[Chethan B G]

It all started in the month of February 2010. I was planning to upgrade from Spark for quite some time and somehow thought that this is the right time to do so. I always liked Fiesta very much since it was a very stable car and a good handler. And also for its TDCI engine. But some how, I thought that I would not be able to afford it. At this point of time I got to know about Figo, and was very much thrilled. Fiesta without boot – wow! That is great!


I was very much attached to my Spark. I somehow did not want to sell it. So I thought of having it as a second car to be used by my family. I started by having a budget of 6L for the new car. I was sure that I wanted Diesel – Simply because I loved to have one from a very long time (Uno’s time!). Also – when I started this whole process, I was almost certain of buying a Figo!!


Since I did not want to feel guilty of jumping in to a decision, I thought of looking at i20 and Punto also. Polo was almost not in contention – No specific reason for that. So I, my wife and my daughter went around test driving cars! It was decided that smaller things like interior quality, choice of color, passenger comfort, ride quality, shape of the car, manufacturer’s credibility… etc – would be decided by my wife and daughter. Larger things like the driving pleasure, budget…. Etc was left to me! But it was also decided that the majority wins!!! By now, it is clear who is the boss!!


March arrived. One fine day I saw an ad in the news paper that polo had been launched. I was just curious to have a look at it. I had to visit a customer on Hosur road on the same day. So while coming back, I visited VW showroom in Hosur road. Polo was kept for display. It was petrol polo. That day, car was not available for a TD. I did not bother. I just wanted to know how the engine feels. So I asked the SC (sales consultant) if I can start the car inside the showroom. He immediately handed over the key!! I got inside the car and cranked the engine. OMG – this is a Diesel car! After this, since I kept on arguing, SC took a full 10 mins to convince me that it is indeed a petrol engine!! I took the price and delivery details and came back thinking that this is not for me. Not because of engine noise or vibration, but because of the price and also since Diesel was to be launched after a month!


Now the real action started: We first went to look at Figo. I had taken lot of pain to convince everybody that it is a great car. I had almost decided that I will buy a Figo. Once we were at the dealership, we saw a Figo kept for display. Greeeen car with reeeeeeed interior!! I thought that some great guy wanted to spoil the image of this car! I desperately tried to know if a black dash was available. SC could not confirm it. Anyway, thought of having a test drive. We were waiting for a TD car, standing in front of the showroom. Then my wife noticed that the silver color radiator, which was visible through the bumper of Figo, was looking very odd from the front. She also commented that the seat color was not to her liking. I told her that we can cover it! Then the TD car arrived and we were asked to take a TD. Car was fine to drive but I did not like the driving position. I felt like driving an MUV. All in all – unfortunately, Figo was ruled out. If they had kept a white display car with a black dash, chances of my purchase would have been more. We decided that if I like the engine, we will buy a Fiesta but not a Figo. But my budget did not allow me.


I casually mentioned about Polo to my wife. She said that she would like to see the car. I immediately sensed something wrong. I told my wife that it is not worth wasting our time since we are anyway not going to buy Polo. She said "don’t worry – If it is not good, we will not buy"! So we went again to Hosur road showroom. Petrol car was available for a TD. We took a test drive. Drive was very good. I liked the driving position. It felt very sporty in everything, be it the steering wheel or the aerodynamic stature of the car. My wife was all smiles! I knew that we had to stretch. We almost decided on Polo, but we did not book it. Our only worry was the waiting period and the budget.


Then came March 14th, the Sunday. By this time we decided to trade Spark and extend our budget, so that it would not affect our immediate plans. So we thought, when we have anyway decided to go for Polo, why not look at Fabia also? Since my daughter had not seen Polo earlier, we thought of taking her along. We first went to Skoda. We took a TD of their Diesel car. Every thing about the car was superb! There was a discount on offer also. Ambiance – Diesel fitted our budget. SC told us that he can deliver the car by the month end. We thought that we will look at Polo once more and decide (I had PD engine, AC, and Skoda *** working at the back of my mind). From there, we went to VW Downtown showroom. We took a Petrol Polo TD again. My wife and daughter were like – you show us 10 more cars, but we will vote for only Polo!! Then I thought, why delay any further and booked the car with Rs.50, 000/- as down payment. The variant was Diesel–Polo–Highline–Black. Delivery was promised as – Within one month from the date of launch. Wow!!


