[VW2010]

Btw, how can the Jetta miss out on projector headlamps

Thats sheer arrogance to ignore the headlamps from VW. I think they just compared their car with current generation japanese cars and decided, japanese arent giving these features, why should we and cut down many good features. Guess adding Xenon would have meant another 20K price hike

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by PPS

Btw, how can the Jetta miss out on projector headlamps? If i'm not mistaken they are very much present on all variants of Laura except the Classic.

Even the Classic has projector setup. If you talking about Xenon's, only L&K has it.

BTW the prices look a little low to me for Mumbai, TL is 17.4 in Blr, didnt know there was a 1L diff between even BOM and BLR

[Cyborg]

Test drove the new Jetta 2.0 Highline DSG folks.
The TD vehicle was a new color (I think) coffee brown.
Normally one would first take a proper look at a car inside the showroom and then a TD. In my case as I was parking my car, the TD car rolled in and I straight away went for a TD.
Bombay OTR prices as given by PS are correct.
I forgot to take my camera along and forgot to click a few snaps on my mobile – SORRY!

Personal observations follow:
Looks and features:
Clean, uncluttered lines – gorgeous! I fell in love!
The car looks really long. It has halogen lamps as VW has pointed out (projector lamps would have looked stunning), with daytime running lights, cornering lights and fog lamps. Front and rear parking sensors – no camera, the display is on the music system with an acoustic warning.
Turn lights integrated in the ORVM’s.
Tail lamps are classy looking, reminiscent of the A4, with fogs on the rear as well.
16” lovely looking alloys shod with 205/55 section Goodyear NCT 5’s. I am sure Michelins or Yoko's would make the ride and handling much better.
8 airbags.
ASP with ABS and brake assist.

Interiors:
Superb fit and finish all round – did not really look for places where the eye would not fall easily. Overall package wise – great!
Excellent steering wheel with audio controls on the right and dummy phone controls on the left. I asked the sales rep who said “Sir, there is no blue tooth compatibility – the buttons are there on the previous model as well with no functionality”. Stupid – they should have either provided blue tooth functionality or ensured the buttons for the phone were removed from the wheel.
Electronic adjustment for the front seats.
Reach and rake for the steering wheel.
Very comfortable seats with good legroom. I am 5’11” and with the driver’s seat way back there was more than enough room at the back.
No auto/climate control for the ac, started the drive on setting 2, briefly changed to three and the cabin was comfortable.
Boot access given from the back seat.
Don’t know about the capacity of the boot – but, it was really huge. Airport trips or weekend trips with the entire family should be no problem at all.
6 CD changer with a touchscreen music system and adaptor cable in the glove compartment for a iPod/iPhone

Drive:
Took a 10-15 minute TD as there were other people waiting in line.
Triptronic + paddles on the steering wheel.
Smooth pickup and a good shove in the back with the loud pedal pressed hard. Hardly any engine noise in the cabin – very quiet.
Ride and handling – Very good! The sales guy said it was a pure hydraulic system (not sure). The ride was good – comfortable without feeling our roads much. The old Jetta had a pretty stiff ride at low speeds if i remember correctly.
Steering responses though not as good as the Civic in my opinion – but pretty good.
Responsive via the paddles – gear changes smooth and precise.

Overall a very good package with the price of 20.5 lacs OTR Bombay a bit steep.

I would seriously have considered this as my next car – problem is my Civic is hardly 1.5 years old and I would lose a lot of money on it now. Plus my Civic still makes my smile every time I drive it and I am sure will continue to do so for a long time to come.
Jokes apart – If I was buying a car in this segment now, I would ignore the price and buy it!

As mentioned at the beginning, these are purely my views and perceptions may differ.

I would be glad to answer any questions which you guys have.

[diffsoft]

Originally Posted by Cyborg

.. The sales guy said it was a pure hydraulic system (not sure)...

Thanks for the quick review Cyborg! The steering is "Electric - power assisted" as stated in the brochure.

Some queries:

1. There were concerns that GC is low at 139 mm - any thoughts.

2. I always thought LED DRLs are far better. I presume the DRLs are halogen - do they look good?

3. Any thoughts on space at the rear?

Thanks much in advance.

Cheers,

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by diffsoft

Thanks for the quick review Cyborg! The steering is "Electric - power assisted" as stated in the brochure.

Some queries:

1. There were concerns that GC is low at 139 mm - any thoughts.

2. I always thought LED DRLs are far better. I presume the DRLs are halogen - do they look good?

3. Any thoughts on space at the rear?

Thanks much in advance.

Cheers,

Welcome Diffsoft.

1. My TD was on the Worli sea face and went over a couple of speed breakers which were not really bad - no problems there.
I checked this same thing with the sales guy and asked him regarding the GC with relation to the Civic. His reply was to be as careful as you would be in a Civic.
My guess is if you are careful there should be no issues - I would not be nonchalant over breakers till the car is understood properly.

