Hello,

I'm currently driving a Mk3 1.3 SPI Polo about as my daily driver... Its not bad on fuel and is powerful enough for what I want, but I'm thinking of getting a Lupo as I want something a little more 'sensible' and something thats cheaper to tax, and run (if thats possible).

How do the 1.0 and 1.4 petrol, and the 1.7SDI Lupos compare to a 1.3 SPI Polo? I dont think the 1.4 16 valve or GTI would be any good for me, and the TDI is prob out of my price range.

I'm not looking for a quick car but dont fancy a complete slug. If its as powerful as my Polo Id be happy.

Has anyone on here replaced their Polo with a Lupo, or have both?

Cheers

Hello,

I'm currently driving a Mk3 1.3 SPI Polo about as my daily driver... Its not bad on fuel and is powerful enough for what I want, but I'm thinking of getting a Lupo as I want something a little more 'sensible' and something thats cheaper to tax, and run (if thats possible).

How do the 1.0 and 1.4 petrol, and the 1.7SDI Lupos compare to a 1.3 SPI Polo? I dont think the 1.4 16 valve or GTI would be any good for me, and the TDI is prob out of my price range.

I'm not looking for a quick car but dont fancy a complete slug. If its as powerful as my Polo Id be happy.

Has anyone on here replaced their Polo with a Lupo, or have both?

Cheers

My mate had a 1.4 lupo and power was probably slightly less than a polo 1.3 GT

Mk3 polos are much better cars if you don't want to sink into a pit of sensible-ness and practicality.

Lupos are great cars, if you're a 70+ year old lady or a 17 year old girl who's just passed her test. They are really well put together, but the engines constantly have little niggles, the steering weight is opposite to how it should feel, the handling isn't great, the seating position is uncomfortable, and they generally feel embarrassing to drive.

Mk3 polos look great, cheap parts, easy to repair and maintain yourself, more fun, faster, reliable etc...

Is the MK3 really that faster?

I mind Nick going on about how he really didn't like his, and didn't see what the fuss was about.

The Lupo, which has a similar chassis to the 6n/2 would probably be okay.

I had the 1.0, and although slow, gave me no issues whatsoever. Got it's hole ragged every single day and never missed a beat, I loved that thing.

Handled like a go-kart too, and there's more options for them, suspension wise, too.

Lupo 1.4 16v are rated as 75bhp, but carries approx 25% more weight than a similar powered 1.3 Polo GT.

But not too bad once moving.

Don't know how well a 1.4 8v goes.

Boot is tiny. No glove-box. No rear speakers.

However some pluses: power steering, airbags, long-life spark plugs, nice door speakers and better crash protection. Retro fitting a pollen filter also possible - if you suffer hayfever.

Pleasant cable change gearbox feel.

Still, a 1999 SE model with just over 100K miles needed a new airbag clock-ring , and a new cat to pass MOT.

(previous owner had overfilled oil). A lower cambelt pulley had failed on the 16v engine (code AHW) - overhauled the cylinder head before I found that (all 16valves), and the bendix brake calipers also needed replacement.

Only needed 1 rear brake cylinder and replacement roof aerial since I did all that work, so not too bad.

So pick your Lupo carefully.

Edited 20 May, 201313 yr by dvderlm

1.4 16v's aren't a bad drive, but the engines are a bit of a ticking timebomb, like all alloy blocked engines.

1.7's are good, but prone to shitting their gearboxes and hard on front suspension.

Which by elimination kind of makes the 1.0 the pick of the bunch.

As far as lupos are concerned, the only ones id concider are the tdi sport, GTI (if you have the money) and the 1.0. The petrol sport does rubbish mpg, the 1.4 16v are rubbish engines, 1.4 8v are slow as hell and again not as good a block as the 1.0 as mentioned above.

The tdi sport, awesome mpg, cheap road tax and generally an amazing a loved engine throughout the vw scene, 1.0 speaks for itself really, cheap insurance, cheap to run/mantain etc.. and the gti, well, its a gti and by far the best looking out of the bunch.

Iv owned a 1.4 16v and it was a bag of shit and couldnt even get £700 for it.

Also, balls mpg.

If i were to pick personally id go for the TDi Sport, amazing little car.