It did not end there! In-fact, lot of things happened after this! Two months passed and the Polo Diesel was launched. Then one day I went to the dealership to enquire about the delivery. To my utter disbelief, the manager said that he did not know at all about the commitment and he does not have cars to deliver!! I did not have the commitment in writing. But luckily for me, he accepted that I was telling him the truth about the commitment! He even said that there is a possibility of giving priority to customers who had paid full money in advance. He asked me to come and meet him after 3 days since he would have got the delivery schedule from VW. But he said that the chances were very less. Even on that day, I saw that bookings were taken at the dealership and the new Customers were promised delivery within 4 months!! I was very much disturbed. I thought that it was a very unprofessional way of handling things. I decided to have a "Plan B" ready by the time I meet the Manager again – in case I needed to cancel the order. Then, Punto and i20 came to my mind!


Again we started exploring and we went to Hyundai showroom. We took a TD of i20. Things were fine, but my family did not like the back seat comfort and ride quality. I felt that the AC was below par and also I did not like the handling too much. Then we went to see Punto. Again, interiors are not good, TATA’s ***, Quality/fit & finish. But Ride and handling was good and also Drivibility. By now, I was certain that my family had made up their mind to wait for Polo. But I wanted a choice, simply because I did not want to be at somebody’s mercy. So we went and had a look at Fiesta. We took a TD also. Every body unanimously agreed that it was a good car. Fiesta Zxi - Tdci was only about 50K more expensive compared to Polo. So, I was happy that I had a "Plan B" in place. By now I was comfortable with the budget also!!


March 19th arrived and I went to meet the Manager. I had prepared to pay 100% payment and wait for a month. After some discussion, I was promised delivery by the month end. So I deposited the money. Then on 27th there was an-other confusion. Nobody knew which car was allotted to me! That means – I do not have a car to take home! Later on, it was figured out that the car which was allotted to me, was to be dispatched from VW-Pune by 20th of May, but it had still not been dispatched! Then GM-VW Downtown, made a call to VW-Pune and confirmed the date. And now, today the car has arrived at Bangalore and will be delivered to me tomorrow evening by 6 pm!!


At last!!!


I am planning to take the car out by the weekend. I will come back and give you a full update on the car along with a lot of pics!!

[abhinav.s]

Wow! Great narration of the decision process. Congrats on the car.
Polo will be our replacement of the Indica a year down the line. My heart was set on the car as soon as i saw the pics.

What was the on-road price in Bangalore after the recent hikes etc?

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Wow! Great narration of the decision process. Congrats on the car.
Polo will be our replacement of the Indica a year down the line. My heart was set on the car as soon as i saw the pics.

What was the on-road price in Bangalore after the recent hikes etc?

Thanks abhinav! I agree. It is very difficult to get past this car without noticing.

Bangalore OTR - Rs.8,25,314/-

[klassics45]

congratulations!! what color have you decided on? red looks really smashing.

[theragingbull]

Congrats Chetan! Didn't know the diesel Polo Highline would cost 2lakhs more than the Petrol when it comes to on-road! Rs.8.25lakhs sounds too expensive for a diesel hatch. Especially when Ford comes out with something at just 6 lakhs for a 1.4litre engine.

Anyways, the Polo is an amazing car and is special in it's own way. Looking forward to more. Eagerly waiting for pictures of your black beauty.

