1988 mk2 VW Polo CL Goes for a Drive

[@LN997-i8x]

As a Canadian, I'm extremely jealous of all the interesting small cars you Brits have/had access to in your market!

[@jedw]

As a Brit I’m extremely jealous of all the interesting BIG cars you have/had access to in your market! Lol

[@jasoncornell1579]

Yeah well I'm a Brit and I wish we'd had access to all the reliable 4x4s u Canadians had access to😁

[@Landie_Man]

Jason Cornell I’m not sure 1980s American cars and reliability and quality are words that ever work in the same sentence.

[@jasoncornell1579]

@@Landie_Man I was thinking about fun stuff like the original Bronco and the early Dodge Ram trucks the 80s stuff I hears was cheap but not something u would want to rely on

[@haziqhashim2618]

@@jedw as a non North american. Yeh me too

[@iliaslamari7315]

*My dad owned one of the these mk2 Polo's for almost 18 years!* He bought it in 1990 when it was 2 years old with a very low mileage as a salvage car. An old lady crash it, a 1988 1.3 FOX. He fixed it up and loved it. He moved house in it with ease because of that big load space when the back seat is down. The thing just ran and ran without any trouble at all for all those years. In its final years my dad absolute abused it. He didn't change the engine oil for over 4 years so the oil filter became so rusty that it rusted through and the thing still ran fine. Brought it to a salvage yard somewhere around 2007 because of the rust on the floor and sills. VW made simple, but great cars back then.

[@Paraclete333]

I think your dad wanted a new car but the old one wouldn't break so he had to do something about it.

[@localreviewking134]

the dreaded sills

[@flemmingsorensen5470]

Back when VW dared to keep it simple.... cracking car, cracking review 👍

[@mehrzahl2219]

Most 1.3 engines only produced 55 bhp. In NL, only the GT versions had the 75 bhp engine. Incredibly clean car you found!

[@danmoney9932]

Yes spot on we didn't get the 75bhp in the UK and our coupe GT was called the coupe S

[@paultasker7788]

I was curious why these made 74 bhp when my M reg polo mark 3 1.3cl only had 55 bhp. 75 would have been nice in that as far heavier than the mark 2. 55bhp was good in town with that but slow overtaking or getting up to speed on motorway slip roads. If that's not a GT unless it's had engine upgrade it will have 55bhp. My mum had the 45bhp 1.0 prince. Wasn't even a clock in that!

[@p166mx]

@@paultasker7788 I was thinking in that, a car that weighed this little in 1988 75bhp would have been a lot. My 67 plate Fabia has all sorts of gadgets on it such as emergency assist, yet is only 75bhp. To be fair it does have a 1.0 3 cylinder engine though. This car is also basic compared to my dads 1987 base model Lada Riva but I bet that was a pig to drive :p In the 1980's superminis were always basic and poverty spec and that didn't really seem to change until around 1990.

[@paultasker7788]

@@p166mx you were lucky to even get a radio as standard. Think radio cassette was an option. Looking at how fast he accelerated I think that's the 55bhp motor. The 75 was actually pretty quick.

[@p166mx]

@@paultasker7788 I am pretty sure this is a 55bhp car, I am pretty sure even my heavier 75bhp Fabia would be faster than this car :). I thought about this is a bit today and if wanted a supermini in 1988 I am really not sure what I would have bought.

[@grayfool]

I had one in that red. It was a van and had no trim inside, just shiny Black plastic door cards. It was also the only new car I've ever bought. The brakes were a bit of an issue. I had a Merc 450SE (1976 W116) and a Mini 1275GT at the time. After driving the Polo I would jump into either of the others and stamp on the brakes as you had to in the VW which stood the car on it's nose! Hilarious, unless you happened to be driving behind at the time. The Polo was a Good, solid, and reliable little thing. As a van, it was the perfect shape of course. Thanks for the memory refresher Matt. I spent many an hour buzzing around East Anglia fixing and servicing industrial refrigeration systems in that little box.

[@newforestroadwarrior]

Most pre-facelift Mk II Polos didn't have servo assistance for the brakes.

[@grayfool]

@@newforestroadwarrior Yep.

[@richardhayward2899]

@@newforestroadwarrior None of the UK spec cars had a servo. The 1990 MK2F had a revised bulkhead to allow fitment of a small servo which made the brakes a bit lighter to use. Still the same brakes though, perfectly ample on such a lightweight car.

[@newforestroadwarrior]

@@richardhayward2899 That's interesting. I must admit I thought the revised (post 1990) Mk II Polo had a servo. My A-Level chemistry teacher had one, and was always comparing it with the Ford Fiesta ("engineered like a biscuit tin").

[@josvandeursen727]

I have had the same experience with the brakes,they were fine but mine had no power brakes, if you stepped into pretty much every other car of that era, they DID have vacuum-assisted power brakes, and if stepped on those like you did in the polo Van you could easely hurt yourself.......

