[sidhu_hs]

Originally Posted by rahulsharma2008

My current ride is the Honda City iDtec VXMT which is the perfect car for me except lack of an Autobox and lack of outright punch.

My experience with DSG is limited to a short test drive, so a practical suggestion would be replacing City with Vento/Rapid TDI DSG. Best of both worlds!

But if you are looking at just TSI + DSG combos, I think Mods who have sampled both can shed better light.

[Rajeevraj]

Why not go in between both these and look at the vento tsi? A bit of heart and a bit of mind.

[dark.knight]

My opinion with regard to usage in India would always be to go for the best engine in the smallest body shell possible. Increasing traffic & drive from office to home are kinds of stuff nightmares are made of in major cities.

Purely for that reason the VW Polo automatic makes the best sense. Also while failures in the DSG have not been reported for awhile now, the Polo would be a lot cheaper to maintain and repair compared to a sub 20L sedan. Everyone in TBHP knows that the Octavia has seen its fair share of electrical failures so far. Also in crowded roads hatches are a LOT easier to drive than a sedan. A 280L boot is also more than sufficient to carry soft luggage for a couple of days or more. Lets face it with each update the VW group seem to resemble each other greatly so their sub-brands have zero distinction now. Power-to-weight in Polo will be adequate and you may not find too much difference between the two. Fuel consumption would surely be 20-30% more in a bigger car.

Buy the bigger car only if you want the bigger car. Else small is beautiful.

[HKap]

I had the same conundrum and ended up with the Vento TSI this July. I do not regret that decision one bit. Yeah, the Vento is about 4 years old now but doesn't matter. It looks good and it drives well.

[VW2010]

Polo GT TSI makes more sense for you. You dont have to sell your current set up and have a back up car.

The car has been here for 4 years which also means your spares and supplies are spread out, and outside the dealership as well

Considering that there is a chance a new model can crop up you can work on discounts and extended warranty to sell of stocks.

YOu have a sedan in hand and you can add a hatch back that is super fun to drive.

The DSG is far better than most of the auto transmissions and most importantly one is VW and the other is Skoda. I love skoda cars but i have not heard one good story from my friends owning skoda.

Imagine taking the delivery and getting out of the showroom for the entire body protection to fall on a speed breaker where the customer is asked to cough up the cost of repair to stalling DSG's and over a month time taken to delivery the car back.

This is in chennai and all my friends owning a Skoda has advised to stay away.

On the other hand the VW atleast has service engineers trying to get the car out of the shed as soon as possible and 4 years the experience has been good with repair to get the car back.

Overall it makes sense with Polo which will help you manage your time with two cars than selling one to fund for the other.

[azeemhafiz]

The way I see it, the only thing that's between you and Octavia is the bigger size.

Trust me, as silly as this may sound, the Octavia will out maneuver the Polo in the city. A tight turning radius and a more predictable turning style makes it easy to drive. I have found the Laura to be a lot easier to live with in tight spots than the Polo, turns more predictably and more nicely. However, I personally prefer the Polo for the city runs because it is equipped my Laura is not equipped with a DSG box. If the Laura was a DSG, I'd take that over the polo for almost all of my needs.

As far as service is concerned, the Skoda service has been superior to VW in my experience, this could differ based on the city the car is going to be at.

Either ways, you will not regret buying either of your cars and you may find your city becoming obsolete soon (again another point for the Octavia), and for us petrolheads, the heart has always ruled over the head (Point #7 on Octavia, defeats #4 on Polo)

[rahulsharma2008]

May be you have experienced this because of the higher seating position in Laura as compared to the Polo.

I made my decision to buy the City 6 months back listening to my head, this time I might just listen to my heart

Originally Posted by azeemhafiz

Trust me, as silly as this may sound, the Octavia will out maneuver the Polo in the city.

Either ways, you will not regret buying either of your cars and you may find your city becoming obsolete soon (again another point for the Octavia), and for us petrolheads, the heart has always ruled over the head (Point #7 on Octavia, defeats #4 on Polo)

You have a very valid point that after sales experience will be better in Polo being a 4 year old model as compared to the Octavia. Also the two car benefit will be there as I wont have to sell the City.

