Polo GTI 1.4 TSI advice

[Mike Hoxbig]

So I'm considering placing an order for one of these. Are you guys aware of any known issues? Also, what is/isn't covered by the warranty and maintenance plan? I'm mainly concerned about issues with the turbo/supercharger and anything related to them (such as injectors), gearbox, etc. and if failures are covered.

 

[HapticSimian]

The failures you're worried about will be covered, as long as you adhere to the maintenance schedule. Just be mindful of the differences between:

1. Warranty - Covers factory defects and manufacturing faults. Any failure during the warranty period will be covered by this.
2. Service Plan - Covers your scheduled (every 15,000km) services i.e. oil, filters and labour and NOTHING else. Brake pads etc. are NOT covered.
3. Maintenance Plan - Bumper-to-bumper maintenance, normally down to globes, wiper blades and the likes. Usually your only expenses during the maintenance period will be for fuel, top-up oil and tyres.

I half expect to be placing an order for one next year myself. Such an orsm package.

 

[syntax]

I've also thought about it. Few things that concern me
1. no maintenance or service plan
2. I am also worried about the whole twin charge thing and how reliable it will be
3. its small'ish. Not tiny, but I recently did a durban trip ina polo, its not the most comfortable
4. its DSG...some might think this is a plus, i prefer a manual

Am hoping someone else buys one and is the test pilot for it

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

The failures you're worried about will be covered, as long as you adhere to the maintenance schedule. Just be mindful of the differences between:

1. Warranty - Covers factory defects and manufacturing faults. Any failure during the warranty period will be covered by this.
2. Service Plan - Covers your scheduled (every 15,000km) services i.e. oil, filters and labour and NOTHING else. Brake pads etc. are NOT covered.
3. Maintenance Plan - Bumper-to-bumper maintenance, normally down to globes, wiper blades and the likes. Usually your only expenses during the maintenance period will be for fuel, top-up oil and tyres.

I half expect to be placing an order for one next year myself. Such an orsm package.

Thanks for the info! The breakdown helps and is one of things that I was interested in. Are services also covered by the maintenance plan? Also, are you aware of any known issues so far, i.e. what's likely to break based on feedback so far?

It's an awesome car indeed. Hard to believe that you can get that level of performance, with an average fuel consumption of 6.9 l/100 km And I really, really want to experience owning a car with a DSG gearbox.

 

[HapticSimian]

Thanks for the info! The breakdown helps and is one of things that I was interested in. Are services also covered by the maintenance plan? Also, are you aware of any known issues so far, i.e. what's likely to break based on feedback so far?

A maintenance plan does also cover services, yes. As for any likely issues, I really can't say - it is new technology, but one would hope it's been tested way beyond the scope of what most people would demand. I'd hazard the standard turbo dos and don'ts would go a long way to extend the car's life; don't push it until it's warmed up, don't warm it up by idling it in your driveway, and let it cool down a bit before you switch it off.

I know the Amaroks (with their small TDI motors) stationed at Gerotek for pre-production testing covered more than a million kilometres. Never mind the testing squads based all over the rest of the world. I wouldn't be overly concerned...

It's an awesome car indeed. Hard to believe that you can get that level of performance, with an average fuel consumption of 6.9 l/100 km And I really, really want to experience owning a car with a DSG gearbox.

DSG rawks!

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

I've also thought about it. Few things that concern me
1. no maintenance or service plan
2. I am also worried about the whole twin charge thing and how reliable it will be
3. its small'ish. Not tiny, but I recently did a durban trip ina polo, its not the most comfortable
4. its DSG...some might think this is a plus, i prefer a manual

Am hoping someone else buys one and is the test pilot for it

Yeah coming with no maintenance plan did irk me at first, but then I thought that adding a 90k plan + sunroof (panoramic, which is awesome BTW) would only add ~R500 to my monthly instalments.

Also, if you take a look at competing cars in the same segment, if they do come with a plan as standard then it's usually a service plan only. And let's face it, services are generally not that expensive, but replacement parts are. So you're basically in the same boat with the others.

As for DSG, I used to think that way too. But after driving a DSG G5 GTI, I started thinking differently about it. I've tried, and there's no way I could change gears in a manual as quickly as the DSG does. And I know that you may think of it as less involving, but you soon get over that too. You've been conditioned to think that manuals are more involving, but the DSG box is equally involving, just in a different way.

A maintenance plan does also cover services, yes. As for any likely issues, I really can't say - it is new technology, but one would hope it's been tested way beyond the scope of what most people would demand. I'd hazard the standard turbo dos and don'ts would go a long way to extend the car's life; don't push it until it's warmed up, don't warm it up by idling it in your driveway, and let it cool down a bit before you switch it off.

I know the Amaroks (with their small TDI motors) stationed at Gerotek for pre-production testing covered more than a million kilometres. Never mind the testing squads based all over the rest of the world. I wouldn't be overly concerned...

DSG rawks!

Thanks again man, appreciate it. I gathered that the standard procedure for turbo cars should apply, even though it most likely comes fitted with a turbo timer.

 

[RandomGRK]

Thanks for the info! The breakdown helps and is one of things that I was interested in. Are services also covered by the maintenance plan? Also, are you aware of any known issues so far, i.e. what's likely to break based on feedback so far?

It's an awesome car indeed. Hard to believe that you can get that level of performance, with an average fuel consumption of 6.9 l/100 km And I really, really want to experience owning a car with a DSG gearbox.

It probably wont get anywhere near 6.9l/100km

My Giulietta is supposed to get 5.8 but im on 9.1 now...lol. And I don't always drive her hard.