[@bryjan51]

Wow, polo is mint (sorry, somebody had to say it😁). Seriously, and I nice survivor. Good vid as well Matt.

[@furiousdriving]

oh dear oh dear

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Can’t be a polo, there’s no rust on it. It can only be a polo if it has a hole

[@peterjones2845]

Bought one brand new in 1985, loved it, then bought wife the saloon version, then even bought my daughter one for her first car. They where all trouble free and ace to drive. Happy days

[@TheStwat]

This brings back fantastic memories for me. I had an G plate 1.3 4 speed in the early 2000's. An almost carbon copy of that car apart from the gearbox. I bought it for £150. It was a trade in at the second hand trader I was working for at the time. It was faded to pink and the glovebox was hanging off and missing its door. I machine polished . It stayed bright shiny tornado red until the day I sold it. I also replaced the glovebox insert and lid from a breakers yard. When you used to be able to to go into them and remove your own parts, whilst also filling your pockets with fuses. As if they didn't know you were doing that LOL. I effing loved that car and miss it dearly. It was surprisingly nippy and had shockingly good mid range acceleration in 4th due to the 4 speed box.

[@lotusgroup123]

I owned a van version, in red. The fact a car/van of that age still had a four speed box was a surprise. I’d learned to drive in a much older Austin Maxi, so the Polo was probably the only four gear vehicle I’ve ever driven. It was the first new vehicle I’d owned and my mum told me to keep in clean. At home, that meant a bucket and sponge job from the kitchen to the street, but I’d just started dating a girl whose parents had a tap in the parking area outside the front of their house!!! I washed AND polished that van EVERY weekend as I’d become addicted to the smell of Autoglym (sorry Diamondbrite, it was before your time). This had the unintended and unexpected consequence of causing the tailgate to rust through around the window within a year! The only mod I made was to buy a roll of red pinstripe tape from Halfords and add GTI stripes to the front grille. I was so in love with my little red two seater that one Sunday I took it to Maranello Concessionaires Ferrari dealership, parked it on their forecourt between some other red two seaters, and took a dozen snaps. Great little van 😍

[@doktoruzo]

Great review Matt. Lovely pristine example...credit to its owners. Love the simplicity. Modern cars are too full of stuff to go expensively wrong. I hope you didn't spill any crumbs from your cherry bakewell in there? Lol!

[@willswheels283]

VW Polo 1.3 CL was my first car after passing my test in 2002, it was on a D plate but 87 registered, and it was a kind of jade green. Paid £90 for it, no MOT, fixed all the MOT failure points, 3 months later it passed! Costing only £150 to repair it. These are good little cars, the breadvan as it’s nicknamed is a very practical little estate, had mine just under 2 yrs and sold it on at a profit. Great vid mate thanks, brought back happy memories.

[@gryfandjane]

What an exceptional survivor! The no-nonsense design and simplicity are very appealing. I had a 1978 Golf (or Rabbit as we called it here in the US) as my first “new” car after college, and I loved it for the same reasons; basic but elegant styling (thanks to Giugiaro), and great fun to drive. Good episode, thanks!

[@timbre7999]

LOVE the individual LEDs and the minute LEDs in the switch-sides. In those days LEDs were more costly than standard lightbulbs and manufacturers liked to show them off in the nude, to show just how many coloured LEDs they had used in one cluster. Wonderful '80s design which is as you say sturdy but also very cool. I miss the cars of that era.

[@robenglish416]

Bought mine 1993 model for the LEDs, reminded me of my uncle's 1974 Passat!

[@chriswright9096]

Yes, competitors still had light bulbs in the dash but those LEDs would last forever. The blue LED would have been quite expensive in that era.

[@michaeldebrou8767]

Great nostalgia trip, also my wife drove one of these. Wish we still had it, was such honest simple fun and really handy rear carrying space. Great video thanks.

[@puebespuebes8589]

The polo 2 really look good in real life

[@HakanKoseoglu]

I might have a rosy view of these simple cars but they simply look awesome. Simple, fast enough, spacy and lovely to drive.

[@markharris7662]

When cars were good and uncomplicated. I remember looking at a new one of these. But I couldn't afford it lol.

[@arthurdanielles4784]

We bought one of these back in the 90's with just over 43,000 miles on the clock, one owner from new.. Paid £1.500 for it. It ended up doing over 200,000 miles.. one of the best in so many respects. Totally loved and truly a sad day when it was sold onto a friend for £100 who kept it going for another year or so. Went all over the UK AND NORWAY !! Ultra reliable, cheap to maintain, spares cost almost nothing.. as said, one of OUR all time most loved cars.