Originally Posted by VW2010

The car has been here for 4 years which also means your spares and supplies are spread out, and outside the dealership as well

YOu have a sedan in hand and you can add a hatch back that is super fun to drive. Overall it makes sense with Polo which will help you manage your time with two cars than selling one to fund for the other.

I test drove the Vento TSI few days back and came out disappointed. With due respect to your ride it made me feel like it is neither sporty like the Polo GT nor luxurious like the 2014 City. It lacked the VOW factor that it had when it was launched back in 2010. (Note that these views are about the Vento as whole car and not just the TSI model)

Originally Posted by HKap

I had the same conundrum and ended up with the Vento TSI this July. I do not regret that decision one bit. Yeah, the Vento is about 4 years old now but doesn't matter. It looks good and it drives well.

Thats what I want to know, how much more car per car is the Octavia as compared to the Polo?
Its costs more than double the Polo, does it also give double the adrenaline rush too?

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Buy the bigger car only if you want the bigger car. Else small is beautiful.

I dont want a jack of all trades car. I tried doing that with the City and dont feel great about my decision. Also, I believe Vento is too subtle for my likes. I didnt get a vow factor in this car.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Why not go in between both these and look at the vento tsi? A bit of heart and a bit of mind.

Exactly I just want the TSI+DSG Combo. Requesting mods to throw some light

Originally Posted by sidhu_hs

But if you are looking at just TSI + DSG combos, I think Mods who have sampled both can shed better light.

I would be selling my City in case I go for the Octavia. Then Octavia will be only car for chauffer driven during the day and personal use on weekends.

Originally Posted by arunphilip

The key drawback of the Octavia will be its size compared to the Polo in the city. That drawback is a non-issue for your planned usage.
.

[rahulsharma2008]

Requesting moderators who have tested both the Polo GT TSI and Octavia 1.8 TSI to comment on this thread.

What will I miss if i indeed go in for the Polo over the Octavia (head over heart)? Will the more than double asking price of Octavia (22lakhs vs 9.5lakhs) also give me an equivalent amount of fun behind the wheel?

Question to those who are already owning the Laura TSI's - Is maintaining these cars in a place like Mumbai really difficult?

[sandeepmohan]

You can have a heck of a lot of fun with a VW GT TSI. You can explore the Vento with the same engine specification too. Landed cost comes to about 12.73 in my city. I am surprised you found no fun aspect to the Vento. I think it offers a superb balance of comfort driving and fun behind the wheel. The S mode on the DSG is a riot.

If rear seat occupancy is going to be rare, I'd stick with the GT Tsi.

The Octavia Tsi is at the other end of the spectrum. Guaranteed fun. Not that you may care, the low economy is what you will surely notice considering your ride is going to spend most of its time in the city.

The Octavia will offer much improved overall car quality, improved ride, more room and some more equipment. More than equipment, its the car quality and ride that will stand out the most. Though the asking price for a loaded Octavia is quite a bit, you are getting a lot more car.

Another option, though not an automatic is the VW Jetta Tsi 1.4 and the same on the Skoda Octavia.

[d_himan]

Originally Posted by azeemhafiz

Trust me, as silly as this may sound, the Octavia will out maneuver the Polo in the city. A tight turning radius and a more predictable turning style makes it easy to drive. I have found the Laura to be a lot easier to live with in tight spots than the Polo, turns more predictably and more nicely.

I humbly disagree Azeem. There's a nimbleness to the Polo GT TSI which bigger sized cars just can't match. Parking, getting into "just right", tight gaps - everything's easier. Plus, the steering is pretty light in the city as well, and the body roll is negligible. The Octavia simply didn't feel as chuckable, the normal laura TSI, even less so.

However, it's a big negative, there's no road presence factor at all - and this sometimes makes it a pain with autos/2-wheelers not caring about your existence. A big learning factor after driving an Accord.

