I've had an arosa 1.4 8v, a lupo sport, Lupo Gti and Lupo sport tdi. The best of the bunch was the tdi, it was well suited for everyday motoring.

The lupo gti was lovely to look at but flet flat.

Petrol engined non gtis/tdis suffer with pedlle box issues and 1.4 16vs seem to suffer with other engine issues.

Although the 1.7 sdi is slow they are well proven to do big miles if looked after. Only issue is pre 2001 cars are high tax.

My brother had an arosa tdi which was great, the only downside to tdi's is that they are mega thin on the ground.

I can confirm engine issues.

On 1.4 16v engine code AHW check whether the twin cam pulleys have any wobble.

I bought a broken 97k mile Lupo and got it running again.

Fitted new valves to the cylinder head in the sunshine at last but one Polo show.

Thought it might be seized water pump or worn belt tensioner that had eaten belt teeth.

But no, inside of the pulley is a weak spot.

Previous owner had overfilled oil and killed the cat too.

Been fine for about 14 months since.

Daft question. Is the 1.7 diesel an isuzu lump by any chance?

Top little cars, I've had two, the 1.0l and the 1.4 16v, as already said peddle boxes go, door hinges go, they a idiot to replace aswell. 16v engines do have a problem, so make sure you check it out, when gone although they drive fine the oil light will come on normally in traffic and warm, people say its the oil switch as these are weak too but most of the time its being badly serviced and engine goosed. earlier ones suffer from rust on the roof joints to the rear quarter. the 085 gearboxes that are fitted to the lupo and polo petrol engines have there own issues too. taking all of that in, I would have another no prob, when you know what to look for you will have a better job of finding a good one.

door hinges go, they a idiot to replace aswell.

Yeah i've replaced the pins on the driver's side (the doors are huge), did the job so most of the wear was just the pins themselves, it was an easy 5-min job though..?

door hinges go, they a idiot to replace aswell.

Yeah i've replaced the pins on the driver's side (the doors are huge), did the job so most of the wear was just the pins themselves, it was an easy 5-min job though..?

my hinges were stuffed not just pins, try changing the top hinges then come back on say easy LOL, I should of just pulled the dash, then it would be straight forward

Yeah, i haven't had to change a hinge itself and i'm unfamiliar with the bolt arrangement. I won't be undoing one unless i have to then..

One problem i had was the inside of the lock mechanism packed up. So i couldn't open the door from inside or out. There's no access to even cut/drill anything out, in the end i had to buy another lock mechanism and destroy it! This so i could inspect it inside and work out what the problem was (sprung mechanism fired back and crossed itself, rendering the mechanism inoperable), then i used that to work out how to get around it. Once i'd sussed exactly how it needed to go, what tool i needed to insert where, and do what with, i was able to go at it - the most tedious couple of hours worth of silence later and the door popped open.

Changed mine as Mikey said took 5 mind at max but that wasn't hinged, I know this sounds stupid but was there a huge differnce between the 1.0 and sport? Enough to put a smile on your face?

Daft question. Is the 1.7 diesel an isuzu lump by any chance?

No its the 1.9 that's been either under bored or. Under stroked, I forget which. They were also offered in 6ns in europe

I know this sounds stupid but was there a huge differnce between the 1.0 and sport? Enough to put a smile on your face?

How does double the BHP sound? And with the will to rev a bit higher? Sounds better too.

Not quite as obvious as it sounds though, because the Sport only has about 30% more torque and even then it has to work a bit harder to get it - so the Sport isn't as nuts as it seems on an economy run, it only really smashes the 1.0 into the middle of last week if you put some effort into it. But then, a sports engine should need to be provoked, that's what makes it sporty!

the 1.0s are painfully slow.

as a car they're good tho. massive inside.

Cheers mikey, I would find out but four bent valves stopped me lol! Anyway engines all ready to be out back together with about £400 worth of vw parts of dale spiers (lupoboz)

the 1.0s are painfully slow.

as a car they're good tho. massive inside.

