Should I buy the Polo 77tsi?

[chief]

Currently own a 2010 3dr Holden Barina with Sunroof with 11,000km which I hate!

I was looking at the Nissan tiida sedan and the VW polo 77tsi. I have driven the Nissan tiida while I was learning to drive (instructor car) which was nice and way better then the Holden barina (aka daweoo crap). Made a list of pros and cons for both cars but is the polo worth the money. Did some reading on the forums here and there seem to be issues with them and I'm hearing alot of vw issues throughout their models.

Polo

Pros:

• heated power door mirrors
• brake assist
• speed alert warning
• electronic stability control
• traction control
• cruise control
• disc brakes (front & rear)
• electronic brake force distribution
• electronic differential lock
• rain sensing wipers
• multi-function leather steering wheel
• automatic climate control
• automatic dimming rear-view mirror
• sports suspension
• low tyre pressure indicator
• front fog light
• 17" alloys
• fuel efficient 5.5l/100km
• front arm rest

Cons:

• price
• built in south africa

Tiida

Pros:

• cheap price
• roomy interior

Cons:

• rear drum brakes
• built in thailand
• would run off crap e10
  

With the polo list I added comfort/sport pack, list includes what the tiida doesn't have. Tiida drive away is $21,242 according to nissan site and the polo would be around $26,000 drive away with options according to discountnewcars. So looking at a diff of $5,000 but for that you get so much more features.
Haven't seen the polo in the flesh but I will be, If I like it and don't hear major issues with it I will do a trade and buy.
Just want to see what people think I should do.

EDIT:
I have decided to go with the Suzuki Swift Sport for $25,000 drive away

[team_v]

I would go the Polo, or a Fiesta.

The Tiida's look ugly, and the cheap price means you lose out on a lot of things that are in the polo.

[tinto]

Built in SA isn't a bad thing IMO. Hard to get your head around on a German car, but It wouldn't stop me buying a VW from there again.
My first Golf (GT Sport) didn't miss a beat in terms of build quality. Current one is from Germany but I cant tell the difference.

What are the Polo GTIs coming in at price wise?
I'll second team_v's opinion - polo or fiesta at this price point - both European in some way.
Tiida is a nissan dealer's courtesy car IMO.

[GTi Crow]

Had a Golf GTI (Mk5) built in South Africa - didn't miss a beat for the 4 years I had it. Also had a Golf GTI (Mk6) built in Germany and am awaiting another one to replace it (written off - no fault of the Golf). My son has a Polo GTI (last model) built in Spain again no issues. Picked up a Polo 77TSI two weeks ago - while not a GTI (I am also not paying the same price) - the latest model is definitely an improvement style wise and I have nothing but admiration for it.

Why I selected a Polo - certainly I am pro Golf and it made sense to have indicator stalks on the same side of the steering wheel for a change - but I had certain criteria even though the car will be the wife's main drive once my GTI arrives. Criteria was:
1. had to have disk brakes on all 4 wheels (you will be surprised how many have drums on back - definitely old technology),
2. wife will not drive a manual, so need automatic and did not want old transmission box, - had to be a modern DSG or clutchless manual type of transmission,
3. wanted something that was econimcal on fuel Polo 77TSI 5.5 l/100k
4. while wifes car did not want it underpowered - had to have a 0 - 100kph under 10 seconds (Polo &&TSI 9.5)
5. did not want a shape that is "old" and would be replaced shortly
6. wanted a few bells and whistles in it
7. wanted alloy wheels
8. car needed to be available reasonably quickly - sick of being a one car family since the Golf GTI went to car heaven.
9. colour had to be white, grey or silver - wife's choice
10. Prefered 15 inch wheels rather than smaller.

Compared all cars in the high teens to high twenthy thousand dollars and eliminated them - in the end the Polo ticked enough boxes and got a reasonable deal from the saleswoman (probably help as I was signing up for the GTI at the same time), although would have gone for the comfort pack if I had time to wait (and probably sports pack).

Only drawback is that while a number had bluetooth, the Polo doesn't - wife won't answer the phone while she is driving anyway.

Put your requirements down on paper and check them off against all cars. Go to carpoint.com.au or one of the other websites that lists all new cars and their specs and compare.

Hope that helps in your decision.

