[dre@ms]

Originally Posted by myavu

Vinu

Originally Posted by manishk123

Nice ad in today's TOI.

The silverish ad was today provided with The Hindu too. At first look, I thought The Hindu has changed the paper to a glossy look , then realized its an ad for Jetta.

I think VW is now serious on marketing.

[999]

mods, when are our review coming out? It is almost 2 weeks now. Wating for our review since ever

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by manishk123

The Autocar Jetta review ends with Renuka saying - "If price is not a concern, then it just does'nt get better than this".

For whom in India is price not a concern when they're looking at buying a midsized sedan like this. I feel reviewers in India get so exited by getting a new car that they are actually afraid to be critical. Need to take some pointers from Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear on how to give an interesting and fair review.

If the price is no concern, why not Laura L&K over this ?

I agree with you totally, no car review in any TV show/magazine criticizes any car too much. Any new car is talked up to be "segment shaker" and awesome buy. Any negatives are talked in the passing. For example, in this review, Renuka says the new Jetta adds a lot of goodies like 12-way seats, Leather seats (False!!), DRLs (no LED) etc and doesnt emphasize on the fact that a car which is 15L+ does not even come with a option of ACC on its highest variant. I guess if they criticize too much they wont get advertisements in their magazines/TV shows.

While Clarkson does go over the top, he doesnt shy from criticizing any car he dislikes unless its a Range Rover as BBC doesnt have to worry about advertising.

[JayD]

Originally Posted by manishk123

Need to take some pointers from Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear on how to give an interesting and fair review.

JC's reviews may be interesting, but they are far from Fair.

[nik_kapur]

Originally Posted by JayD

JC's reviews may be interesting, but they are far from Fair.

I completely agree, JC is a legend and a very interesting reviewer, but he is biased and has/shows no respect for Hyundai and the likes. He has an obsession for British Automobiles (which is fine) but sometimes he goes overboard. The X6 review by JC was one of the funniest i have seen in a while.

[drmohitg]

The pricing is bang in the territory of the outgoing Jetta. How is it a bad pricing I fail to understand. Before the launch we start hoping that the new car starts its prices in the Cruze range but then VW never intended to compete with it in the first place. The C+ segment is actually divided between two sub segments as far as diesel is concerned. The Altis and Cruze at one end and Laura and Jetta at the other.

Coming to Laura vs Jetta : The pricing is similar. 15-30k difference in variant to variant is not a lot atleast for a buyer in this segment. Looks and all are very subjective. So its going to be a good fight.

Last but no the least can we please atleast have an approximate date by which to expect the review to come up?

[999]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Last but no the least can we please atleast have an approximate date by which to expect the review to come up?

it had been a long agonising wait for the review.

[nik_kapur]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

The pricing is bang in the territory of the outgoing Jetta. How is it a bad pricing I fail to understand. Before the launch we start hoping that the new car starts its prices in the Cruze range but then VW never intended to compete with it in the first place. The C+ segment is actually divided between two sub segments as far as diesel is concerned. The Altis and Cruze at one end and Laura and Jetta at the other.

Coming to Laura vs Jetta : The pricing is similar. 15-30k difference in variant to variant is not a lot atleast for a buyer in this segment. Looks and all are very subjective. So its going to be a good fight.

Last but no the least can we please atleast have an approximate date by which to expect the review to come up?

The pricing for me isnt an issue but the feature list is !! A highline without a sunroof and Automatic Climate Control is a deal breaker. Even the Vento Highline has a ACC. What were VW thinking ??

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

The pricing is bang in the territory of the outgoing Jetta. How is it a bad pricing I fail to understand. Before the launch we start hoping that the new car starts its prices in the Cruze range but then VW never intended to compete with it in the first place. The C+ segment is actually divided between two sub segments as far as diesel is concerned. The Altis and Cruze at one end and Laura and Jetta at the other.

Coming to Laura vs Jetta : The pricing is similar. 15-30k difference in variant to variant is not a lot atleast for a buyer in this segment. Looks and all are very subjective. So its going to be a good fight.

Last but no the least can we please atleast have an approximate date by which to expect the review to come up?

I agree. It is actually in the range of the outgoing model. Yes, there are some feature omissions, but the car is pretty loaded with useful gizmos. It’s quite an attractive option IMO.

Trouble is, if they decide to add on some features in very near future – say ACC or full leather seats along with the launch of 1.4 TSI. VW has been quite rigid in the way they offer options to customer. For e.g.; the IPL touch screen can be offered with a petrol Vento, but not with the diesels.

[druk75]

Originally Posted by VW2010

Nope. But the new Jetta dash looks different. And the wood inserts sits well on it. I personally feel the dash to mimic some of the japanese cars. A honda or a toyota is what it feels like on the first look. Even the shape.

