VehicleScore research
Volkswagen Polo: exhaust comments on older cars
Exhaust comments appeared on 34.0% of 9,938 Volkswagen Polos aged 12–14 with 60,000–119,999 miles, against 17.3% of other vehicles. 17.2% of those comments were failures. The rate repeats in the neighbouring age bands. It is not a 34% failure rate.
Exhaust comments on the Polo, 60,000–119,999 miles
Age 9–11
Age 12–14
Age 15 or over
At ages 9–11 the Polo rate is 27.6% of 12,668, against 12.5%, and 18.7% of comments were failures. At 15 or over it is 42.9% of 5,510, against 26.7%, failure share 20.0%. The comment gets more common. It does not become a failure.
Shock-absorber comments are a second pattern at ages 9–11 and the same mileage: 26.3% of 12,668 against 10.0%, with 20.5% of comments recorded as failures. The Golf’s shock comments are discussed on their own page because the samples there are larger and start younger. The Polo’s distinctive repeated line in this cut is the exhaust.
Share of Polo vehicles in each age and mileage slice with at least one matching MOT comment. The comparison is other vehicles in the same slice, not the model itself. Failure share is the percentage of matched comments recorded as a fail. The rest are advisory, minor or PRS comments.
| Comment | Slice | Polo | Other vehicles | Gap | Comments that were failures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exhaust | Age 9–11, 60,000–119,999 miles | 27.6% 3,495 of 12,668 | 12.5% 499,163 vehicles | +15.1 pp | 18.7% 1,138 of 6,081 |
| Exhaust | Age 12–14, 60,000–119,999 miles | 34.0% 3,380 of 9,938 | 17.3% 320,830 vehicles | +16.8 pp | 17.2% 1,079 of 6,261 |
| Exhaust | Age 15 or over, 60,000–119,999 miles | 42.9% 2,362 of 5,510 | 26.7% 182,991 vehicles | +16.1 pp | 20.0% 1,069 of 5,338 |
| Shock absorber issues | Age 9–11, 60,000–119,999 miles | 26.3% 3,333 of 12,668 | 10.0% 499,163 vehicles | +16.4 pp | 20.5% 1,227 of 5,975 |
The age-standardised pass rate is 75.7%, crude 75.3%, on 24,452 vehicles. Close to the Fiesta, below the Golf, and not a reliability ranking. See pass rates by model for why that table stops short of one.
Buying a Polo?
On an older Polo, read the exhaust comment and whether the test failed on it. Enter the registration for that car’s record.
Polos aged 12–15 in the paid-check sample also had a higher write-off marker rate than other cars of that age. Markers are not accidents. The figures are on the write-off page. The 208’s exhaust comments start much younger and are even less often failures: Peugeot 208.
Related VehicleScore research
Methodology
Snapshot 27 September 2026, job 2026-09-27.1. Exhaust rows hold mileage at 60,000–119,999. Comparisons exclude the Polo. Failure share is the FAIL subset. The comment rule groups several exhaust wordings and does not identify a cause. Checked vehicles only.