Our cars: 2001 Volkswagen Polo GTI – report eight
With the rattles banished to the bin, Rich Gooding gets on with the job of enjoying his 2001 Polo GTI, whatever the weather
I was wrong. One of the rattles that I commented on last report month did turn out to be a wobbly exhaust, One of the hangers attached to the system had rotted off, so a small welding job was all that was needed to suffice and the frustratingly annoying rattle has now gone. The other bothersome noise which I thought was a rear wheel bearing, turned out to be just that. While Y464 GHJ was in the ever dependable Sani’s Motors once again, the offending bearing was replaced, too. So now, the cabin is an oasis of calm once more.
The recent cold weather has thrown up a couple of interesting observations. Depending on temperature, the digital trip display under the total milage resets itself back to ‘0.0’, trying its best to undo any fuel consumption records I may be trying to keep. It’s a good job the software I use works out the distance travelled since the last fill up for you. There’s no logic to it either – at -6 there was nary a digital flicker, but at -2, there it was. Strange.
The cold snap has also not been good for the heated washer jets. As in they don’t seem to work. Twice I’ve had to get out of the car halfway to work and pour water on the windscreen to clear it – if I don’t, by the time I’ve finished my 25-mile commute, the screen is almost opaque with wintry road spray. And this morning, I’m sure something at the back end was frozen on, as there was creaking noise emanating from the rear end, sounding similar to a handbrake being on. Otherwise, it’s cosseting and refined fun, fun, fun all the way.