[@NaturallyAspirated250]

Thank you Matt, my first UK car in 1999 was a MY 1988 F reg Polo C Saloon in Maroon. I drove it for few years and even once around the UK. The Polo C only had 4 notchy gears, 55 horses, no power steering and a huge boot. I scrapped it due to a rusty filler neck after dripping petrol all the way from Devon to Hertfordshire. The second MK2 was an E reg Polo C bread van in poverty spec with very weak brakes, which I drove till 2009. If my memory serves me right there was also a hatchback version. These cars were the bangernomics standard of its day, the one all bangers were measured by. The good point of all MK2 Polos was the very heavy rust proofing underneath. While Fiestas and Novas got the tin worm after 10 years or less, the Polo had only one weak point which was the petrol filler neck where mud use to accumulate and eventually rust in.

[@petroldrinker]

My first car was a 1985 Polo Formel E when I was 17. My Dad tiled someone's kitchen for it. I put about 20,000 miles on it in my first year, the joy of the freedom of travelling. Some things were different on mine. The heater was excellent, particularly on your feet. It also had vents in the middle of the dash as well as at the side, but the ones on the side were outside air only. Meant you could have the cabin cooking in the winter but a trickle of cold air on your face, I've always missed that. One little detail on the speedometer he didn't mention. Look at the little red dashes on the outside of the numbers. One two three four. These were where you change gear for fastest acceleration. I would love to have my old car back. I'd love to be 17 again too.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Believe it or not, the design started as a AUDI 50 which then morphed into the Mk1 then this one.

[@piuthemagicman]

Audi 50 and Mk1 Polo were 100% the same car, though.

[@volvo480]

The Audi 50 appeared first (it was actually conceived as NSU K50) and the VW Polo appeared a year later with smaller engines with manual choke and available in lower spec, the poverty spec had drum brakes all around. Both had the internal VAG designation "Typ 86" so apart from subtle differences and trim level it was the same car.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Robert Brink I knew all of that....except the NSU bit. Fascinating. My dad had a mk2 as in this video while I had a W reg 1981 Derby, basically the mk1 with a boot rather than a hatch. I loved it. It even broke down when returning my girlfriend home on a first date, meaning we had to spend more time chatting until help came. 33 years later we still chat as she married me a year later. Bloody car has a lot to answer for lol

[@volvo480]

@@ThatMicro43Guy wonderful story. 😊 I drove a Mk2 Polo sedan, which didn't have the rectangular headlights the Derby had, it was just a Polo with a boot and Audi-style tail lights.

[@Georgegerrard_]

@@ThatMicro43Guy ah I want a derby so bad, I have a hatch though 1987 in marine blue

[@4wheelsgood]

My Dad had a 1985 Polo C Saloon. It was proper posh with rear seatbelts and rear headrests!

[@oris247]

I thought it was fab looking- mini Audi!

[@awlonghurst]

My girlfriend had one from new (1986 model) and it was a great car. The steering was very heavy and the brakes had no vacuum assist so I remember once taking it for an MOT and they failed it on brakes, I took it to the local VW main dealer who checked the car and confirmed that the brakes were working as designed. I returned to the MOT station and was reluctantly given a pass certificate. I remember the same VW main dealer trying to interest my girlfriend in a new MK3 Polo which had just come out. He said "It's now got brakes!". It was a great car, very reliable and rust free, the exhaust lasted as long as the car. It was solidly built too. The original automatic choke VW carb wore out and was replaced with a manual choke, twin choke Webber. It absolutely flew when that was fitted. It could take on XR2's and give them fright.

[@bensmithkent22]

Currently parked watching this in Medway services as the M2 is clogged for some reason. Glad I found this channel. Satisfies my car nerd/nostalgic part of my brain. Its nice knowing that many of these road tests take place mere few miles away at the bottom of the downs. Next up the Carina e. All these cars I remember from lifts during primary school days. Call me crazy for remembering this but my one lift in a polo like this was in 1991 back from a Beavers visit to Dartford post office in the winter. I laid down on the back seat. Was a navy blue one and the owner was the same parents who ended up owning the Carina e. They went from being vw golf mk 2 and polo owners to toyota carina e and corolla owners from 93 onwards. The nostalgia is too much.

[@bensmithkent22]

7 mile lane roundabout putting in an appearance near the end of the video.

[@robenglish416]

Oh what memories. I had a blue metallic Coupe (not the estate version), 1993 model with 1,3 L 57 hp engine and a sun roof. Loved that car, the best I have owned. Did 46 mpg however I drove, fast, slow, winter or summer! Only disadvantage was the head room since the sun-roof (I’m 180 cm). Even transported a small sofa from IKEA in it. Dirt cheap to fix any problems. Sold in 2003. I wish I had the car you’re testing, little bit larger engine, no sun roof and little bit more luggage space - then we would have kept it when first child arrived.