We need to wait for the test drives. But i dont really see any major difference in the ride quality. It may be better for all the good reasons.


Actually the 2010 or 2011 Jetta needs a blue tooth module which alone costs around 300 USD and in india they charge almost 35K. The car is sold with this module in US and people have even upgraded their Bluetooth kit to 9w7 (vs 9w3). THe kit sits under the seat in the US cars or the euro cars.

If you have not got used to the 2010 model, you may never know if the plastics are cheaper. As i said its a direct comparison. The plastics feel a little harder. Specially the door handles and the overall feel when you sit inside the car.

Depends on what is extra in either of them. The previous generation Jetta 2010 had some features in comfortline that was well worth paying the extra for me.

In 2011 jetta these are the additions that could see from the website.

1) Front fogs (Not really sure if this helps majorly)
2) Chrome inserts in grill (I guess one can decorate the grill with after market chrome strips)
3) CHrome Interior package
4) Decorative wood inserts.
5) Rear centre armrest
6) Auto dimming interior mirror
7) Multi-function display "Plus"
8) Leatherette upholstery
9)Light & sight package with rain sensor
10) Park distance control (front & rear) with acoustic warning
11) Exterior mirrors, electrically adjustable, foldable and heated
12) "RCD 300 Plus" music system with CD player, Aux-in & 8 speakers
13) Multi-function steering wheel with control for MFD, audio system

So you have to answer if these difference warrant the price difference

For me the biggest difference that made me go for Comfortline 2010 was having more air bags, RCD510, CLimatronics, ESP, ASR, Anti Theft feature, leather seats and few more. In fact i paid around 18L and nothing more for all these features.

I checked the comfortline 2010 model price yesterday and i was quoted 19.45L. I am already smiling that i made a killing buy before the price rise.

At the end of the day my feedback will always compare it with my current car.

Will my feedback be different if i saw this car for the first time? I am absolutely sure it will be.

LED shouldnt be a deal breaker. I do not have DRL's though my tail lights are one of my favorite from any cars.(Audi - DRL's, BMW Headlights(Genious i say), Audi Tail and 2010 VW Tails)

And please do remember, these are German cars. THe moment you are going to cut any of the wires outside authorized service centre you WILL lose your warranty. There is no point go for after market lights in your new Jetta unless you want to void your warranty.

The tail lights are not LED like the 2009 model. And if you have an old jetta you will definitely feel the difference in plastic quality.

AFAIK the tail lights are LEDs, but not as bright as usual since the cover glass is not plain see through. And after seeing the DRLs in action in the ACI review,
I've concluded that they are pretty decent and maybe we could just change them to white LED later on. I think I will go for the confortline after all. Thanks for putting things in perspective, the additional features are just about worth splurging upon.

Originally Posted by crackingride

So unless you want a smaller car with an, older gen, 110bhp engine and no provision for an auto box, then I think the current versions are good 'value' for roughly the same ball-park prices (+ one / two Lakh or so).

I think the new Comfortline is a decently specced mid-range piece of kit.

As for what I am shopping for, its a toss up between a Yeti and a Jett(i), both in top spec.

Thanks for helping me decide. I have almost surely set my eyes on the comfortline. Just waitng for the review from our team now....

Originally Posted by crackingride

There is nothing 'localised' about this Jetta. As before, it is a CKD unit manufactured and shipped from Mexico.

The dash still has soft-touch slush-moulded manufacture: it is below-the-sight-line plastic bits that have lost some of their premium attention to detail.

Quiet true. The same was experienced by me when I visited the showroom last weekend. I was shuttling from the new Jetta to the old and back and the SE was looking at me bemused and irritated after a while. I was looking for the out of sight bits and mind you, there are quiet a few of 'em. Especially I felt the quality of plastics decreasing gradiently from the dash to the front doors to the back doors - the best plastic being on the top of dash, while the worst, quiet i10-ish tacky plastic at the back doors! The plastic housing the AC controls are a straight lift from cheap Chinese toys!

After reading through VW2010 and drmohitg's discussion on the ACC, I have convinced myself on the uselessness of it and am ready to go for a compromise. The only question now remaining is whether to wait till Volkswagen offers good discounts owing to low sales and/or comes up with limited edition models with the sunroof, ACC, RNS series ICE et al to boost sales? What say drmohitg? Would one be advised to wait?

[druk75]

Originally Posted by jkdas

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

Was researching for him and hence the spreadsheet.

