Tips on Buying Cars: Volkswagen purchase, family sedans, volkswagen polo

Question
Hey Danny,
        I was thinking about picking up a nice volkswagen polo being sold locally. it's a diesel 1.9 but as i'm not familiar with diesel engines i'm not sure how fast this is. Do you know what the equivelant engine speed would be with a petrol car?
Gradz

Answer
Sorry to disappoint you but the polo is not fast at all. It is on par with many base model family sedans. It has good looks(depending on the model year), but the main purpose for diesel is for better efficiency. The mpg are much higher on a diesel than from one that uses gasoline. It also costs less per gallon than gasoline. So better fuel efficieny is really the only thing is does better than gasoline. Unfortunetely, better mileage comes at the price of much slower speeds. Thats why you will never see a sports car with diesel. And even giving it performance upgrades wouldnt improve it much. If you are looking for speed, look elsewhere, but if thats not a concern, then as long as the asking price is fair, go for it.

-Danny