[@michele8039]

I still daily drive a mk2 facelift breadvan Polo. Has the 1.05 engine with throttle body injection, catalytic converter, and a 5 speed manual gearbox. Comes with such luxuries as a moonroof, power brakes, a lid for the glovebox, a rev counter and central locking. I'm the second owner, the car has over 120k miles, and it has been very reliable as well as economical. The gearbox is on its way out now though.

[@paulmiller1359]

Back in the late eighties I once got one of these as a courtesy car from a garage. I was amazed that it had a blue LED for the high beam. I had only ever seen red, yellow or green LEDs until then.

[@andrewbarnes1295]

The earlier ones, we had 1982 Y reg, had a yellow LED for the high beam before blue ones were available/cost effective.

[@BackwardFinesse]

I bought one of these used in about 1993. It also was red but it was the Formel E eco model with about 40 horsepower. I bought it from a lady who was a teacher of German and she used to drive to Germany every summer for the school holidays. It consequently had seen a great number of autobahn kilometres and was incredibly fast. Acceleration was abysmal but once up to speed it could hold an indicated 90 mph and lose other Polos. My son used it regularly to drive to work but on cold winter mornings it suffered from carburetor icing for which you had to stop and wait for the heat from the engine to soak through to the carb before it would run again. I think this was a common problem with these cars. I later bought a GL in green with a sunroof, which was a very nice car. My younger son was a student at Nottingham University in about 1995 and was living in the usual student hovel with the Polo. He carelessly left the keys in his room one day and went out. The house was burgled and the burglars made off with his possessions in his Polo. Fortunately, it was recovered by the police. So, I have fond memories of mark 2 Polos - excellent cars and very well built.

[@J4cko999]

We had one of these back in about 1990, I have never had a more puritanical car, it had absolutely nothing on it and wasnt much fun to drive being very slow (1.0) and blessed with dreadful steering and unlike many small cars wasnt enjoyable to throw about. I do however have find memories of it, it never broke, the heater was good and it just did its job, the best bit though was the fact, with the seats down it was basically a small van.

[@davidhall7744]

Loved these wee breadvans 👍 It’ll last longer than the current crop of VWs will (yes Im looking at you Golf mk8 😂).

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Well sir, I think that you know how nostalgic these cars are. My uncle had two, my godmother had one in this colour (but a 1983 model similar to the one your lady wife used to own) which she sold to our childminder, and then my father bought an almost identical E plate one to this car in white. All were bread vans. The red 1983 car was even more basic with no internal mirror adjustment, no wheel trims and even more exposed metal. I am pretty sure that the 1.3 of this era was 55 bhp, as it also went into the early Mark III Polos, and I had one of those as a first car. The interior of a pre-facelift Mark II is just unbelievably basic with the absolute minimum of everything, no more so exemplified with those tiny LEDs on the dashboard and the ridiculously basic heater controls. The larger steering wheel on the early Mark IIs had the old Wolfsburg Castle logo in the centre like on the old Beetles. Having driven a Mark II facelift G40 llast year, I remember the very heavy steering and terrible brakes, which I don't believe were even servo assisted on the pre-facelift right hand drive cars like this one. Volkswagen really gave you absolutely nothing that you didn't absolutely need!

[@furiousdriving]

It is remarkable how heavy such a small, light car can feel! This brought back memories but out A plater was far more basic

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

@@furiousdriving , yes, the one that my godmother, then our childminder, had was just a C as opposed to a CL. I think it was only a four speed too! That really had nothing in it at all.

[@MrGreatplum]

I had a d Reg blue polo bread Van when I was at uni - absolutely loved it - only 4 gears and the massive clock instead of a rev counter. Also useful for carting a lot of stuff around; I remember taking a harpsichord in the back. Sadly, an escort wrote it off by driving into the back of it at a traffic lights. I still managed to drive it home! My sister also had one at one point - very sturdy and she walked away when the car suffered a blow out on the m40 at 70mph - she hit the central reservation, spun into the hard shoulder and hit an emergency phone box!

[@quatz1981]

My dad's first "brand new" car was an F reg Polo Twist 1.0. Great little car and seeing this brings back the memories.

[@jameslovestokyo]

I have so many memories of these being offered as courtesy cars when our Golfs went in for servicing or repairs in the 1980s and early 1990s. They felt so spartan.

[@kimchipig]

I had a 1986 Golf II and it's like going down memory lane seeing this car. So many parts are exactly the same. VW cars have always been built like tanks. My 2018 SportWagen is no exception.

[@loftysaltmarsh69]

I remember ours being basic but very solid. The engine was very smooth.

[@Ben_Mayall]

I will never forget the time I went to the Hospital with my grandma in this car, and when we got back to the car park, it was gone never to be seen again. The car was only a week old as well!

[@danmoney9932]

Sad times. I remember those armour door plates (that fitted around the handle) were popular for the mk2 polo and golf.

[@paultasker7788]

@@danmoney9932 security wise it was pretty much none existent back then as standard.