Did you inquire on the discounts available? Another thing that confuses me is the big difference in ex-shwrm prices of comfortline in Delhi and Cochin. They are 15,39,*** and 15,56,242 respectively, the difference being close to 15k where as trendline is only 2000 Rs costlier here compared to Delhi. Could you shed some light on it? Members from different states, i request you to find out the shrwrm prices of all the models, in order to tabulate the price-list all over India. This might come in handy for buyers to bargain that bit more. Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by deepakchan

Today called the VW Chennai showroom after seeing on the facebook page that bookings have started. To my surprise, Abbas said that the car has just arrived and was just being loaded on to the showroom. I said I will come again during the weekend to have an extensive test drive. I think test drives aren't offered officially yet since RTO approval is still pending. Once they register it, I am going to have a blast with the DSG.

Originally Posted by 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.

So who has got to TD her as of now (other than those who have already posted their first experiences here, of course)? What are the initial reactions?

[druk75]

Originally Posted by deepakchan

Floor mats are standard on the Jetta. It even comes with round hooks which keep it in place. So need not worry about that. I have a 2010 comfortline. Mud flaps will look ugly on this car. So I would suggest to avoid it. Anyway the lower portion of the rear bumper is black matte and it'll be easy to scrape the mud off. I went for RE50 for the front, side and rear. And CR70 for the windshield in front. 3M Brand.

Have to correct you there, as the SE I talked to was very sure that I will have to buy separately the mud flaps and floor mats. No further discounts or freebies was available. So if I book the car tomorrow, I am obliging to pay just under 17 lakh and wait for 3 weeks for delivery. I am thinking of the leafy silver or grey colors. Suggestions are welcome please. I shall talk to the SE regarding the 3M films.

Originally Posted by crackingride

I saw some funny circular pegs sticking out of the carpet and asked about it at VW Downtown, Bangalore.

The reply was that they were for the mats, but that the mats were not supplied! Someone might want to corroborate this.

+1. I was told the same. :(

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

Strangely, i didnt find it as plush and luxurious inside compared to the outgoing Jetta or the Laura. There was no TD vehicle nor accessory list with the dealer. So i couldnt even get to know whether we can fit Front Fogs in base version or not. Pretty niche offering to build VW brand rather.

Interesting to see that VW/Skoda situation is different in India than Europe - Superb & Laura sell more than Jetta/Passat in high end while Polo/Vento have the measure of Fabia at the low end.

Me neither, and that's the biggest grouse I have. I was expecting at least the same level of luxury if not better than the previous Jetta. The front fog lamps will cost you close to 25k according to the SE here.

Fail to understand Volkswagen policy outright. On one side they are trying to build volumes and become a mass player, going all out with the ad campaign etc., while on the other hand they are adamantly, almost blindly pricing their cars (especially those that are affordable to upwardly mobile middle class Indians) out of reach, and trying to propagate a premium image whilst inadvertently creating the "unreachable", "unaffordable" tag.

Skoda never had that kind of image crisis when the landed in India, they are a mid range player in Europe, volume builders for Volkswagen, and to their own surprise, Indians took to them quiet well, because, the kind of European no-nonsense cars with great build quality, uncompromising fit and finish was new and unheard of in this part of the world, especially south of the Mercs and Bavarians. Skoda built upon the Octavia cult, and established themselves. Now Volkswagen with their heritage and maybe a bit of ego, came to India announcing we are the father of Skoda, so take us more seriously, we mean more quality, so we are pricey.... Well, we know better. And they are having a tough time now convincing people to pay more just to own a Volkswagen. I though would any day buy a Volkswagen over Skoda, just to own it. (Been my dream to own one since my childhood when my dad had an old 80's Beetle, and used with joy the Passat in Europe during my stint there). The bulk of the population is asking them why they should pay extra money for supposedly better quality when they themselves are saying Skoda is built to last and is cheaper?

So, is the new Jetta a brand building exercise? I doubt it. First off, Volkswagen thinks they do no longer need to build their brand image here in India. Second, in direct comparison to its sibling each variant is 20- 30k costlier, while having glaring ommisions like ACC, sunroof, DSG across variants, cruise control, bluetooth, navi, leather, xenons etc, which for the common man are examples of luxury, of premium, of pampering and thus have a right to be more expensive. Half the people would be hard pressed to know and fully acknowledge the safety features that Volkswagen are providing right from the bottom. Nor does the new design scream of "premium brand", just tries to say I am one of the family, the Malcom in the Middle. I am not flocking the new Jetta by any means, I like the car and will most probably buy it. I am just constantating facts and trying to be unbiased and not be blinded by my love for it, also trying to vent out my disappointment. Third, by pegging it close to Laura, they want to woo in customers, want to sell cars to those who would buy a Skoda, or even I dare say, Renault. They just arrogantly thought that if people buy little known Fluence for 15 lakh, Laura for17 lakh plus, they will blindly buy VW because we are. Lastly, by stripping off the essentials, ( in this segment, I mean) they have tried to be once again heavy headed and arrogant, telling customers you want our car, buy it because its a VW, not because it has the features you expect in this segment. My 2 pence.