Originally Posted by rahulsharma2008

Background:
The immediate solution was to hire a driver, sit back, relax and let the driver do the hardwork. My current ride is the Honda City iDtec VXMT which is the perfect car for me except lack of an Autobox and lack of outright punch.

I want to own a performance automatic car to rip on weekends and for outstation trips (Joy rides).

Hi, I've driven the Octy DSG (diesel), own a Polo TSI, and downsized from the Accord.

If you sell the city, you'd take a huge depreciation hit and miss the awesome mileage the IDTEC gives in bumper to bumper traffic. Plus, it's a car you can always give to a driver without guilt.

If you drive alone or with a lone passenger, I must say, for ripping in the city, the Polo TSI will be absolutely fine. Highways are OK too. Also, the DSG 7 is at the Polo's 175 NM is way lesser than the 250 NM limit of the gearbox and leaves space for a 140bhp remap.

But if there are going to be 4/5 passengers in the car and lots of highway driving, I would root for an Octavia anyday. There's that big car, effortless, in-destructible feel the Polo simply cannot match. With an AT, you can get by in the City as well and sell your City. The road presence will make life easier as well. However, it definitely won't be as much fun as the Polo in the city. And the DSG is at it's limit of 250Nm.

Hope I haven't confused you further!

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by rahulsharma2008

Question to those who are already owning the Laura TSI's - Is maintaining these cars in a place like Mumbai really difficult?

I don't think maintenance wise the Octavia TSI will give you any trouble. There are a lot us, myself included, who have had no trouble maintaining our Laura TSIs. My car is now nearing 70,000 Km with zero issues till date. My service experience with Skoda infact has been even better than Maruti, Hyundai and even Toyota for that matter. Do note I speak for myself and am not trying to undermine the numerous Skoda horror stories out there! I just feel that with petrol TSI engined Skodas and VWs there is nothing to worry. They are very reliable and have proven themselves in Indian conditions.

Coming to your conundrum, if you are looking for a car for weekends and outstation trips, I think you should go for the Octavia TSI, if you have the budget for it. Don't be worried about the size. I use my Laura TSI in a very similar fashion to what you describe. My car sits in my garage for the whole week (sometimes whole month) and only for out of city trips I take her out and boy do I enjoy getting my hands on the wheel. The extra power and torque just demolishes almost every other car on the road and delivers a rush that never fails to excite. If you find the handling docile, just upgrade the shocks to Bilstiens or something similar. It will make the car extremely chuckable around corners and bends. The Octavia has got a tight turning radius and offers good visibility from the drivers seat. I don't think you will find it tough to navigate in the city. With the Laura TSI, I only find it tough to constantly modulate and slip the clutch in slow crawling traffic. The size never really bothers me at all.

[azeemhafiz]

Originally Posted by d_himan

I humbly disagree Azeem. There's a nimbleness to the Polo GT TSI which bigger sized cars just can't match. Parking, getting into "just right", tight gaps - everything's easier. Plus, the steering is pretty light in the city as well, and the body roll is negligible. The Octavia simply didn't feel as chuckable, the normal laura TSI, even less so.

I understand your view point, the Polo definitely feels chuckable and its what I usually pick when I 'think'.

Probably because its just me, I have the same fear regardless of Polo or Laura.

However, I always see myself picking up the Laura keys over the polo everytime I make a subconscious decision, however rationale the case for polo is I always find my heart choosing Laura and in tight spots (not parking), I have faired better with the Laura.

Either of the cars, you simply cant go wrong

[HKap]

Originally Posted by rahulsharma2008

May be you have experienced this because of the higher seating position in Laura as compared to the Polo.



Thats what I want to know, how much more car per car is the Octavia as compared to the Polo?
Its costs more than double the Polo, does it also give double the adrenaline rush too?

After going through your comments I would recommend the Polo GT. It's a fun car to drive and it costs much less than the Skoda. The City is a great car if you want to be in the back seat.

If I were you, I would go for the Polo and not bother with the Octavia.