[@danmoney9932]

@@paultasker7788 indeed, I recall having to get alarms and immobiliser installed on a mk2 golf GTi before anyone would insure it.

[@GeorgiKostadinov04]

My dad used to have a facelift model 1.0 45hp. He had it for more than 10 year and it's been extremely reliable, and he sold it in February this year. Man I miss this car.

Good little motors, those. My missus had one (she had a P reg mark one, too) for a couple of weeks. It was an almost new, dark blue County special model and was lifted outside our house. She worked for the DSS at the time and the police believe it had been stolen to order by a ring that operated out of Romford, where she worked. Yes, a Mk2 Polo stolen to order - maybe for someone they knew, rather than just cash. Her brother had one just like your one there and owned to for between 10 and 15 years and hardly missed a beat. She replaced her stolen one with a much nicer black Polo coupe (1990 facelift model) with the 1.3 litre engine. That was sold to a cousin of ours and went back to Ireland. It was later sold to a friend of their and we saw it around for many years. Good little cars and very comfortable for long journeys.

[@JohnnyPaton]

I had an ‘87 Polo Coupé, D900FTS, back in 2005. Over 3 years it never let me down once and needed very minimal work for each MOT over the three years I owned it. Only 1 litre and 4 speed so I was never getting done for speeding but it never frustrated me. I let it go when I got a company car and I regret that decision to this day. The lack of a brake servo made things interesting until you were used to it. My wife refused to drive it.

[@arkeys74]

That was a big seller in my childhood and youth in Denmark 😃👍

[@GentilsGarage]

Brilliant, my very first car! Fun to drive, economical, practical and reliable! Would love to have one as a starter classic, but they’re thin on the ground.

[@leeyo5494]

Me 2 mine was a 1.0 and went like fook in 2nd gear

[@neilwalsh4058]

How nice to see such a simple but still very useable car and that is an extremely original gorgeous example. We took no notice of these when the streets and car parks were packed with them, but now we realise that age old saying 'you'll miss me when I'm gone' is so very true. VW was still making very spartan cars back then, compared to say an Uno, Nova or a Metro that were comparatively better specified. The VW won on build quality and that basic but functional style is so appealing today when cars offer everything, you only use half of it, but all of it costs and needs maintaining. Superb and informative video as always 👍

[@fhwolthuis]

I had a 1992 Golf 2 with this engine and gearbox, running on 185-60-14 tires without power steering, I know the feeling! But although it had only 55 hp, that too felt pretty nippy below 60 mph. Great little car this Polo, you don't need much more to have fun.

[@alfiewoolard2598]

My mother had one of these, pale blue from 1984. She sold it on to buy a Micra in 1994 but it lived on until 2002, according to the DVLA. Lovelty looking things!

[@danieleregoli812]

We had 1984 one, bought brand new at great expense, in the very same colour. What a lovely, solid, sturdy, spacious car!

[@paddycoleman1472]

My mum and Dad had two of these Polos. Their second one was a red one just like in the video. Theirs had the 1.0 engine. Amazing car, reliable and beautifully built. Loved the pseudo estate design.

[@EvilUnderTone]

Our window cleaner still uses his MK1 polo every day as his work horse and it's immaculate! Speaking as a coachbuilder those early VW Golfs and Polos they were very well made little cars. Be lucky

[@DavidJohnston58]

A proper clock!😁👍 I ended up having to buy an aftermarket clock for my Seat Ateca. There are two clocks on the displays but hidden amongst everything else and so small it could be replicated 100 times on the head of a pin and still leave room for notes!😂

[@jonathanparry5257]

I had a Polo classic C (saloon). My first car. We bought it in 2001 for me and my sister to learn to drive. One owner with 60k on. I sold it after 4 years with over 140k on the clock. It was so reliable. I put at CD player and 4 speakers in it as it only had the one in the dash. Wish I’d kept it.

[@asm1]

Looks exactly like my brother's F Plate model, although his was a 4 speed. He also moaned about the weight of the steering and clutch haha. That little breadvan got him through 90's London and did many a trip to France on the Ferry. Only got rid in 2000.

[@petetube99]

My first car!

[@johnroberts2905]

I had the same engine in my Golf, this car is probably 55bhp, but with a load of torque. You needed the Polo GT Coupe (Normal hatchback shape) to get the 75bhp engine IIRC.

[@jrosam9569]

I had two and a polo Coupe S. Bullet proof with great load capacity. Toured Ireland in one, never let me down and nothing fell of. Unlike my five year old Ford.

[@martijnkosters9024]

Trip down memory lane. My mum had an 1986 900cc C-trimmed model. Dark blue with no options (not even headrests). I even got to push the throttle once as it tried to defrost on a cold morning.

[@nigelcharlton-wright1747]

My sister used have one of these Mk2 Polos. I always felt sick whenever I was in the car. Was told that I was a car snob because I had a Humber Hawk, funny never felt sick in my wife's Mini or my former Allegro Super or any other small car. And for the record I always felt unwell in a 1996 Polo too!

