The girlfriend is looking into buying a 2001 lupo GTi, i know this is a polo forum, but anyone had one of these before? are they any good?

what are the common faults/things you need to look for when going to see one? i

is it a good all round car?

are they reliable or break frequently?

any advice appreciated :)

Awesome little cars, great fun to drive, don't cost the earth to run. I'd say buy one.

I don't know if this applies to all Lupos including the GTI but pedal boxes are a common issue on Lupos.

Join Club Lupo.

she has already joined that! think she's going to go for it. shame its so hard to find one with leather interior.

Leather trim, 6 speed and air con are the most sought after things. Raven Blue and Grey are both sought after to. So if you have a grey one with leather, 6 speed and air con you will never lose money on it

i think we could source hen's teeth easier than a lupo gti with leather seats.... especially with a/c too! lol she likes them in silver, wants to do subtle things like coilovers and maybe different wheels.

could always get the interior re trimmed in leather if she wants it that bad :)

the 51 reg we're going to go see has 6 speed so at least it has that. 53k miles too so not bad.

I'm thinking about getting one in a few months mate, someone i knows got one and they are such fun little cars to drive, quality handling, quick for a 1.6 and i think they look quality!

They must be quite light

And they are a good starting base to euro

think they are about 950kg, and yea just lowering them they look awesome

stay away from the 5 speed ones, not really much point in getting one without the 6 speed box

dj_troopa on this forum used to have one, silver with black heated leathers, was an awesome little car. He never had any problems with it either so i'm assuming they're quite reliable

clublupo.co.uk will be your ultimate source of info for these though

yea shes registered on there few days ago to research lol. the one we are looking at tomorrow is a 6sp

Polo GTi with a strong gearbox,and lighter in weight with most of the exterior panels (including entire doors and bonnet) made of aluminium.

Air-con and leather weigh it down though - id have a basic 6-speed one myself.

Still heavier than a 5dr MK2 Golf 1.8 16v GTi though.

I have never owned a lupo GTI, but i have drove a few and had a poverty spec 1.0L.

They are awsome cars, The lupo gti doesnt suffer from the pedal box issue due to it having a hydraulic clutch.

Common problems are:

Rust along the roof gutters

Electric windows not functioning, often down to the switch

Rear washer jet not working, pipe tends to pop off and leak.

Door straps can be a bit noisey, they wear and make like a clicking noise.

Check the high level rear brake light works, these can let in water, also bubling on the spoiler around the light.

Thats all i can think of off the top of my head, as said before theres loads of info on club lupo.

My dad has a GTi and i can't fault it :).

He's not a chav but he got an induction kit and it sounds shit 'ott.

If you want Aircon then it's hard to find, and the majority of them are silver.

Just common VW faults tbh

But yeah as mentioned the bubbling around the spoiler light is a bastard, apparent its an awful job removing and changing, very labour based =\

Alex

I was going to buy a lupo gti in a couple of months time.. looked around and noticed i could get a polo 6n2 gti for 2k cheaper better condition less miles and its only about 0.4secs slower 0-60 then a lupo and LOADS more around, so safe to say ill but upgrading my little one litre for a beasty gti :)

been there, done that.

awesome cars, lots of fun. I had a six speed, my mum recently had a five speed, there's not that big a difference.

Pedal boxes aren't an issue as it has a hydro clutch.

Thanks for the replies!

Time to go see a few more I think!

Supposed to be pretty close to a Mk2 16v round tracks, which is quite impressive considering less power and more weight. I'd love one if they weren't so vastly overpriced (IMO)

yeah they cost way too much imo for what they are, but still look like they would be a good laugh though

Edited 16 May, 201016 yr by doug