You owned the 1.4 16v s^ it's only 75bhp so will be slow, my 100bjp sport does 10 miles less to a tank than my 1.0 did, honestly I wouldn't even hesitate get a Lupo now

I've only driven Arosa, few times though, and i'm no fan at all. I feel a complete idiot as its like being in a bubble, it's too heavy for what it is, her 950kg ally block 1.0 is simply too slow but has still managed to eat a gearbox.. The boot is so small it's incredible - the parcel shelf is too narrow even to put speakers in.. A rear end shunt I dread to think, but you can only get two people in the back anyway. And it looks like it's already been hit up the arse as it is.

Massive in the front, tiny in the back, no surprise because you can see from outside it's all out of proportion. Bloody horrible things, and don't get me started on faults, it took me all day to open the doors on it as the lock mechanisms both broke on my cousin's one, so she had to get in and out the boot. At least the back seats come out in seconds. And the catalyst collapsed.

They do have cup holders though.

They do have cup holders though.

To be honest a mate of mine had the 1.7D version and it was a cracking little car nothing ever really went wrong with it and that had done nearly 200k! Personally I've never drove one, went to view a 16v 100bhp one and it was a rotter so walked away...

As its been said a very similar chassis to a 6n/2 but on a smaller wheelbase can imagine the whip round corners.

They do fly round corners, go kart handling FTW. Set of Mk4 Golf seats & you've sorted any comfort issues - I have a bad back & lived with my Lupo on its arse for a year.

It's only the 100 bhp AFK/AUB 1.4 engines that are ally block, I had an S with the 75 bhp valver before mine & I thought it was a great little engine. Car weighs less than a ton so its mere 75 horses translates into a surprisingly nippy little motor.

I don't agree they feel small inside, it's exactly the same as a 6n2 in the front! I have both & I momentarily forget which car I'm driving sometimes They do handle quite similar too, though the shorter wheelbase of the Lupo makes it much more pointy.

If you want cheap, get an S.

If you want petrol but want it to hold its value better, get an SE.

If you want a good balance of economy & useable power, get a TDI.

If you have 3 grand to throw at it, get a GTI

I've had two may cars including seat arosa 1.4 8v lupo gti, lupo sport both petrol and tdi. I would have a lupo any day over a mk3 1.3 single point injection.

I went from a g40 to a lupo gti and it was a let down in terms of speed but for looks the gti was stunning and it handled great. I then had a lupo sport petrol and that was a top car however they suffer with lots of engine and gearbox issues. The best of the bunch was the tdi sport all lupo tdi's are sport models. Cracking car for every day driving, I had more fun in that than my g40 sounds odd but you could drive it hard and not have to worry about mpg and that something was going to fail on you.

My brother had an early lupo 1.0 with no pas and to be fair it was pretty nippy. Avoid the 75bhp 1.4 16v awful car.

Anyone tried the 1.2 TDI 3L magnesium doored super eco Lupo?

Very rare over here and when they do come for sale your looking at 5k

Also LHD only!

Cheers for the replys :)

Which come under the £30 tax bracket?

Id like a TDI but they seem to be a lot more expensive than a similar condition petrol.

So, it looks like I'm swaying towards the 1.0. Is it really that slow? Or similar to my 1.3SPI? Looks like the 1.0 is the better engine over the 1.4 8 valve... and the 1.4 16 valve seems to get about 30-35 mpg going of what iv read so not really any benefit over my Polo.... I'm assuming the 1.4 sport is the 16 valve and 100bhp, and the 1.4 none sport is the 8 valve 75bhp.

Cheers

No the non-sport 1.4 petrol is 16v, the 1.4 8v didn't make it into the Lupo in the UK. I only had my S 6 months but I thought it was a great little engine tbh.

It's later TDIs that are 30 quid tax, after some point in 2000 I think?

COOL EGR VALVES BRO.

Erm, whatnow?

Cheers for the replys :)

Which come under the £30 tax bracket?

Id like a TDI but they seem to be a lot more expensive than a similar condition petrol.

So, it looks like I'm swaying towards the 1.0. Is it really that slow? Or similar to my 1.3SPI? Looks like the 1.0 is the better engine over the 1.4 8 valve... and the 1.4 16 valve seems to get about 30-35 mpg going of what iv read so not really any benefit over my Polo.... I'm assuming the 1.4 sport is the 16 valve and 100bhp, and the 1.4 none sport is the 8 valve..