[@RoadCone411]

That's a lovely car. Back when the Mk2 debuted, it was definitely a big change from the original Polo, which was definitely squared-off and one of VW/Audi's first front wheel drive cars. The Mk2 Polo, with the Kammback rear and softly rounded edges actually looked, dare I say, aerodynamic. This car was quite a bit of a revelation, especially if you think how straight-edged the Metro was back then. I know calling this Polo 'rounded' or 'aerodynamic' seems hard to believe, but coming from the 1970s when EVERY car was square and had 90-degree corners, this Polo certainly looked very modern, even compared to the Mk1 Golf with which it shared dealership space. I think the fact that it was produced into the 1990s speaks to how forward-thinking and simple the VW engineering was on this car.

[@alansimpson835]

I always thought it funny that they offered the Polo Coupe alongside it which basically just had a curvier back but was no more sporty. Still, so well built and dependable. I don't reckon you'd have bought one of these in 1988. You'd have heard talk of a Rover Metro with a new fangled sounding K Series engine coming soon and held onto your old Escort a teeny bit longer to save for one

[@ANYTHING-AND-EVERYTHING.]

My driving instructor had one of these, 1990 H reg, was a good car to learn in and pass my test in. This and the Vauxhall Nova are 2 classic small cars from that era.

[@tymac3306]

Something interesting. I live here in Canada, in 87 my parents bought a 1987 Vw fox. This model was built only in Brazil. They were later sold in the US and Canada. You folks in Europe had a different model. Ours was a silver two door sedan. It was powered by the Jetta and Golfs 100 hp 1.8 cis fuel injection by Bosch. In the 1987 to 1992 fox power was reduced to 81 hp, and a 4spd manual only, no auto or 5spd until 1991.Probably due to the GTI and GLI,...Vw wouldn’t want an entry level car being faster then higher models. 0-62 happened in 10 seconds, slow by today’s standard but back then it was on par but usually faster than any v6 powered American car. A two door wagon was also available and so was a 4dr sedan, but not a 4dr wagon. My dad traded his Lada 4x4 in 87 for this..with the full approval of my mom,...she hated the lada, as did I. I was only 9 at the time. I loved Volkswagen Passat, corrados, jetts, GTI I loved them all. I was always washing and driving our Vw around the yard under dads watchful eye. I could drive stick by 10. By this point I had found out a very strange electronic gremlin that lived inside the dash. If I ,...with the keys out of ignition turned the rocker switch to on for the headlights first click parking lights the second click both headlights and parking lights, then place my hand on the blinker arm and pull back on it 2 times and hold it back I could turn on everything electric,...blower fan, wipers, etc,...the if I released the high beam lever the power would stop. I found this interesting. That was when Vw was almost the only make of car you could buy that one could also turn on the radio without having the key in. The headlights would only power up with the key,...except when I would pull the lever twice and hold it on to demonstrate to my buddies how I didn’t need a key to use wipers, or the blower motor etc. The high beams would shine for as long as I held that blinker switch back. From that point on I tried this on every other Vw model, and it never worked. Only the radio would operate without a key but that was common. Fast forward to 1996 I bought a Vw fox 1990 with 62,000kms or 35-40 thousand miles for $5500 Canadian. It was beautiful condition and it too had this electric gremlin. So only the Brazil Vw fox did this,...also know as the Audi Fox. Since, I went through 5 more Vw cars and today enjoy my 2018 golf r,...Vw for life!

[@frimleyfrodo]

Lovely car! I had a 1985 C Formel E with the 1272 engine, the 3+E gearbox and the VW stop/start system which I never trusted to re-start on demand. Mine was 10 years old when I had it, with well over 100k miles and a very sulky Pierburg 2E3 carburettor and random hot starting issues. When servicing, I had to ensure the points and condenser were perfectly fitted or the ignition would sulk too. Mine had lead a hard life, and I only paid 350 pounds for it. Served me well for the money despite the issues and I’m very tempted to go and pay Stone Cold Classics a visit!

[@35dononeill]

I love that at the 16 minute mark, there was a modern polo ( dark grey) in front of you

[@seancooke4127]

Striking red colour. Astonishing originality inside and out. Very retro these now as well as the smoother fronted facelift model. Drove a couple of Scanias in the 90s which had a wiper stalk placed up high on the right side of the steering wheel which was near perfect for fingertip function day or night.

[@jamesrichardson4604]

Yeah a Volkswagen a last , you can't go wrong with a vw. I've got a twenty year old mk4 golf gti , still going strong with 170,000miles. Great video again look forward to them all.

