Volkswagen Polo Highline 1.4 Walkaround, Start up, Tour and Overview

Today a quick video of the 2004 Volkswagen Polo, this particular car has the HIGHLINE trim level and is specified with an automatic gearbox. I own this car now for 4,5 years and wanted to do a quick impression video about this car.

I did a extended review before, check out my channel, This will be a quick impression video of the car.

We open the car with the use of the remote control, the remote control unlocks the doors and it can release the trunk as well.

HIGHLINE

The HIGHLINE trim levels also comes with an alarm system.

Furthermore we have a leather steering wheel, some nice comfortable seats, never had any complaints about these seats. I have a long back and I never had any back pains, even on the longer trips lasting for hours, no issues there. Lumbar support is also more than sufficient. German cars are usually pretty business orientated, this car is no different.

But I love the blue and red interior lights on the dashboard at night, it adds class and easy on the eyes. You got to love the red dials even though this car has a 1,4 liter engine. All VW’s from the early 2000’s have blue and red dashboard lighting.

The three door car design looks great on the Polo, but is not very convenient if you bring more than two people along for  the ride.

For me i daily drive this car to work, 90% of the time I am the only one who drives the Polo.

The HIGHLINE also comes with fog lights and some nice metallic VW rims.

Overall it looks quite good, and the design of the car has well withstood the test of time. This car came to the market in 2001 and was produced until 2005 when a facelifted model came to the market.

As you would expect, trunk space of this car is not very big, it is enough for your grocery shopping, but it is impossible to carry long items with you. You can fold down the rear seats but most of the time you will still not be able to carry any long items. You can also find your spare tire under the trunk floor. Again this is a small compact city car, if you plan to carry a lot of items, this is not the car for you.

Engine

The engine is the 1.4 liter four cylinder with 75HP from the factory.

The power output is sufficient for the highway, acceleration is good from a standstill to 100 kilometers an hour, but between 100 and 130 kilometer an hour, it shines through that the engines is underpowered. Only then you are reminded you are actually drive a city car. The size of the car is about the same as the mark 2 golf from 1988.

Oil consumption

After 4,5 years and more then 100.000KM i can say mechanically the engine is reliable, but it uses oil the way I drink beer.

I have not detected any oil leaks, this car burns oil.

This is an issue that is well known in the VW community. A variation of VW engines like to take a sip of oil from time to time. To me it is not a big thing, but you should always have at least 1 liter of oil in the glove compartment on longer journeys. If you drive the car frequently, I suggest you check the oil level regularly.

My mentally is, I rather have it use some oil then other engine parts failing on me. Not a big issue for me. Rule of thumb check the oil level every 500 to 1000 KM.

The ride

The ride itself is good and sturdy. It feels like a bigger car. It gives you confidence and i like to compare it to a small tank. The build quality very good. No rust on the body panels either, even after 13 years in the sea climate of Holland, not problems here. The polo was not designed for the highway, but you can drive it a whole day straight on the highway and it won’t miss a beat.

That being said, wind noise about 130 KM an hour is again reminding you that you are traveling in a city car or the B-segment, if I have to throw that term around.

Also strong side winds can affect the driving behavior, be sure to keep two hands on the wheel or slow down a little, this car stands high on its wheels, that makes it prone to be affected by side winds.

The curb weight of the car is 1028 KG. Road tax and insurance are reasonable in the Netherlands.

Personal opinion

I think this car it is an excellent choice for a second car for the misses of the house, or people that want a small car for their daily commute. Fuel consumption is very reasonable with 5,8 liters on 100 KM on a summer’s day, to 6,5 liter on 100 KM in the winter. This is data from my daily trip of 100 KM driving 60 KM average during rush hours. I manage to get more than 600 KM out of 1 tank of gas. The tank can hold up to 45 liters, when I drive it until the light comes on, refilling the tank will take usually a little less than 40 liters.

So I average around 15 KM on every liter of gas. Very nice considering this is an automatic car.

Costs of ownership

Next video I will talk in depth about maintenance costs, repair bills, gas bills, reliability and how it behaves inside the city and on the highways. I would recommend this car to anyone who wants a small, reliable city car. As always good maintenance is key to the longevity of the engine, this car is no different. Use good oil as well, preferably 5w-30 or 5w-40 long life synthetic oil.

If you have any questions, leave them behind in the comment section below this video.

Thanks for watching, see you guys next time.