you want a softer ride, I'd have gone with DCC in normal (softer ride) and engine noise (soundaktor) in eco and left everything else in Sport setting (all within individual mode, and keeping DSG in D mode, not S mode)

Sounds to me that your test drive was in straight Sport mode with hard damping, soundaktor in the noisier output, on (probably) crappy Bridgestone tyres.

I came from a Golf R that I owned for almost 4 years, and apart from the stronger shove and unflappable 4WD grip, I prefer driving my Polo GTI+, the Golf was fast but a bit sterile.

If you put 200ps through front wheel drive and don't add an LSD, you will get tramping with a spirited start. Add in Bridgestone tyres and you tramp from 40% throttle in the dry and 30% in the wet.

You might want another go in a GTI with the individual settings to be sure your test drive hasn't been misrepresented.

l3rady wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 12:00 pm

Bl4ckGryph0n wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:05 am It is a real shame that the Beats audio upgrade is not available on this model. Anyway, any comments or suggestions around the options or configuration?

A few people on the forum have shared their experience with the beats audio system, I think the general consensus is that you are not really missing out without it. The option is really just adding a base speaker to the boot, an amp under the passenger seat and maybe uprated speakers but ends up producing over the top base. I don't have the beats system so I cannot give an opinion on it. As for the stock sound system, it is just OK. I have adjusted the settings to make the sound as best as it can but because I play music over android auto it is known to not sound as good as Bluetooth, CD or SD card. If you play music over the latter it should be reasonably good sounding as the stock system.

I notice that. We may have to loosen up the standard system and take it from there and see what it is like. Then as you say can always upgrade it aftermarket.

vc-10 wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 12:58 pm The Mk.7.5 Golfs have it moved to the VW Logo too.

I may be biased, but it might be worth looking at the Ibiza and A1 too. My Ibiza Xcellence Lux has all those extras you've specified, plus ACC, keyless entry, and alcantara upholstery, and it's cheaper! The A1 also has the 1.5 TSI engine available, with 150PS, which might be worth a look. It's a real shame they removed that engine from the Ibiza, and never offered it in the Polo in the UK.

Got to give a +1 for the 1.0 115PS engine. It might only be a 3-cyl 1.0, but it doesn't drive like one (except for the fuel economy!). I'm very, very happy with it.

Good suggestions, unfortunately my wife doesn't like the look of the A1 nor the Ibiza so it is a none starter...

cupracing wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 1:34 pm I guess it comes down to what your used to. I came from a 2015 Ibiza Cupra to the polo gti and I find the polo pretty smooth in normal mode, it is a more compliant over bumps and a comfortable car in my opinion. I do find the engine makes alot of weird groaning noises but generally sounds good to my ears. Mine is a 68 reg and it doesn't make any banging or popping noises, I feel robbed. lol! I also havent found any problems with grip as yet but have only driven it in dry warm weather so far. perhaps yours was remapped?

I doubt it as an official main dealer demonstrator.