[@acwdrivingservices9877]

Great video of a great survivor. (The Polo that is!) Note on Lightcliffe Motors, Hipperholme near Halifax, West Yorkshire, who sold the Polo originally, They were still very much in business up until Dec 2019, until they suddenly closed without reason. No one seems to know why.The substantial business premise is still standing but the fear is it will become KFC.... very sad. But at least the little Polo carries on the business name on its number plate. Keep up the great videos and the fight for better Tea shelfs. 👍👍

[@friedookiehil]

Thax again. As mentioned before, South Africa never saw these. Your in depth and thorough review plus history part, makes it very interesting and fun. We had the MK1 Citi Golf that soldiered on until 2000's.

[@A-Name-101]

That car is in amazing condition. I had a Blue 86 version 1 litre, that my Mum gave me. Was very basic, no rear parcel shelf, had to mod it for the rear wiper. I fitted some decent front Kenwood speakers, the audio fitter removed the front door pockets and re-enforced it with MDF and carpet over it. I also added a CD player too, which it eventually died as it had no anti-skip memory going over bumps all the time ruined it. The glovebox was poorly fitted and kept on falling down. The indicator relay box (which failed many times) was hidden behind the glove box. I got so annoyed I removed the glove box all together. I used the car for my uni days, it was a great when moving house, due to its high sides. I got a full size fridge in it with the boot slightly open. Putting a washing machine in the boot would have killed the suspension! The breaks were crap, the engine was underpowered when going anywhere with a slight hill. However it was good to drive, loads of visibility. I vaguely remember it starting to have electrical problems and diagnosing the issue was £. I eventuality killed the car and scrapped it when the clutch went at around 90k or so. I then acquired a H reg polo Coupe, now that was a much faster car, fuel injection, and power steering, was so much fun to drive it had great acceleration. However it’s exhaust system was crap as the rubber o rings to hold it up would perish and fail, leaving me twice stranded with the entire exhaust system sitting on the floor. It was a tank of a car and I got rid of it at the scrap merchant to the young lad for the price of the tax disk remaining lol!! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

[@histriamagna1014]

A lot of parts are carried on from mk1 Golf. The seats, the gage cluster, bumpers... Vw cost cutting at its best. I miss simple cars like this one. Easy to fix, organic to drive. Nice little modern classic.

[@cliffthelightning]

I had 2 facelift versions a 1992 Breadvan and a 1994 coupe. Loved them

[@JA-pb7oz]

Oh how I've waited for this video, I drive one of these on a daily basis and love it. It's a 1990 polo country was the run out model before the facelift came along. It's loaded with extras such as a non opening sun roof and coin holder, people were easy to please back then. I paid £350 for it in 2016 and unlike the one featured in this video has covered 150000 miles and has certainly had a very hard life.

[@bs7157]

you forgot to mention the polo 'formel E.' i owned that one years ago. in blue. loved it. wished i still had it. thanks for this review. brought back fond memories of a great car. i didn't find the steering heavy at all. i was a proud lady owner. and always kept it well maintained and polished. i'de love to own that red one . i have a newer polo now and love it just as much. it's a Tsi. in red!

[@rydermike33]

"Nubins" what a wonderful word. The little Polo was my son's first car. Unfortunately it expired in a pool of oil! Certainly not as nice as that stunning example. Many thanks Matt.

[@Mad3011]

Ah, the good old mk2 Polo. That was my first car although I had one of the later versions that already had a fuel injection system. Simple but reliable car. You could fit a surprising number of beer crates in the trunk ;)

[@08680868]

I absolutely love this car for some reason

[@chlorine7922]

I had a white 1L Polo. Very fun and practical car. Hardy too - when I sold mine it had 250,000 miles on the clock. My 2nd favourite car I've owned.

[@maxidyne]

This bring back memories! We had a ''Steilheck'' as a 2nd car for years in the late 80s. It was a blue one in ''Jeton'' trim. And the first car I steered sitting on my dads or mums lap. Would love to own one just to recapture those feelings. Great video, thanks Matt!

[@Elstro1988]

what you said about it’s simplicity is very true to all of its contemporaries- i owned a 1989 Vauxhall Nova for 9 years and loved its mechanical low tech personality 🥰

[@martinjones12]

I just bought it !!!! being delivered soon !! x

[@bjk6994]

My father in-law had the Mk1 in Paris years back. I remember borrowing it and cursing the steering when trying to squeeze it into a typical Paris “parking” spot.

[@somervillearron]

my dad bought one of these in the early 2000ss it sat in a drive for 3 years had never even been started,he paid 50 quid for it it had a hole in the rear panel but he put a new battery in and it started! then he took it for a mot after using cataloy to fill the hole! it failed on one number plate bulb! he drove it for ages drove down to angelsea and back from glasgow twice with it never missed a beat!

[@michaeltutty1540]

It is great seeing cars we did not get here. That is a really exceptional example, too. Very interesting.

