2003 Volkswagen Polo SE: owner review

I purchased the car from an online auction for $3200 in September 2022, and I traded the car in with another car in September 2023.

To get an RWC, the car needed a new rocker cover gasket and that was it. I also opted to get new rear brakes, which would have been needed soon, as well as a new battery and a basic oil and filter service.

The car had done 13,000km and I put on 4000-odd kilometres over the year. The reason for buying the car was that I wanted a second, cheap, manual car as I prefer manuals but needed an auto for my wife's car. I have always liked this shape of Polo (pre-facelift, quad headlamp) since reading new car reviews for them back when they first came out.

Over the year I had it, the only issue I had was a very slow coolant leak, which turned out just to be the o-ring on the coolant level sensor and was only $14 to fix. Unfortunately, I didn't see in the auction listing photos that the roof lining was sagging, which cost $600 to fix but they did a great job. What I liked about the car was how nice it was to drive – very solid and 'grown-up' to drive, without feeling stodgy like a later 2008 Polo I'd driven.

With only 55kW, I did find myself using lower gears than in other cars I've had, but it is such a light, sweet little gearbox and the engine has a nice growl to it. I don't know if it had power steering or not, but the steering feel was also good. I would swap this car every week or so with my other car, a 2021 Kia Picanto GT-Line auto (also a car I would recommend), and in terms of actual driving feel and feedback, comfort and ride quality, the 2003 Polo was much more enjoyable to me than the Kia. Although, the Kia being 19 years newer obviously had better equipment levels and safety.

In saying that, if you are on a budget or you are just like me and gel with cars from the early noughties, give one a go – you may be pleasantly surprised. I only sold it and the Kia as the garage at my new house had a lip that scraped the exhaust of those two cars, so I traded them both for an older CX-5 for the ground clearance. Then realised I never park in the garage anyway... D'oh.

Owner: Alasdair

MORE: Everything Volkswagen