[anb]

Originally Posted by asitkde

The steering was light. The only significant issue with the car, I felt, was the lack of any feedback from the steering. However, it was precise. The car always felt planted and very well-assured of its movement with relatively sudden changes of directions at speeds of greater than 70 - 80 kmph.

Now, I want to make a comment or two on the relatively sudden changes of directions, mentioned just above. Of course, the car has body-roll while taking sharp corner turns at high speeds. But I would not make a huge noise about it, because even though it has a GT badge, we all know it is just a normal car with a bit of fun-quotient, and not a sports car. One does not get a sports car at 10 Lakhs. In a way, it is good that the suspension is not very stiff, because on rough city roads, the car then is able to take on the potholes reasonably well. Frankly, the car felt more assured and overall more refined on the road than my City. On the body-roll bit, let me share my experience with a 30 lakh Mini Cooper Countryman D on the hills around Costa Brava, an hour and a half north of Barcelona Spain in 2015 summer. The car could not deal with turns (not very sharp) on the hilly roads at 80 kmph, such was the body roll. I slowed down to 60 kmph, at times even below 50 kmph, to deal with many such turns on that road. I have seen GT TSi reviews here on team-bhp about crazy amount of body-roll at sharp corners. Even sports cars slow down at sharp corners, and here we are talking about a 10 Lakh car supposed to be driven mainly on our pothole-ridden city roads and highways.

You can always upgrade the suspension of Polo. The good thing about the Polo is that there are plenty of modifications possible. Comfortable options like Bilstein B6 or numerous coilovers like Bilstein B14, KW, D2 yellow speed etc are available for Polo.

[vkr15]

After going through this entire thread in some detail, I feel ( and I could be wrong ) that the decision was made by the OP very early at the start of the discussion. It just had to be the GT TSI--the discussion however did bring out pros and cons of other alternatives and would be extremely helpful to other car buyers. I was in a somewhat similar quandary, but the lust for the TSI was too strong and I eventually succumbed to it. To hell with DSG issues.

[asitkde]

Originally Posted by vkr15

After going through this entire thread in some detail, I feel ( and I could be wrong ) that the decision was made by the OP very early at the start of the discussion. It just had to be the GT TSI--

No, that's not true. What I wanted was a well-built car with safety features, excellent road manners both in city and on highway, better cornering abilities and something fun to drive. Space was not a requirement, and some preference was for automatic transmission.

With the above requirements, I found only two cars within my budget (Rs 11 Lakhs flexible). They were S-Cross Zeta 1.3 and the VW GT TSI. They are very different cars and that's why there was this quandary.

When I wrote my first post in this thread, I had a decent test-drive of the S-Cross, but did not have a long enough test drive of the GT TSI (the test car had a problem with its tyres), and hence at that point I was tilted slightly towards the S-Cross. The issues with S-Cross were it being a diesel car (having never owned a diesel car before), higher NVH level inside the car, its relatively large size (which we did not need), and it being a manual (although I have mostly owned manual cars all my life).

The second proper test-drive of the GT TSI convinced me to a large extent. Even the biggest opponents would agree that the GT TSI is a highly refined product seldom found in its price range. There is a certain ease in its operations. The car does not feel stressed at all going from 40 kph to 100 kph. Some people calls it a lack of emotion, but I found it to be a sign of a superior machine.

There was no doubt after the second test drive that the GT TSI fitted the bill perfectly for me. However, the DSG worries were still there, that was the only remaining issue. I needed a bit more time to overcome that. I enquired about the VW service quality in Kolkata, and a few of my friends here had comforting words for the service. I took the advice of buying the extended warranty.

Recently I had a longish drive (Kolkata to Puri, Odisha and back) - about 1200 kms in total. I thoroughly enjoyed the car. I shall write elsewhere on that experience, perhaps also an ownership report whenever I find some time. I have been awfully busy lately.

Having written all of the above, I must say, the S-Cross has had a lasting impression on me. Ten years ago, it was unthinkable that such a car would be on sale at this price point in India, especially from Maruti. To me, it's a sign of the changing automobile scenario here. According to my very humble evaluation, all other cars in my shortlist came a distant third or lower.

[vkr15]

Originally Posted by asitkde

No, that's not true. What I wanted was a well-built car with safety features, excellent road manners both in city and on highway, better cornering abilities and something fun to drive. Space was not a requirement, and some preference was for automatic transmission.

With the above requirements, I found only two cars within my budget (Rs 11 Lakhs flexible). They were S-Cross Zeta 1.3 and the VW GT TSI. They are very different cars and that's why there was this quandary.

When I wrote my first post in this thread, I had a decent test-drive of the S-Cross, but did not have a long enough test drive of the GT TSI (the test car had a problem with its tyres), and hence at that point I was tilted slightly towards the S-Cross. The issues with S-Cross were it being a diesel car (having never owned a diesel car before), higher NVH level inside the car, its relatively large size (which we did not need), and it being a manual (although I have mostly owned manual cars all my life).

The second proper test-drive of the GT TSI convinced me to a large extent. Even the biggest opponents would agree that the GT TSI is a highly refined product seldom found in its price range. There is a certain ease in its operations. The car does not feel stressed at all going from 40 kph to 100 kph. Some people calls it a lack of emotion, but I found it to be a sign of a superior machine.

There was no doubt after the second test drive that the GT TSI fitted the bill perfectly for me. However, the DSG worries were still there, that was the only remaining issue. I needed a bit more time to overcome that. I enquired about the VW service quality in Kolkata, and a few of my friends here had comforting words for the service. I took the advice of buying the extended warranty.



According to my very humble evaluation, all other cars in my shortlist came a distant third or lower.

My intention of posting was not to join issue on a purely personal choice( and, may I add, an excellent one). Let's hope we don't have to face the infamous DSG nightmares. Looking forward to your ownership report.
Good luck and happy motoring.
Cheers.