Volkswagen Polo, up! or Suzuki Swift?

Hi, following on from my previous question: he dealer claims to have no knowledge of previous history for the Volkswagen Polo apart from the fact that he can confirm the car has not been crashed, and he will give the car a comprehensive service.

I am also looking at a 2012 Volkswagen up! (move up!) with 14,000km on the clock and a 2011 Suzuki Swift GLX with 30,000 miles and a full service history. I prefer the Poloand its colour I am trading in a 2006 Volkswagen Sharan 1.8T with 85,000km on the clock. Dealers are offering me roughly €4,600 for mine What do you think?

Pat English (Waterford)

Jul 2013 Filed under: choosing used car

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Expert answer

Hi Pat,

The Polo's a fine car, no question. Practical and reliable, but your other two choices are, how shall I put this, a bit more interesting. The up! is one of the very best small cars to come along in a long time. It's nippy, agile and zippy, but still comfy on the motorway if you need to go long haul. The Swift is also a belter, a little short on rear legroom perhaps, but cracking good fun to drive and its reliability is off the scale good. The Polo's a safe choice, but I'd have a good long hard look at the other two before deciding. For what it's worth, if it were my money, I'd get the Swift.

Neil Briscoe - Complete Car Adviser
@neilmbriscoe