Author: Antony Ingram
Photography: Aston Hill Trading via eBay
Price: £3,800
Mileage: 60,764
Condition: Smart but in need of careful inspection
Advert: Aston Hill Trading via eBay
As a peek behind the curtain, we wanted to show you a rare Volvo 480 for Unexceptional Classifieds this time around, but the most recent MOT was a bloodbath, if the blood was brown, and made of iron oxide. For four grand, it seemed a little ambitious.
The car we’ve actually gone for, a 1993 Volkswagen Polo 1.3 Genesis, for sale in Aylesbury, is similarly priced and also has no current MOT, but thankfully a look through its history is much less scary, at least on paper. There’s a chunky old gap in the history between 2015 and 2023 but this probably means it was just stored.
The listing says it’s also rust free, though we’d want to go along in person and check out those sills – it’s tricky to tell from the photos whether they’ve picked up road much or are starting to bubble, but judging by the under-bonnet and boot condition, we’d be tempted to say it’s a mix of pixelation and bumpy stone-chip paint. The interior looks very smart too – even the driver’s seat has worn its 60,000-odd miles well.
Enough about the condition though, what about the car? You’re looking at Volkswagen’s fairly heavy facelift of its second-generation Polo, known by VW fans as the Mark 2F (rather than the Mark 3, which is the 1994-on ‘Type 6N’ model) and sold only between 1990 and 1994, of which this is a later car.
Evidence of its second-gen heritage is visible in the boxy breadvan look, that distinctive angled rear wheel arch, and the fact that VW also offered ‘coupe’ (a three-door hatch with a faster roofline) and two-door saloon alternatives – a curious little range, and one that lacked the increasingly popular five-door hatchback option offered by most rivals, something VW fixed with the third-gen car.
The new car gained VW’s family look of the time but the facelift also improved the Polo’s aerodynamics (though despite a 10 per cent improvement, it still only managed a drag coefficient of 0.35). Catalytic converters and servo-assisted brakes became standard across the range – the latter welcome for right-hand drive buyers who until then had become accustomed to standing on the spongy middle pedal with all their might every time they needed to shed speed. Fuel injection was also now fitted across the range and there was a new, more Golf-like dashboard.
The 1.3-litre car you see here made 55bhp, but wasn’t the entry-level model; that spot was still reserved for a 1.0-litre four, making only 45bhp. Nor was Genesis the basic trim. Far from it, in fact, because other than the supercharged G40 and the 75bhp 1.4-litre GT, Genesis was next in line. You take what you can get with uncommon old unexceptional vehicles though, and tachometer aside, you’d have to say the cabin still looks charmingly low on kit.
Unexceptional bonus points too for what seems to be an original, 3D raised dealer badge on the boot lid, from Rye Mill Volkswagen in High Wycombe. The name doesn’t seem to exist any more but there’s still a VW dealer where it stood, so perhaps whoever buys this Polo can return as a pilgrimage.
Love delightfully ordinary classics like this Polo? Then don’t miss the Festival of the Unexceptional on 26th July- it’s the ultimate celebration of everyday heroes. Grab your tickets now and get your fix of boxy brilliance and nostalgia-fuelled motoring charm!