[Chethan B G]

At last, after waiting for two and a half months, I got my car at 6.30 pm IST –

SC gave me a demo of the car. He specifically asked me to idle for 30 Secs on cold starts. Then he clearly explained all the features of the car. He gave me tips on how to set an ideal driving position. As per his suggestion, I adjusted my driving position as explained below:

1. I sat on the driver’s seat and first adjusted the height of the seat.
2. Then I moved the seat back to such a position that my Knee joint was at 75 degree angle. From this angle I could place my heel on the floor and push the clutch liver, rather than stepping over it like we do in a truck!
3. Then I pulled the steering wheel completely back and lifted it up completely and locked it.

After this I was very comfortable. My knee did not touch any thing. In-fact this position was far better then I used to feel in Spark.

Later he gave us a gift bag which contained – flowers, yummy-yummy chocolates, ganesha idle and a tissue paper box. Further he handed over the keys and congratulated me! Incidentally, I was the first owner of "Polo Tdi – Highline – Black" in Bangalore! Nice to know that!!

I and my family sat inside the car for the first time! Speedo was reading 33 kms. We went straight to a Bunk to fill Diesel and then to the temple for a Pooja. After that we went around the city for some time, came home and had dinner. After dinner, I took my parents, wife and daughter for a long drive!! We went on NICE road between Bannerghatta road and Tumkur road. While coming back, we came via kangeri. Now the Speedo is reading 135 kms! Good 100 kms drive in total to get a hang of it!!

My initial impressions on polo Tdi are as follows:

1. Simple, elegant and uncluttered looks – Does not get outdated – Unlike "fashion of the moment" kind of designs.
2. Excellent build quality – fit & finish – Gives an impression that it is built to last.
3. Quality of material, plastics, paint – Talk volumes.
4. Excellent attention to detailing – Can make out the difference every where.
5. Choice of interior color combination - Classy.
6. Sporty look over all – Be it in its aerodynamic stature, lean & mean looking steering wheel, driving position, low centre of gravity... etc.
7. Tail gate release – Feels great!!
8. Ride and Handling – Best in class – Did not scrap through any humps on Bannerghatta road. However, when it comes to pits, we can feel the effort put in by the suspension.
9. Braking – Excellent feel and bite.
10. Steering response and feedback – Very good – But very light.
11. Excellent gear shift – Felt like using it even if it is not required!!
12. Choice of Alloy wheels – Looks cool!
13. Very frugal Crdi diesel engine with good power & torque.
14. Safety features - Excellent
15. Excellent front seats – Both on lumbar and under thigh support.
16. Rear seat is very good on lumbar & under thigh support, Quite OK on leg room also. I am 6 feet tall. My father who is 5 feet 8 inches tall was sitting behind me with 2 inches to spare.
17. Turbo lag is slightly on the higher side. But seriously, it does not affect Drivibility in B2B traffic. More on this later.
18. Floor carpet gets dirty very fast – Color should have been darker.
19. Some features like ACC, Steering mounted controls, EORVM, are missing – Should have been available atleast as an option.
20. Features like Audio system with USB, Vanity mirror, Toll ticket holder, Boot light, should have been part of the standard equipment.
21. High clutch pedal – But very soft to operate – Absolutely no problem.
22. Engine noise – Not much compared to other Diesel vehicles - Manageable.
23. When the doors are locked by the driver, all doors will be locked. Doors cannot be opened from outside, but can be opened from inside – independently!

Turbo lag: Much has been discussed on this subject when it comes to Polo. I had been driving a Spark before and my experience is as under.

1. This engine has enough power to pull in B2B traffic even if the engine is running below 2000 rpm. This is because, in B2B traffic as in Bangalore, we just have to use the clutch and break and not bother much about accelerator. At the most we will be in the 2nd gear with minimum acceleration.
2. But if the traffic eases out and if we want to suddenly accelerate, we have trouble and we need to downshift. Down shifting when we are in a hurry, is the key.
3. Changing gears at 2300 rpm is the trick. This will keep us in the flow.
4. Past 2000 RPM, I did not find any issues. Power delivery was excellent!
5. I could touch 100 KMPH in top gear and the engine speed was 2500 rpm.
6. At 120 KMPH in top gear, engine speed was around 2900 rpm. Average fuel consumption was shown as 26kmpl, on the MID!!

