Polo - which gasoline engine?

Hi everyone!

I have a general question about the current engines available for the Polo. My wife needs a new city car, but she also wants to be able to use it for occasional trips outside of the city. The following three engines are available for selection (theoretically).

A 60 horsepower gasoline engine.
a 70 horsepower gasoline engine, and...
a 90 horsepower gasoline TSI engine.

According to the seller, the two smaller ones should have 3-cylinder engines, while the TSI model has a 4-cylinder engine. My question is: what is known about problems, durability, and consumption?
Is "running economy" a foreign concept for those with a grade of 3?

There's a lot of talk, especially about the timing chains of the TSI engines. However, mostly the 1.4-liter engines are affected, while the ones mentioned here are supposed to be the smaller, 1.2-liter versions. Still, I'm not entirely comfortable with a three-cylinder engine. It feels like something is missing... I'm a bit at a loss. Furthermore, the seller mentioned that the 60 horsepower version is just as good as the 70 horsepower version, making the extra cost unnecessary. Can I trust him?

Can someone provide some input on this?

Greetings, Styrian.

Quote:

I think something is missing...I'm a bit lost...besides, the seller said that the 60HP version would work just as well as the 70HP version, so the extra cost would be unnecessary. Can I trust him?

You should take an extended test drive with all three of them.

Regarding quality, only time will tell.

There are already a few differences between the three-cylinder engines. The 60 hp version has 2 valves, while the 70 hp version has 4 valves. I have no idea how that translates to the driving experience; I've only driven the 70 hp version a few times as a rental car in Austria. If you need it as specified, it should be fine. Even with the 60 horsepower, it will get you around the city well.

In my opinion, the 1.2 TSI engines perform quite well, as they offer good power even at lower RPMs. If it's just for driving around the city, I think the TSI engine is probably unnecessary.

To the best of my knowledge, the 1.2 TSI engines were also switched from a chain to a timing belt. I have no idea when that happened.

I can directly compare the 60 and 70 horsepower models based on our fleet of service vehicles (VW Polo and Skoda Citygo). For those who primarily drive in the city, the 60 horsepower model is perfectly adequate. It has a noticeable amount of torque, and it's also quite quiet at the engine speeds required to achieve it. However, for more frequent driving on country roads and the desire to occasionally overtake outside of urban areas, the 70 horsepower model is the better choice. Its extra power is most noticeable above approximately 4000 rpm, and you're usually not driving at those speeds in the city. It has more acceleration above 3000 rpm, and the difference is already noticeable in that rpm range. Here, for occasional highway trips within the city (e.g., the Berlin city highway with a permitted speed of 60 or 80 km/h), one could also manage with the 60 horsepower engine, but then one would have to accept less acceleration. For frequent highway driving at speeds of 100 km/h or higher, the 70 horsepower engine is highly recommended. At the required engine speeds, the 60 horsepower engine is quite sluggish and doesn't provide enough power for comfortable merging and keeping up with traffic.

For the city: definitely the 70 horsepower, 3-cylinder engine.

Quote:

To my knowledge, the 1.2 TSI engines were also switched from a chain to a timing belt. I have no idea when that happened.

I believe the change/update only came with model year 2014 or with the facelift.

Interestingly, the 1.2 models tend to have more issues with the chain than the 1.4 models; however, this might also be because the 1.4 model is less common.

I'm glad I didn't get the 1.2 version... We replace the chains every day on these machines... it starts becoming necessary after just 10,000 kilometers.

Is it with the 1.2 TSI engines, the three-cylinder engines, or both?

The 3-cylinder engine in the Up isn't the same as the one in the Polo, is it? The Up has "only" a 1.0-liter engine (CHY), while the Polo has the CGP A+B engine, or have I misunderstood something?

Hi everyone!

Thank you for the answers. This gives me a better idea of what to look for. Currently, Frautschi drives a Mazda 2, which seems to struggle with even the slightest incline. I can't imagine where its 75 horsepower is hiding. In icy conditions, overtaking can be a risky gamble.

Question: Which engines (engine codes) now have a timing belt instead of a timing chain? And are the 1.2-liter engines really that prone to chain failure? According to the seller, the problem was supposedly fixed around 2012 (really?! what else would he say). The alleged cause is poor manufacturing due to worn-out pressing tools. However, there are also rumors that the oil passages are undersized, which could lead to increased wear, especially with short-distance driving. Rumor plausible?