It's like driving a big bubble! And that makes for a nice personality with a slow car. Not really the right proportions for a sporting car though imo, and then the room is only in the front because the Lupo (and Arosa) is only a 4-seater.

The 6n2 Polo wins it for me by having more seatbelts and having a boot literally twice the size (try throwing a pushchair, moses basket, travel cot and suitcases in the boot of a Lupo) even if it feels smaller up front in a Polo it's in another world if you need space.

the 1.0s are painfully slow.

as a car they're good tho. massive inside.

It's like driving a big bubble! And that makes for a nice personality with a slow car. Not really the right proportions for a sporting car though imo, and then the room is only in the front because the Lupo (and Arosa) is only a 4-seater.

The 6n2 Polo wins it for me by having more seatbelts and having a boot literally twice the size (try throwing a pushchair, moses basket, travel cot and suitcases in the boot of a Lupo) even if it feels smaller up front in a Polo it's in another world if you need space.

I like the fact the lupo is small though, i had considered the 6n2 but really am into lupo's at the moment. Generally, I dont carry passengers very often, so the space up front is welcome!

I'm very tempted by both the 1.0 and the 1.4 S.

I phoned my insurance who told me the 1.0 would refund me 900 pounds and the 1.4 just under 500. wow!

Edited 26 October, 201213 yr by Daniel

JAKE YOU TOLD ME YOU WANTED A POLO COUPE.

JAKE YOU TOLD ME YOU WANTED A POLO COUPE.

he lied

didnt he have a mk2f then sell it because of insurance ?

Ash I told you that like 2 months ago? Since then I've bought a sport, stripped to bare block and ordered about £600 worth of stuff

And that is true Daniel :( gotta say though if I didn't sell the mk3 then I wouldn't of found out how good lupos are!

Ash I told you that like 2 months ago? Since then I've bought a sport, stripped to bare block and ordered about £600 worth of stuff

And that is true Daniel :( gotta say though if I didn't sell the mk3 then I wouldn't of found out how good lupos are!

bastard! stop making me want one more than i already do

Hehe

my personal opinion of a lupo is that they are like a glorified shoe. They are just soooo small I'm not surprised they feel nippy

I also think they look better when they haven't been modified, otherwise they just look like a "try-hard" car lol. But that is just my opinion and I admit I havn't ever driven one, BUT I guess they must be quite similar to driving a 6n?

Love my Arosa :)

Better to drive than than the Polo..

Better than driving a 6n, kinda like a more modern, fun and better place to be than a mk3

Gay car (I can't talk) but the pick would be the TDi everytime or the 100hp 16v again as some people said they can have issues, I've heard people have issues at 60k to 80k but it is rare when I had my 6n2 16v (AFK like a lupo) I did 20k trouble free miles and when some berk wrote it off it was just shy of 150k, pulled extremely well for what it was and was economical.

YOU DRIVE AN MX5! That's not a dis to mx5's though they're nice looking cars and they've gotta be fun to drive, we just rip my friend for having an mx5 and he rips me for wanting a Lupo. Homos for life. Thanks for your input though I appreciate it, I guess if you look after a valver it'll look after you. How economical is the 1.4 100bhp though. I mean, it surely can't be doing 50 to the gallon haha?!

Sorry for the delay in reply and yes on a steady run doing 70-ish it will do 54 mpg as per manufacturers figure although in town its more like 30. my 16v although its near 2.5 seconds slower to 60 (10.1 versus 7.7) the 16v felt more urgent and more addictive I used to put my foot down all the just for the quick revving. with regards to the MX5 people just think I'm either gay or posing because of a small penis, I say look at me I'm not exactly trying with my appearance maybe I just like RWD and an LSD, Nice and easy to turbo too.

Gay

only for you mike, only for you.