[@leotoczyski263]

My first car was a polo 1.1 GL on a y plate 1982. I think the extra on that model was the dimming dash control. Can't remember much else. Bullet proof engine. Drove well and just passing my test had my right foot down a lot of the time. Had a couple of issues with it but it just kept going . Had it for two plus years! Was a great first car.

[@eunoscrew9271]

I currently own a f reg polo cl but mine has the optional extra of a sunroof that wides out like the golf mk2 never seen another like it since only got 50k on the clock

[@garysimpson3900]

If I recall, my 1983 Golf GTi Mk 1 had a similar instrument cluster but the clock was replaces by a tachometer. My ignition key was the same. Fond memories.

[@theodor12]

Wow, the condition is immaculate!

[@jinxed_jinxed_3443]

£4750 to you mate.

[@club1fan552]

Paint is amazing. Trunk is quite small. Whole car personifies a complete box.

[@volvo480]

I had a 1986 Polo C 40kW saloon (1.3 litre 55 bhp engine), from behind it looked like a shrunk Audi 80, the VAG design language was, albeit bland, very neatly done. It wasn't one of the best cars I had in terms of reliability and the C in the C spec stands for Crisis: no clock, no fifth gear, no passenger side rear view mirror, no intermittent wiper setting and no door pockets. There was a special pocket for the service documents and user manual under the steering wheel, which was very well thought out. Sadly, there were a number of very outdated design decisions; placing the fuse box under the bonnet was prone to corrosion with its old style torpedo fuses. Headlights were still using simple incandescent bulbs (no halogen) so visibility at night was poor, the auxiliary headlights (my car had them too) was actually a very sensible option! No power steering wasn't a great issue in a 775 kg car, even with the optional 165/65-13 tyres. But overall the mechanics were very simple. One day the gearbox mount gave in. I shifted back to second gear, heard a loud clunk and had a loose gearshift lever in my hand because the engine almost dropped out of the car. I took the car (stuck in second gear) to a local workshop and they managed to it all back together for a reasonable amount.

[@DeLorean4]

The 80s and early 90s were a fun era for economy cars. Build quality was decent, the base models could be made truly basic, their boxy dimensions made them easy to park without modern aids, they benefited from decent ergonomics, they moved to safer plastic-rubber style dashes and steering wheels, and could be spec-ed with features such as power steering, EFI, and a 5 speed transmission. EDIT: I typed this before hearing the segment at 20:40. Those comments are bang on... great mix of features from modern and classic cars.

[@pralkatv3485]

Had one long ago. Sentimental back to the past :) my one at 150 km / h required constant steerwheel adjustments

[@rich5223]

Wow I miss the old bread van lol. Remember going to school in these in the rain I loved the sound it made and the unusual styling 👍

[@andybussa1323]

My sister had one of these back in the 90s, I was about 13, the fun we had in that thing lol

[@SteveM-ly7oy]

I had a 1989 G registration VW Polo Coupe S in the UK. It felt like it had no brakes. And that was from new. It had a 1272CC engine and 55bhp. I now have a Skoda Citigo, with a 999CC engine with only 3 cylinders and it has 59 bhp. That's progress. And it has good brakes.

[@Sprasonator]

And my K reg boulevard coupe was a 1043cc 4 speed manual in solid blue.. Great memories. I remember choosing between the Polo or a Mini 30th anniversary edition...the Polo won. If I could only take that decision again, with hindsight!

[@Cowley46]

Great little cars these and they were surprisingly refined and smooth on motorways. Had a rare 1984 LX 1300 once and it could often go beyond the 100mph max on the speedo. Pretty sure there was never a diesel though but the 'Formel E' versions had probably the first generation of engine stop/start in traffic, quite advanced for such a basic car.

[@adamtoms2726]

Lovely example of a breadvan. Incredibly popular cars that lasted a very long time

[@Elfwald]

Lightcliffe VW shutdown at the end of last year unfortunately.

[@barryjackson8512]

Had 3 of these great cars. That’s looks super clean.

[@SWR112]

School friend drove his mums when he passed. They were great, basic but this was the early 90’s. Always thought the led lights middle of the dash were quirky and yes that huge clock. That was his first ride to use my version was my Dad’s huge Volvo 740...😂 We had fun in the wee VW. Would it turn my head now yes because everything modern bores me a bit. Right I’m away to buy a Renault 5 Turbo now always fancied one. 😁

[@vodonnell1]

Had one of them great car so simple it gave no trouble once serviced, great load area and did not rot out from under you.

[@russcattell955i]

I worked in a VW dealer's in the early 80's, we shifted many Polo's daily, as many as we could get, just like Golf GTi's. Most Polo breadvans were bought by (or for) housewives for domestic duty like shopping and kids taxi service. I used to use one for parts delivery if the van had other duties. I drove one from Plymouth to VAG HQ Milton Keynes and back. Motorway was tiresome but shortcut through Oxfordshire roads was more to it's liking.