I think you will find that 106's, saxos and clio are actually cheaper to insure than the equivalent polo. They will also be cheaper to repair (because there are more of them about). Also, they will be faster than a Polo.

I would suggest asking this question on a forum where you would get a less biased answer. (It is a Polo forum after all )

Finding a decent Lupo 1l for less than grand is quite hard. My bro got lucky with one that had been sat up for 2 years was £550 but including getting it mot and sorting it out came to just shy of £900. They arnt cheap to insure but cheaper than a 1.3 mk3 genesis coupe ( i tried to flog him my old car).

Beetles are by far the cheapest and if you get one old enough its not tax :). Just not the most reliable things in the world if they havnt been looked after perfectly but loadsa parts available for them and decent prices aswell

Jag sovereign, 300 CE or a 500 SEC. Cheap to pck up, horrendous running costs and fairly cheap to insure.

My sister has made the horrible mistake of getting a KA. She wouldn't have anything else but i found her a R reg 1.3 with 46k and full service history for £550 with 12 months tax and MOT. Which i think is fairly decent. Her insurance is only £670. Mines 2K! Takes the piss