Meet Humphrey, the small car that made big memories
John and Judy never expected their Volkswagen Polo to mean so much. Discover the heartwarming stories behind a car that’s truly part of the family.
"Absolutely brilliant," is how Judy describes the 31-year-old Volkswagen Polo Estate she ‘shares’ with her husband.
The Exeter couple own three cars with their favourite being Humphrey the Polo.
Having purchased the vehicle from Marshall Volkswagen Taunton in 1994, John and Judy still visit the retailer for their Polo and T‑Roc services. They describe the staff there as friends.
As part of Hub’s 50 Years of Polo celebrations, we sat down with the couple to discover what Humphrey means to them and why they've kept their beloved little car for so long.
“Buying a Polo was the best thing I did.”
“We’d had a Polo previously, which we bought in 1990,” remembers John.
“It was when Judy went back to work to help support us after I was made redundant, following 25 years of service. She was essentially running the local chamber of commerce, of which I was chairman.”
“I then went into practice on my own as a chartered accountant. So, Judy bought a car of her own.”
“It was the best thing I did,” says Judy.
John continues, “Then came the point when our youngest son needed a car, so we gave him the little Polo, and Judy purchased a new Polo Estate. Humphrey’s been with us ever since.”
Asked whether they thought Humphrey would still be in their life 31 years later, Judy replied: “I think he will, because he’s so gentle. A funny adjective to use, but he’s just been so reliable.”
“Reliability is the best part of owning a Volkswagen Polo. We constantly use it.”
John and Judy spoke of Humphrey’s reliability, space, and the reactions they receive from passers-by as they explain why they love their Polo.
“Our close neighbours like it, and I have to say, whenever we take it out locally, we seldom do so without attracting comments. Lots of oohs and aahs, and ‘We used to have one of those’.”
“This is the thing people say most, ‘God, that brings back memories! Style-wise, Polos look very neat and compact.’”
“It’s absolutely brilliant, and it’s amazing what you can cram into it.”
“Its capacity is immense. Even today, you can fit more into our little Polo than you can in our big car.”
“That was, to us, a vital consideration at the time, it gave us the freedom to do anything.”
“As a dual-purpose vehicle, I think even today it’s unusual to see anything better.”
“The size made us choose the Polo. The style is totally different to anything else you’ll find. It really gets attention,” adds Judy.
“When it’s parked at home, every time I pass the window I say, ‘dear old Humphrey’.”
John, meanwhile, speaks of how the Polo Estate drives. “It has an absolutely superb engine. To some measure, that must be due to the regular servicing received at Marshall Volkswagen Taunton.”
“It goes like a little rocket. It surprises people, too. There are lots of hills around Exeter and it sails up them.”
“It doesn’t show its age at all, it just keeps running.”
Humphrey brings home more than memories
Judy describes a trip to the Yorkshire Dales, which took an unexpected turn.
“We’d packed to come home, but they had a couple of very nice antique shops. John had said to me, ‘You’re not to go into the antique shop.’”
“Later, he said, ‘You’ve got a guilty look on your face. What have you done? I told you not to go into the antique shops.’ I said, ‘Well, I haven’t actually been inside.’”
“The two chimney pots were displayed in the street, and they were very heavy. I think we came back with the car like that.” Judy gestures that the car was weighed down by the boot.
“But you know, I’d stuck to my word.”
We asked John what his fondest memories of Humphrey were.
“Just that I thoroughly enjoyed driving it, when I was allowed to drive it. It was very much her toy, so to speak.”
“He has to ask permission,” jokes Judy.
The couple also cited Marshall Volkswagen Taunton as a large part of their Polo history.
“The Aftersales Manager here (Steve Hayball), remembers looking after Humphrey as an apprentice. Apparently, there’s another member of his team who also remembers it.”
“So, when it goes up there for a service, it gets all the TLC, that sort of thing. The experience of buying the car there was just superb.”
Steve Hayball, Aftersales Manager, Marshall Volkswagen Taunton.
“It’s super, the help they give us. It’s like coming up to visit friends, actually.”
They make the best cars and other Volkswagen stories
John and Judy’s stories don’t stop there.
When describing other vehicles that the couple have owned, John says: “I’ve also had, as our main car, two Golf Estates, keeping them quite a number of years, then a Tiguan.
“Although our mileage has changed, the reason we bought one as big as our T‑Roc is that it’s really a sort of Polo Deluxe.”
“We like Volkswagens generally; they make the best cars.”
John then told the story of how they sadly lost a Volkswagen Golf in a flood.
“On the back of having got the Polo, in 2003, I came to change my car because I was doing quite substantial mileage.”
“We changed to a Golf Estate as the family car and, dare I say, we would have kept that for a long period too, except we lost it in a flood.”
“We were on unfamiliar roads, and we missed a sign because it wasn’t at normal height and ended up splashing through water.”
“They couldn’t save the car; we lost it.”
“We liked that car,” added Judy.
“Judy, unfortunately, doesn’t drive at the moment, so it’s really about keeping the three cars that we’ve got exercised.”
“We’re looking at how long we keep each. It’s so difficult, each time you drive them, you think, ‘Yes, this is useful’, but I think it’s probably likely that we’ll get rid of one or two.”
“My wish is that we keep the little Polo, Humphrey. I think our oldest son thinks that we should sell it, but I still love driving it.”
