All generations and engines together · 496,144 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 51k
Middling among superminis, by age and by mileage. Watch suspension and steering. A fair used buy, provided its MOT history has no repeating suspension advisories.
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
The 1.2 and 1.4 TSI engines fitted to the 2009-2014 Polo (6R) used a chain tensioner that VW later admitted was under-designed. If the chain jumps or snaps the valves and pistons usually meet, and it can happen with no warning at all, sometimes well under 60,000 miles. VW issued a TSB in 2012 and quietly extended the warranty on the tensioner to 10 years/100,000 miles for affected cars, though it never called it a public recall.
A long-running complaint on UK Polo forums: a knock or creak from the front end over bumps and on lock, traced to the strut top mount bearing wearing out or the mounting bolts working loose. It shows up anywhere from 40,000 miles, more on cars that see a lot of speed humps and potholes. The measured MOT data backs this up, suspension is this car's actual weak point in the test lane, so a knock at a viewing is worth taking seriously rather than dismissing as a rattle.
Polos with the 7-speed DSG (DQ200) can develop a shudder pulling away from a stop, worst when cold, as the dry clutch pack wears or the mechatronic unit's seals start to leak. Owners also report the box dropping into limp/failsafe mode with no clear warning. It tends to appear from around 40,000-80,000 miles on cars that do a lot of stop-start driving, and a mechatronic replacement runs well into four figures.
On the 1.2 and 1.6 TDI Polos, the EGR cooler can crack internally, which lets extra soot into the exhaust and pushes the DPF into regenerating far more often than it should. Owners notice rougher idle, a flat spot low down, occasional black smoke, and a DPF light that comes on more than it used to. It's mostly a high-mileage, short-journey problem, from around 80,000 miles up, and once the cooler's gone a clean alone won't fix it.
A steady trickle of reports of the touchscreen freezing, going blank, or getting stuck on the VW welcome logo, on both older MIB1/MIB2 units and newer cars. A soft reset (holding the power button) clears it for some owners; others need a dealer software flash and a few end up needing the head unit replaced. It's annoying rather than dangerous, and owners disagree on how common it really is, some cars never do it at all.
Some 2015-on Polos have had the driver's seatbelt lock in the retracted position, sometimes taking hours to free, and separate reports of a rear seatbelt buckle design flaw that raised safety concerns. Honest John flagged both as real enough to warn buyers about, and they're the kind of fault an MOT tester won't catch on a quick belt tug.
Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.
Saveable checklistThe physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 183,647 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Same segment (Superminis), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.
Head to head with the other popular cars in its class on reliability and common faults.