Looking at a new car for my very lucky 21 year old daughter?

Narrowed down our choices to a Swift or Polo, these will be
base models with automatic, used for city driving with the
occasional medium length trip.

Servicing warranty and price the Swift wins hands down, the VW is just much nicer, quality and drive wise.

My love of the marque leans to VW but my practical head says Swift, be grateful for opinions and thoughts, thank you.

I work for a dealership that sells both, and as much as I love and prefer the polo the swift is cheap trouble free driving.
The only problems we ever have with the swift is the odd wheel bearing.
We sell and service 3 euro brands and one Jap brand, and I'm still yet to see a Suzuki come in on a tilt tray, the other 3 brand come in daily broken down.
But I guess I still would take the Polo over the Swift.

The Suzuki warranty is 3 years / 100,000 km. The Polo warranty is 3 years / unlimited km, with the option to buy a further 2 years. The Volkswagen warranty is better.

http://www.volkswagen.com.au/en/technology_and_service/General-Warranty-Terms...

Both the Swift and the Polo start at $15,990, so price is not 'hands down' better either. And since VW also has fixed-price servicing (VW was the first company to introduce it here, in 1956!) I will bet that isn't an issue either.

Back in the '60s VW 1300s were more expensive than Datsun 1000s, Toyota Corollas and Morris Minis, and were also older designs with less room, less comfort and less performance than the more modern designs. Yet people still bought them. In Australia, Volkswagens have never been 'cheap' new vehicles. In fact the cheapest VW. the Up!, was discontinued last year as it didn't sell! For the last 10 years VW sells more cars in Australia than Suzuki does.

The Polo is a better car and costs are similar. The Golf is a bigger car and in a different more expensive market segment; nonetheless, VW sells 4 Golfs for every 1 Polo in Australia.

I'd go the Suzuki if those were the only choices. Never heard anything bad of them, the VWs of today though, yeah even experienced some of the weird gremlins that plague them.

If I had any realistic and reasonable choice of any car that sells here , for small 4 cly, Hyundai, good handling, economy and super comfy whilst being firm and sporty Their latest model i20 and i30 have the perfect shaped seats and their manual transmissions are brilliant!, loves no clutch power shifts all day.

Larger car a commy, excellent handling, performance, economy and flexibility/accessibility to mods and tuning and most important reliability.

I will be honest and say I haven't looked at or driven a POLO.. when I looked on the web a few months ago to check them out, there was a recall on that day....
so, that finished that...
I would rather have a car I can drive and know that it isn't going to break something.... with Japanese Quality...
I still don't buy Korean bearings - they are probably much better than chinese bearings, but I won't touch those either...
I just sold a 2009 swift with 175,000 klms on it and had no problems with it at all... I did service it and replace parts like fan belts and brake pads etc but nothing fell off or broke...
The new swift is a different car to the old RE415 Swift... but they both drove great, stopped great, comfortable seats... and Japanese Made Quality... and very economical...
You can buy a cheaper car, or a bigger seller car or a great no problem car....

Just My opinion

LEE

Where is the Polo made?

I wouldn't buy one if it wasn't made in Germany.

Which one does your daughter like the most ?...Isn't that fairly important ?

I fit dual controls to driving school cars and have fitted them to both.

The i20 is built to a price, and that price is so low you would get a Big Mac for it. This is reflected in the build. I would not get in one to go to the shop.

The Swift was one of the easiest cars I have ever fitted dual controls to and was a pleasure to drive. Good quality workmanship all round.

Polo, nice little car, drove well and put together well. Reliability being it's only draw back.

My vote = Swift

Some Polos come from Spain (the SEAT works at Martorell) and some come from South Africa (Uitenhage). Check the 11th digit of the VIN - 'U' for South Africa and 'R' for Spain. Not many VWs come from Germany nowadays; only the Golf, Passat, Tiguan and Transporter.

That's your decision Lee, it's a free country and there are lots of good cars around. Yes some Polos (just over 4,000) had a minor recall recently with an engine pulley. Big deal. VW notified all the affected owners. But if you think Suzukis 'don't have any issues at all' you are kidding yourself. In March 2012 Suzuki recalled 11,000 Swifts to rectify fuel pipe defects that could cause fires. Then a month later recalled more over similar fire hazards. Do a Google search on 'Suzuki Swift recall' and you'll see lots of other recalls too. Japanese quality - hah. How many Toyotas have been recalled lately? Myth busted.

http://www.carsguide.com.au/car-news/suzuki-recalls-more-swift-hatches-20322 

How bizarre that on a supposedly 'Volkswagen' forum I should be defending VWs against Japanese car enthusiasts who have never even driven a new VW.