But, a Variable Geometry Turbo or a Twin Turbo would have helped, particularly since the engine is smaller in size. All in all – It is an excellent car to own and drive. I could hardly find any fault with this vehicle which could turn out to be a deal breaker.

Dealership experience: I found that the people in VW Downtown Dealership were a bit hesitant to own up the responsibility. But they are a good bunch of people who honored their oral commitments without even thinking twice. Lapses on there part were mainly due to lack of support from VW in terms of production/delivery issues. I will be happy to deal with them again in feature as and when need arises. Also I would definitely recommend them to my friends.
　
Accessories I am planning:

1. Mud flaps – no stock! – will take a week’s time.
2. Sun films – Llumar Neutral 35 SR – will get it done by Monday.
3. Floor mats – Fabric – Got it.
4. Front and back Chromium strips – will be available in 15 days.
5. I have placed order for 3D Kagu mats with Fast track. Will get them in 2 months. This is very good and will cover entire floor area.
6. 3M scotch guard for the seats – will get it done within a week.
7. Teflon coating for the body - will get it done by Monday.

Any thing else is only after a year. Vitamin M deficiency!!!

As I had mentioned earlier, I will be off during the weekend. I will come back on Sunday and post further details and also lots of Pics! So till then….
　
East or West – Polo is the best!!

Some Pics:

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by klassics45

congratulations!! what color have you decided on? red looks really smashing.

Thanks Klassics! My car is Black as I have already mentioned! But I agree. Red is smashing! The overall contrast it gives is excellent!
But in a family - always democracy wins!

Originally Posted by theragingbull

Congrats Chetan! Didn't know the diesel Polo Highline would cost 2lakhs more than the Petrol when it comes to on-road! Rs.8.25lakhs sounds too expensive for a diesel hatch. Especially when Ford comes out with something at just 6 lakhs for a 1.4litre engine.

Anyways, the Polo is an amazing car and is special in it's own way. Looking forward to more. Eagerly waiting for pictures of your black beauty.

The difference is about 1.1L between Petrol and Diesel OTR Bangalore.
Will definitely flood this thread with pics. Please bear with me till Tuesday!

[scuderiatoro]

Congratulations! Excellent report Chetan. You have kept your word and even after taking delivery in the evening you expressed your impressions with great detail with pictures appreciate that. I have booked a TDI Highline Red with Downtown.

A couple of questions:
Even accessories have a waiting time or is this just that they ran out of stock today?
Are all accessories purchased/serviced by the dealer (except the floor mat)
Is there any warranty on the accessories?

Have a great weekend.

[anekho]

Chethan, Congratulations! She looks super HOT! Love the simple, classy, elegant but sporty lines!

Nice write up and observations - can't wait for even more pics

Do get the high security number plates; they'll complement your polo perfectly!

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

Bangalore OTR - Rs.8,25,314/-

First of all, congratulations and wishing you many miles of happiness.

The price though, caught me by surprise. I hope you don't mind my saying so, but I really think that this car is overpriced. That too by a large margin. Almost makes the i20 CrDi seem like a bargain in comparison, the less said about the Punto Emo. Pack the better.

[EssYouWe]

Congratulations on the buy!

Great to see you piling miles already!!!

Waiting for more pics.

PS: Anytime I am feeling gloomy, I just look at OTR prices for you Bangalore folk! It instantly cheers me up!

[sureshkishore]

Chetan Bhai, Congrats on the car. Great Color too! But you would need to spend lot of time to keep her shining that way. Take good care of her buddy!

[carfreak]

Congrats Chethan, on your black beauty!!polo looks good in any colour, something very few cars can boast of!!

Personally,i was waiting to see this thread spring back to life!!

[raamki]

congratulations on the first black polo in bangy!! happy mile crunching!!

[Infantarian]

26 KMPL on the MID.Now you have got me thinking

Smashing color, the headlights and fog lamps get highlighted. Waiting for your weekend drive review. Congrats once again.