As for the Polo GTI...DO IT! It really is an awesome little car. I dont think you will find that much fun for that price (unless you go 2nd hand and pick up a Focus ST). I love the seats and if it is anything like its big brother, which incidentally my big brother owns, it should be fantastic.

My favourite thing the GTI 6 does is "brrrp" every time it changes gears. Coolest sound in the world and I hope the polo does it too. From driving my bros car, the DSG is awesome and nearly perfect. No manual car can even hope to compete.

I would say go for the grey colour though...the white is just too common.

 

[BCO]

For that price you could pick up a nice low mileage Prius.

 

[4Motion]

All VW turbos have the 'bbrrrp' its awesome! This 1.4 engine is very strong. Nobody really gives it the credit it deserves, I think its the ol school motorhead that can't comprehend how it works, but it does. Some are running at over 200kW with no problems thus far.

 

[rodga]

All VW turbos have the 'bbrrrp' its awesome! This 1.4 engine is very strong. Nobody really gives it the credit it deserves, I think its the ol school motorhead that can't comprehend how it works, but it does. Some are running at over 200kW with no problems thus far.

his talking anout the dsg 'fart'
only get it with the dsg

 

[appels]

Be warned fuel consumption can be in the region of 7 km/l when driven hard. a friend has the golf 1.4 tsi (118kw) and he hammers it and he gets 7.4km/l. but i have to say that thing goes like a rocket

 

[Brawler]

is that meant to be bad?

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

Be warned fuel consumption can be in the region of 7 km/l when driven hard. a friend has the golf 1.4 tsi (118kw) and he hammers it and he gets 7.4km/l. but i have to say that thing goes like a rocket

That's not consumption though, that's fuel efficiency. Fuel consumption is l/100km, which in this case would be ~14l/100km.

But thanks for the warning, although I'm not sure that's too bad for hard driving in a performance car

 

[Ulver]

The thing with DSG is while it is faster changing gear than a manual its nowhere near as engaging . Put it this way, If i want to do a lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife I'd take the DSG. If i want a small car to thrash about with and just enjoy the fun of driving I'd take the manual. Great car regardless im sure you'll be chuffed with either 'box you use.

 

[StrontiumDog]

A maintenance plan does also cover services, yes. As for any likely issues, I really can't say - it is new technology, but one would hope it's been tested way beyond the scope of what most people would demand. I'd hazard the standard turbo dos and don'ts would go a long way to extend the car's life; don't push it until it's warmed up, don't warm it up by idling it in your driveway, and let it cool down a bit before you switch it off.

I know the Amaroks (with their small TDI motors) stationed at Gerotek for pre-production testing covered more than a million kilometres. Never mind the testing squads based all over the rest of the world. I wouldn't be overly concerned...



DSG rawks!

I've got a 2010 A3 1.8T stronic. How crucial are the turbo do's and don'ts you mentioned? Is the turbo more likely to give up the ghost sooner rather than later if the car is not driven according to those rules? How long should u let it idle once u arrive at your destination?

Regarding fuel consumption, when i first got the car i would drive it in Sport mode half the time and my average fuel consumption would be about 10 to 11l per 100km. These days i hardly ever bother to use Sport mode, so I am averaging 9l per 100km. IIRC Audi website says 8.6l per 100km for this model.

 

[Sensorei]

Be warned fuel consumption can be in the region of 7 km/l when driven hard. a friend has the golf 1.4 tsi (118kw) and he hammers it and he gets 7.4km/l. but i have to say that thing goes like a rocket

The 7.4 figure on the Golf 6 tsi computer is l/100km not km/l. Huge difference...

 

[HapticSimian]

I've got a 2010 A3 1.8T stronic. How crucial are the turbo do's and don'ts you mentioned? Is the turbo more likely to give up the ghost sooner rather than later if the car is not driven according to those rules? How long should u let it idle once u arrive at your destination?

As technology improves it becomes ever less crucial, however two characteristics of turbo chargers still dictate a degree of mechanical sympathy in my eyes: 1) they get very hot, and 2) they spin at ridiculous rates - up to 150,000 RPM, or 2,500 revolutions PER SECOND! To put the latter into perspective, current F1 engines are limited to 18,000 RPM. There's a necessary degree of metal fatigue that goes along with such immense forces. Now, most modern engines shouldn't cut the oil supply to the turbo when you turn off the ignition, but I still feel you're giving it a better chance of long-term survival by letting the turbo spin down while the engine's still running. It doesn't need to be long - a minute or 2 will do wonders. Heck, even just gathering up all your goodies inside the car (keys, access cards etc.) before switching off will do wonders.

Also, keep in mind that the first two points I mentioned apply equally to any car. All the moving parts in a car's drivetrain are designed to work best within a certain temperature range. When you idle a stationary car the engine might warm up, but nothing else does. Hence you leave your driveway thinking everything's dandy, but as soon as your floor it you're inducing unnecessary wear on a cold transmission, cold differential, cold wheel bearings, cold CV joints and any number of other components.

 

[Rouxenator]

VW TSI engines are very nice to drive, but do yourself a favour and see what deal GM can do for you on a new Corsa, they offer much better value for money and will give you a little more originality than what you'd get from a Polo.

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

VW TSI engines are very nice to drive, but do yourself a favour and see what deal GM can do for you on a new Corsa, they offer much better value for money and will give you a little more originality than what you'd get from a Polo.

I've looked, but the equivalent Opel won't give me that sort of performance to fuel economy ratio, nor will it give me a semi-automatic DSG gearbox as standard

 

[Rouxenator]

True - if you need all that then the Polo is your only option.