You need to research the range, what trim levels there were, what engines were offered. Wiki and Carfolio are two examples but all sorts are available including online brochures.

1.0 is an all aluminium 8v and is just weak. 999cc in a car as heavy as a MK2 Golf GTi 1.8 16v 5dr, in fact it's as heavy as the 1983 Ford Sierra 3dr and that's a rear wheel drive family car.. but the Lupo is with a 50bhp sewing machine engine. And you want it to match your MK2F 1.3 which has a considerably higher power to weight ratio? Your Polo is far lighter than a Lupo, it

will leave a Lupo 1.0 for dead.

When your Polo has four people in it, it's then the weight of a Lupo with you on your own in it. So you need considerably more power than you have already, not less. You do the maths - the Lupo engine is gonna have to work hard, so it won't be very efficient unless you adopt a new driving style..

Both petrol engines are fundamentally the same all aluminium 16v unit. Just the common one is tuned to 75bhp, which should be about what you're used to, and there is a 100bhp version. These were both the 1.4 engines in the 6n2 Polo as well, and the 100bhp version is rarer but sought after in these.. So picking the 100bhp version is a no brainer to me. But my agenda is different, and iI expect the 75bhp version will do the job without having to be worked hard, and may then be most efficient.

I dont know how the tax works. I do know that efficiency is a hell of a lot more important though, as fuel cost difference can be many times that of tax..

Thanks for the reply Koop and Mikey...

Yeah I guess I should have done some more research into the Lupo, I didnt realise how heavy they were, and I didnt realise how light my Polo was haha. I'm not really "in to" watercooled much, hence the questions. I work on aircooled stuff all day, I know them inside out... but my Polo is my daily, and I like it, but I'm thinking of getting something a bit more sensible and cheaper to run... I dont think I could cope with anything any slower though.

As for the trim levels, the bog standard is fine with me, as long as its got a steering wheel, some seats, and a set of pedals inside... I'm happy :)

Cheers again guys :):)

Edit: Just had a quick search and its only the diesels that are the £30 tax band, and according to Parkers website, both 1.4TDI and 1.7SDI do 64mpg... I thought the petrol engines ones were too.

Edited 22 May, 201313 yr by mabbo

Erm, whatnow?

Not aimed at you dude :-)

I'm just being a dick But the EGR valves on every Lupo I know personally cause constant running problems and no matter whether you clean them or replace them at £80 a pop, they fuck up within a matter of days.

EPC dash light lit, engine runs like its firing on 2 cylinders.

Attempt to diagnose running issue manually = Can't, they are massively overcomplicated running system.

OK, plug the diagnostics tester in instead to find the problem = "EGR valve".

Remove EGR, clean and refit. Cancel codes on the tester.

EPC light and shite running reoccurs overnight.

Plug Diagnostics in again = "EGR valve"

Replace EGR valve entirely. Cancel diagnostic codes.

EPC light and shite running reoccur within a fortnight.

Rinse and repeat until you eventually sell it with the EPC light still lit

And then there's the pedal boxes

Can you not blank the EGR valve off then?

I have had no problems with the petrol AHW 1.4 16v EGR in a T-reg Lupo.

Yes, you can (on BBZ AUB and presumably AHW).

Or convince a good VAG garage to fix it because they should be liable until it is sorted.

Can you not blank the EGR valve off then?

I've heard of people doing that yeah. But doesn't it mess up the emissions?

I went from a polo gt with a conversion (140+ bhp) to a 1.4s lupo (75bhp) purely for insurance reasons (points), i had planned to just keep the lupo for a year until insurance went down then get something fast again or go back to the polo

i ended up modding the lupo quite a lot only for show, nothing done to the engine, and i now absolutely love it, it's a great car to drive and everything works so well, granted it's been modded so that helps, but i don't miss the leaks and the steamy windows whenever it rains!!

and i wouldn't say the lupo was any more impractical than the polo tbh, bigger inside than you think, though there is a bit less boot space (but my polo has a fat strut brace so that didn't help either)

my polo is getting the berg cup treatment while it's off the road and then just becoming a full time track car, i think i'll keep the lupo now, maybe put in a 1.8T in the future