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These cars were around before a Vw hatch was every second car on the road. Because of that the owners that bought them felt there was a bit of exclusivity about them and tended to look after them I think. If you hunt it is still possible to find low kay garages examples.
Mileage is important with respect to engine health, gearbox health etc if you do not intend on rebuilding the motor. Having said that, the weak spot in the motor is the rods when you approach 300 lb/ft apparently so if you are after big grunt then you'll need to do the bottom end anyway which makes the above a moot point. But I don't believe you need that much power to make a quick track car anyway. A low kay car will have hoses/coils/ seals eg cam cover gasket, vacuum hoses, that kind of thing less in need of attention.
You will be underwhelmed initially. The engine is under tuned from factory and they are softly bushed, damped, sprung, bar'd so don't handle. Realistically $2k minimum is needed for suspension, bushes and first stages of tune but then you do end up with a car that will be level pegging with today's mini hatches. It'll need a clutch which is another chunk of money too but that's the same for anything you buy at this age. The main thing in your favour is weight. Yes most of the super mini hatches today have 150kw but they also fill them with so much rubbish that they weigh 1250-1350kg+ so aren't any quicker than the pog will be. Some are knocking at 1400kg. They generally have the exact same underpinnings as the Polo too so chassis-wise arent really a step ahead majorly in any department except nvh comfort and more buttons to push. If you want to track one you are better off being taken for a drive in one by someone who has properly modded there's and then you'll know what you are heading for.
Bang for buck they are one of the good ones. They can be made to handle very well, the standard brake are very capable, thy have decent seat/seating position, a tune completely changes the engine performance, the gearboxes are strong and apart from some very well known things that can go wrong with them (SAI, coils that are therefore a cinch to fix) they are reliable. These engines are like lego too with other cars like golf mk4, audi - manifolds, turbos, inlets manifolds etc giving a high degree of interchangeablility. On the chassis side the interchangeability of parts isn't as high as with other VAG cars as not that many were sold with this chassis so suspension, intercooler kits etc will be overseas brands or sourced with less stuff from the wreckers.
(you didn't hear that from me). Sourcing used parts is also somewhat of a challenge, so that can get pricey buying all new parts for a $6k car, e.g. my LSD cost $3k and I pulled the gearbox out and reinstalled myself (didn't open the box myself). But you can build a fast, reliable car for reasonable dollars, there's a few build threads on the forum with tried and tested results.
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