2. They are halogen and look good - Its like a sash of light on the top of the headlight.

3. Very comfortable at the rear with enough legroom but more so for 2 people on long drives due to the slight hump at the back and the rear ac vent. I found the legroom much better than the Civic with the drivers seat back to my liking.

Cheers

[jkdas]

A friend might book this and cancel the 24kmpl diesel sedan he had booked

Was researching for him and hence the spreadsheet.

[SafeDrive]

jkdas - how much does it cost in Trivandrum, on the road? Asking you as you had done the research for your friend :-)

[drmohitg]

No TD car as yet in Delhi. The showroom closest to my house is getting its on 26th hopefully according to the SA.

BTW when is the much awaited review coming up? I am desperately waiting for it to go ahead and book this beauty. The SA said there is a waiting of 4-5 weeks which really sounds crap to me as I fail to see any excitement in the public at large regarding this car. Moreover I didn't notice any newspaper add yet about the launch so most people outside car forums don't even know that this has arrived!

[androdev]

I guess the objective of Jetta launch was to make the potential buyer feel "Oh, Laura is so much more VFM" which is actually not a bad strategy by VW, considering Skoda is fully owned by it.

What else can explain the omission of leather, ACC, xenons in a 20+ car? I was expecting there would be a genuine choice to customers between Laura and Jetta. If they had given ACC, xenons, leather and also added bluetooth and sunroof, it would have been a real 'highline'!

[diffsoft]

Originally Posted by androdev

I guess the objective of Jetta launch was to make the potential buyer feel "Oh, Laura is so much more VFM" which is actually not a bad strategy by VW, considering Skoda is fully owned by it.

What else can explain the omission of leather, ACC, xenons in a 20+ car? I was expecting there would be a genuine choice to customers between Laura and Jetta. If they had given ACC, xenons, leather and also added bluetooth and sunroof, it would have been a real 'highline'!

Fully agree and I guess it stands to reason. VW's focus is on volumes in India and they are focused on Polo and Vento and the upcoming Up! Jetta / Passat are more image building exercises of "Superior German engineering" for the VW brand.

Maybe they will add some of these features in 2013 and call it a facelift.

Cheers,

[VW2010]

If they had given ACC, xenons, leather and also added bluetooth and sunroof, it would have been a real 'highline'!

Sunroof in India will never be a standard feature in the 20L segment. May be for places like Mangalore Sunroof makes a little sense, very little that too.

My feeling is that they will not introduce these as standard equipment.

But a factor fitted accessories that can fetch more money than selling it as standard package.

Factory fitted also eliminates the "Void Warranty" problem.

Most of us would go for a Xenon, Bluetooth and even ACC if VW had these as standard accessories or upgrades.

Cost - Xenon - 45k, Bluetooth - 45k ACC - 1L

Now your total cost would be around 2L more and still you will go for it knowing its a upgrade. Even after a year if you buy these and upgrade you are still paying close to 23L instead of 21L.

If i am VW i will definitely offer these as upgrades and accessories after 6 months. Most of us wont be thinking of total car upgrade in say atleast 5-7 years but wont mind splashing a lakh or 2 to just do something to the car in 2 years from owning it.

This is my thought.

[crackingride]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

The SA said there is a waiting of 4-5 weeks which really sounds crap to me as I fail to see any excitement in the public at large regarding this car.

Not too sure about what it sounds like, but these are CKDs and not being manufactured here. Same with the Laura, Yeti, earlier Jetta, et al.
They already have a 3-4 week waiting time. It's the time for the kit to be ordered and arrive, get assembled and be shipped, I'm thinking.

I do not think they have inventory sitting around like in the case of the Petrol Ventos.

[VW2010]

It's the time for the kit to be ordered and arrive, get assembled and be shipped, I'm thinking

I think the order may be Order, shipped, assembled in India and then transported to local yard, PDI for a week, then deliver to customer.

In this case they may not wait till a customer places order. They may ship few dozens to each loaction and eliminate the wait time for the customer. In fact the only wait time i feel is to complete PDI and deliver(a week).

[crackingride]

Originally Posted by VW2010

I think the order may be Order, shipped, assembled in India and then transported to local yard, PDI for a week, then deliver to customer.

In this case they may not wait till a customer places order. They may ship few dozens to each loaction and eliminate the wait time for the customer. In fact the only wait time i feel is to complete PDI and deliver(a week).

Yes, they may ship a few dozens to each location, but do the math in terms of locked-in inventory.

Which variant will they ship? Which colour? 6 Colours and 4 variants for the New Jetta multiplied by each dealer. The dealer is the guy holding the stock and it is invoiced against the dealership. Would you as a dealer stock a 'few dozen' such cars?

It might be one thing to stock these numbers of Altos or i10s, another when the pricing is edging towards 20 large ones for each vehicle stocked in your yard.

[VW2010]

Would you as a dealer stock a 'few dozen' such cars?

Atleast when the car is just getting launched, i will pick atleast 3 each in each variant knowing i can get more customers who can get their cars in hand in a week rather than wait for a month.