Originally Posted by myavu

Today Volkswagen has did it again with TOI. A silver look-alike Newspaper (Front and Back page) which actually a New Jetta Ad/Brochure.

Cheers!

Vinu

Originally Posted by dre@ms

The silverish ad was today provided with The Hindu too. At first look, I thought The Hindu has changed the paper to a glossy look , then realized its an ad for Jetta.

I think VW is now serious on marketing.

Guys, which editions are you talking about? I couldn't find TOI here in Cochin, nor did the Cochin edition of Hindi carry this ad. Maybe someone could scan and post it here?

Originally Posted by manishk123

Nice ad in today's TOI. It's just sad that these companies put in so much into bringing a good product to the market and then go berserk with the prices.

Why not price it right the first time around and benefit from volumes!

+1000. Why not? Beats me!

Originally Posted by 999

mods, when are our review coming out? It is almost 2 weeks now. Wating for our review since ever

+10000 !!! Please please feed us the fodder. We are starved and sleepless....Just look at the time I am typing this marathon post....Mods...waiting....waiting...

[druk75]

[quote=jmktm;2485546]

Originally Posted by druk75

and some other discounts for insurance including my ncb of 2 years, my age etc... and finally the insurance amount has come down significantly to around 30k.

Druk75, Regarding insurance ,have you checked with Oriental Insurance for their nil depreciation policy. To my knowledge no other govt. ins. company is having a nil depreciation motor policy.

http://www.orientalinsurance.org.in/...Endt180509.pdf




I have always felt that dealer point insurance is more often substantially expensive than buying direct. People usually go along with the 'buying experience" ... and pay more.....

I checked with another govt. ins.company and the calculation for an ordinary policy went like this: Invoice Amt. less 5% * 2.34% ,then substract 10% as discount allowable (openly given to any customer) ,add Rs.2750/-+Rs.125/- ,then add 10.3% (of final figure) as service tax. -this should be your net figure [this for a fresh policy=NO NCB]. The lump sum payment for the Nil Depreciation part is in addition to this. I am assuming that all govt. ins. companies operate on the same calculations.

But then again, if you are comfortable in finding value/comfort in terms like Return To Invoice, Lost Key Insurance, Hotel Re-Imbursement etc. pvt. insurers should be your stop. I am in no way connected to govt.ins. firms but I have found better value for my requirements with them, albeit even with their' Pay first and get re-imbursed later modus'.

If I may put in a last word,compare the final payable figure (for equal terms) between quotes. Most people get carried away by the sweet talking SA's words of XX % discount figures.

Happy hunting

Mods: Please edit if I am going much too Off Topic

I found your post extremely interesting and helpful. Thank you so much. I shall do my research, but I quiet did not follow you, where you start talking about the convenient features the pvt. firms offer. So, you mean the govt. firms do not offer these, not the cashless system? So the pvt companies really offer such services for real? How often would we need them? Is it VFM and the way to go?

Thank you once again.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by nik_kapur

The pricing for me isnt an issue but the feature list is !! A highline without a sunroof and Automatic Climate Control is a deal breaker. Even the Vento Highline has a ACC. What were VW thinking ??

Originally Posted by vb-san

Trouble is, if they decide to add on some features in very near future – say ACC or full leather seats along with the launch of 1.4 TSI. VW has been quite rigid in the way they offer options to customer. For e.g.; the IPL touch screen can be offered with a petrol Vento, but not with the diesels.

Well the ACC omission is huge. I totally agree. And its been a very emotional last 2 weeks since this news trying to convince myself that "All is Well"!.
But other then that the safety feature list on the car is awesome.

Even I am worried that what if VW decides to add ACC later in some months. That will be a disaster for anyone who buys the car without it.

[VW2010]

Even I am worried that what if VW decides to add ACC later in some months. That will be a disaster for anyone who buys the car without it.

May be on the 2012 version. I am sure the ACC will not be added to this car as an after thought.

For all said they may have even removed the sensor and electronics set up required for the ACC to function in sync with the set temperature and outside temperature.

Not just cost cutting but more in the line of increasing the electrical reliability.

Remember, German cars are known for bad reliability not due to mechanical parts but the number of electronic controls that work in sync with the mechanical parts.

For e.g.; the IPL touch screen can be offered with a petrol Vento, but not with the diesels. __________________

This baffles me as well. But i think Diesel didnt require major push to sell in our market while too many Petrol ventos stranded in the yard made them rethink their marketing strategy. For that matter the Petrol Jetta will never be a big seller even in Indian market. So i doubt if they would employ such strategy.