Don't worry - on Friday, we'll definitely do a test drive. Probably with the 60 model. Then on Saturday, with the 70 model. Unfortunately, a TSI model isn't available at the moment. Is the torque curve of the TSI comparable to that of a diesel engine? I haven't driven a car with a turbocharger yet.

Greetings, Styrian.

Styrian wrote:

Is the TSI engine's torque curve comparable to that of a diesel engine? I haven't driven a car with a turbo yet...

IMHO, yes, the 1.2 63kW engine has the highest torque at 1,500 rpm, and it delivers good performance even just above idle speed.

@bloesch: Are the 2012/2013 TSI engines (both the 1.2 and the 1.4) still ALWAYS affected by this chain issue???

"10,000 km isn't really that much... if things go wrong, we might end up buying a TSI engine now and be back in the workshop just one or two months later..."

Greetings, Styrian.

"Well... two months is a bit of an exaggeration, but six months is realistic." If things go really fast, the 10,000 km mark can be reached in just four months...

Greetings, Styrian.

Hi,
I have a Polo, manufactured in 2011, with a 1.2L CGPA engine (70 horsepower / 51 kW). The engine has 3 cylinders, and the camshafts are driven by a timing chain.
- Approximately 20,000 kilometers driven.
- Fuel consumption: 6.1 - 6.5 liters according to the MFA (Multi Function Display).
- No noticeable roundness issues with the three cylinders.
- No technical issues so far.
The car is nimble in city traffic, performs well on the highway, but lacks the power needed for overtaking on country roads. You need to utilize the higher end of the RPM range.
For the gasoline version, I would prefer the CGPA over the 60 hp CHFA due to the higher power output, but I would only buy the car with the 1.6L TDI engine and the 4-cylinder CAYx motor.

In my opinion, the timing chain issue should have been resolved around 2006.
hg
Herbert.

Quote:

Are the 2012/2013 TSI engines (both the 1.2 and the 1.4) STILL affected by this chain issue???

Okay, regarding the 1.4 TSI engines (e.g., Regarding golf, I can't quite put it that way.
The engine is less common, and the timing chain typically lasts longer (over 100,000 km).

The chain drive in the 1.2 TSI engine was supposedly improved around 2012.
The engines are making rattling and clattering noises, but they still start.
However, since the chain drive has been improved, the corporation now says:
State of the art!

If you have the option, I would go for a model from 2014 or later... they supposedly come from the factory with timing belts.

Quote:

If you have the option, I would go for a model from 2014 or later... they are supposed to come from the factory with timing belts.

Caution, you might then be a test driver.
Sure, here's the translation:

"Best regards."
Herbert.

Okay, so we took the 60 (model) for a test ride last Friday. First impressions: It's quite loud, especially under load. It has a really robust sound. It's relatively trouble-free and agile in city traffic. It's a bit underpowered outside of the city. That's not surprising with a 60 Przewalski. It's afraid of every incline. You just have to keep the engine speed down. I didn't always look at the tachometer, but subjectively, I would say it gets "zaach" (sounds/feels rough) below 3000 rpm.

Unfortunately, it wasn't possible to arrange a test drive with the others, as something came up.

@bloesch: I can explain the chain rattle at startup because the chain tensioner is hydraulic (at least according to various forums). On my Gixx'n, it was a mechanical tensioner with ratchet mechanisms. Until the oil pressure builds up, the timing chain swings freely, in my opinion. Or is it pre-tensioned by springs??? KA.

@Herbert: Yes... that thing about the test driver is probably true. It seems like the Volkswagen group also likes to ship "banana ware"... does anyone know where Lopez ended up? Surely not at VW?

Greetings, Styrian.

Styrian wrote:

Does anyone know where Lopez ended up? Not at VW, surely?

This secret is guarded more closely in the industry than the Coca Cola recipe .

Roger wrote:

This secret is guarded more closely in the industry than the Coca Cola recipe

.

The truth is a bit sadder:

Quote from Wikipedia:
...After his premature departure from VW, Lopez founded the management consultancy "Management Arriortúa" in Spain, which receives contracts from numerous European companies. López was seriously injured in a car accident as a passenger in 1998, and due to severe dementia, he had to completely withdraw from active management of the company.