[themmc]

The Bluetooth thing is really annoying. Especially when the RCD510 has a module that's working in other cars. One other option I think is sad it's missing these days is the lack of automatic light sensing headlights. My wife's 5 year old car has that. But 77TSI is very good value and really quite nice to drive.

[deejay350sl]

Alarm with Tow Away & Motion sensors anyone got that pack on their polo? Are the motion sensors parking sensors? Does the polo have option for parking sensors?

[Corey_R]

If you go to any car forum site, there are lots of problems. Unfortnately that's why many people come to forums, to discuss/figure out their problems. Can't really say that any of the 3 VW's I've owned over the past 3 years have had problems (granted, I've only had my current one for ~2 weeks).

The other thing about Volkswagens, even at the Polo level, is that they include a lot of "features" and little nice things that many other cars don't have, but which aren't "feature list worthy". Things that you only discover by reading the manual and owning and driving the cars.

The other big things that I like about Volkswagens are their ergonomics (my previous gen Polo GTI, despite being a "small car" has much better ergonomics than so many other cars, including the much larger Focus hatch I drive).

And finally, safety. Volkswagen are exceptional at safety. Not only are their cars always great handling and responsive cars, meaning you've got more chance of "crash avoidance" than many other cars at their price, but they have exceptional crash test results. You need to go beyond the ANCAP results though. Australia is still stuck a few years behind where they don't take rear impact or roof impact results into account. For example, the Mazda CX7 is a 5 star car here, yet in Europe it gets a ZERO in rear impact tests, and is therefore only a 4 star car there. VW are always excellent in the rear impact and roof tests (from America).

So there is ways more value in your additional cash than even your list displays.
Good luck on your purchase, which ever way you go.

[cameronp]

So first off, I'll echo everyone else's opinion so far and say: don't get the Tiida. When I was a student, I used to drive an N16 Nissan Pulsar which is very similar to the Tiida. It was a sort-of-okay car in 2003. In 2010, it's just way behind most of the other new cars out there. Also, you mentioned getting a Tiida sedan; having owned a small sedan in the past and small hatchbacks afterwards, I'd take a hatch over a sedan any time I had the choice. As other people have mentioned, I'd be looking at the Ford Fiesta as my second choice behind the Polo.

Corey also makes a lot of good points about the advantages of VWs.

I notice you've listed a lot of features for the Polo which I believe only come with the optional sports and comfort packs. Personally, if money is an issue that would be the first place I'd cut back. My Golf comes standard with all of those gadgets (auto lights, auto wipers, cruise, climate), but honestly I wouldn't miss them much if they were gone.

There's a couple of other cars you might want to consider that nobody has mentioned yet, too: the Honda Jazz and the Ford Focus. The Jazz is a fantastic car in lots of ways, and although not "fun" like some of the others, very practical for a small car and solidly made. You should also be able to get a base model Ford Focus for about $21,000 drive-away - Ford dealers will discount desperately if you so much as sneeze at them this time of year. It's a very basic car with a terrible interior and no features, but IMHO for the money it's surprisingly fun to drive, and much bigger than the Polo if that's of use to you.

One final thing: you never said if you wanted a manual or automatic. If you want an auto, the Polo is the obvious choice because the DSG is heaps better than the slushboxes in other small cars which are, well, mostly rubbish.

[William_Foster]

In support of what Cameronp said; we looked at the competition before signing an order for the Polo, the Jazz came a very close second. If money is a concern, this is a good back-up plan.

The big difference we saw between the cars was the fuel economy; the Polo in the test drive was brilliant compared to the others [We ended up getting the diesel so you can't really compare this to the Jazz]; I know the Ford says it has good fuel economy but how you have to drive to get it means I would never see good fuel economy figures. The other big difference was the feel of the interior; it sounds a little stupid but the Polo feels nice to touch; the competition very much felt like hard plastic.

At the end of the day it all comes down to your budget; the Jazz especially gets a lot of features for a good price; but I personally wouldn't buy it over the Polo.

[themmc]

The other big difference was the feel of the interior; it sounds a little stupid but the Polo feels nice to touch; the competition very much felt like hard plastic.

Not sure why that's stupid. The Polo is a nice place to sit - felt at home quickly - but am familiar with VWs. The others I looked at for similar money weren't. And I agree, the Polo is a nice thing to drive. The turbo lag of the 77TSI takes a bit but I felt comfortable driving it straight away after getting out of my Peugeot 206 GTI.