Dubby just go and take a Polo for a test drive and make up your own mind. And then your daughter could win a 'best Polo' trophy at the VW Nationals! You won't win anything with a Suzuki; in fact it won't be allowed in.

German VWs = Great to drive, great build quality and good reliability
Jap cars = Shit to drive and very very reliable.

That's the choice.

There's nothing wrong with having a few recalls. It's better than the government covering things up because you are one of the 2 big Australians.

Have you considered the mazda2? Ours manual mazda2 is only a few months old and has performed flawlessly. It is good to drive also, although not as torquey. It is built in Thailand though, if that is important to you. The current Polo is most likely built in South Africa.

The swift looks good, but only comes with 4 speed auto compared to 7 speed in polo and 6 speed in mazda.

It seems wrong to say this on a vw forum, but google 1.2 tsi problems and you will probably be turned off.

I love Volkswagen, but you can't beat a Suzuki Swift for price, reliability and servicing costs!

I think I already mentioned that the Polo and the Swift have the same starting price, $15,990. VWs also have 12-month/15,000 km service intervals, while the Jap cars have 6-month/10,000 km. Both have fixed price servicing. The Polo is a better car. That's why it has won all the awards and the Suzuki has not.

I've also already made the point that air-cooled VWs were more expensive than equivalent Jap cars back in the day, and the later Aussie assembled ones suffered build quality issues. And they were inferior to the new Jap competition. Yet people still bought them.

If you 'loved Volkswagen' you'd buy one - end of story. Maybe that's why the vwwatercooled forum is so successful while this one seems to be fading out. REAL VW enthusiasts buy VWs.

I have worked in the new car industry for about 15 years, was supervisor in charge of VW ADR and now work in the service department for VW , Skoda and Suzuki.
I am a VW man and will alway buy VW and Skoda but as far as reliably goes Suzuki win!
How do I come to this conclusion???? Because they don't come in everyday broken down on a tilt tray!!!

Back to you, Phil !

As my daugher would say, 'yeah like, whatever...'

Tilt trays? Pfft. My Kombi has also been on a tilt tray a couple of times over the years after breaking down. My Beetle left me standed a couple of times 30 years ago. I once had to be towed when I had a Golf 3 (they had quite a few faults). My Bora has been fine so far. But really - WHO CARES? If you're really a VW man you're not buying a VW because they might be cheaper or more reliable or better or whatever. Nor do you reject a VW for a Jap car because it might (or might not) be better or cheaper instead.

You buy a Volkswagen because you love Volkswagens, and you put up with their faults (if any) because you love them and you are loyal to them. I personally don't care if a Mazda or Suzuki might be slightly better than my Bora, or a new Polo. I want a Volkswagen, and I won't own anything except a Volkswagen. The fact that the Polo is actually better than its competitors (shown by the awards it has won), and is no more expensive to buy and service, is just a nice aside. I'll be buying one in a few years when my daughter is ready to drive.

Obviously there are not many on this forum who feel as I do, and that's fine. You guys go ahead and enjoy your Jap cars. But don't try to tell me you're a 'VW enthusiast' - you're not. You've chosen something else.

Service a lot of late 1.2 tsi polo's and have been a great car, the one and only time you'd wish your daughter was in a VW if she was involved in an accident, my childrens life is worth more than a hear say based at the Polo's reliability. No japanese or Korean car can beat the VW's safety record.Not everything in life is measured on PRICE , by the way servicing cost are very reasonable when you stay away from a dealership.

The voice of experience...

One of my grand-daughters is about to get her first car. It looks like being a Polo.

Been reading both sides of the argument and have considered and driven both cars when looking for a car for my 18 yr old daughter.
Both cars have their merits but it's a no brainer - WHICH CAR WOULD YOU WANT YOUR DAUGHTER IN IF SHE WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT?
When it comes to safety a Swift and Polo are chalk and cheese, as said before you won't find a safer car than a VW.

That's only Australian ratings.
You get extra points for audible seat belt warning device. Typical Australian garbage.

Both Suzuki Swift and VW Polo has a 5 star NCAP rating. Only difference is that the Swift has 7 airbags and the Polo only has 6.

I love my Volkswagens but from a female non dick swinging contest perspective, and looking at the colours available and the ongoing servicing costs, Swift is my choice. My cousin loves hers and I quite often drive my friends whilst i'm in Darwin, they are very good. If you can pick up a low mileage car from a dealer, the warranties are incredible for her own peace of mind (not that you would need it).

For just a little bit more, you could buy her this :- http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/bugatti-sells-last-veyron-20150223-13mw7l?...

And it's a VW...