[rahulsharma2008]

Gentlemen,
Thank you very much for your valued inputs in helping me arrive to a decision. I have gone ahead and booked myself an Octavia 1.8 TSI. None of the dealers in Mumbai had a test drive available for the same but one of them had the 1.4TSI Octy. A short test drive of 5kms sealed the decision for me the car is amazing and coming from the 2014 Honda City it didnt feel unmanageable. Infact i loved the grunt in the tiny 1.4 engine so much that the 1.8 was a no brainer for me. The body control, speed masking capability, the sharp achors and the torquey tsi unit made me 100% sure that i wanted this to be my next car.

I just hope that I get the car as soon as possible. The dealer has quoted 6-7months for delivery. A paddle shift steering unit is big time on my wishlist. Any ideas where can I source it at reasonable rate?

Originally Posted by HKap

After going through your comments I would recommend the Polo GT. It's a fun car to drive and it costs much less than the Skoda. The City is a great car if you want to be in the back seat.

If I were you, I would go for the Polo and not bother with the Octavia.

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

I don't think maintenance wise the Octavia TSI will give you any trouble. There are a lot us, myself included, who have had no trouble maintaining our Laura TSIs. My car is now nearing 70,000 Km with zero issues till date. My service experience with Skoda infact has been even better than Maruti, Hyundai and even Toyota for that matter. Do note I speak for myself and am not trying to undermine the numerous Skoda horror stories out there! I just feel that with petrol TSI engined Skodas and VWs there is nothing to worry. They are very reliable and have proven themselves in Indian conditions.

Coming to your conundrum, if you are looking for a car for weekends and outstation trips, I think you should go for the Octavia TSI, if you have the budget for it. Don't be worried about the size. I use my Laura TSI in a very similar fashion to what you describe. My car sits in my garage for the whole week (sometimes whole month) and only for out of city trips I take her out and boy do I enjoy getting my hands on the wheel. The extra power and torque just demolishes almost every other car on the road and delivers a rush that never fails to excite. If you find the handling docile, just upgrade the shocks to Bilstiens or something similar. It will make the car extremely chuckable around corners and bends. The Octavia has got a tight turning radius and offers good visibility from the drivers seat. I don't think you will find it tough to navigate in the city. With the Laura TSI, I only find it tough to constantly modulate and slip the clutch in slow crawling traffic. The size never really bothers me at all.

Originally Posted by d_himan

I humbly disagree Azeem. There's a nimbleness to the Polo GT TSI which bigger sized cars just can't match. Parking, getting into "just right", tight gaps - everything's easier. Plus, the steering is pretty light in the city as well, and the body roll is negligible. The Octavia simply didn't feel as chuckable, the normal laura TSI, even less so.

However, it's a big negative, there's no road presence factor at all - and this sometimes makes it a pain with autos/2-wheelers not caring about your existence. A big learning factor after driving an Accord.




Hi, I've driven the Octy DSG (diesel), own a Polo TSI, and downsized from the Accord.

If you sell the city, you'd take a huge depreciation hit and miss the awesome mileage the IDTEC gives in bumper to bumper traffic. Plus, it's a car you can always give to a driver without guilt.

If you drive alone or with a lone passenger, I must say, for ripping in the city, the Polo TSI will be absolutely fine. Highways are OK too. Also, the DSG 7 is at the Polo's 175 NM is way lesser than the 250 NM limit of the gearbox and leaves space for a 140bhp remap.

But if there are going to be 4/5 passengers in the car and lots of highway driving, I would root for an Octavia anyday. There's that big car, effortless, in-destructible feel the Polo simply cannot match. With an AT, you can get by in the City as well and sell your City. The road presence will make life easier as well. However, it definitely won't be as much fun as the Polo in the city. And the DSG is at it's limit of 250Nm.

Hope I haven't confused you further!

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

You can have a heck of a lot of fun with a VW GT TSI. You can explore the Vento with the same engine specification too. Landed cost comes to about 12.73 in my city. I am surprised you found no fun aspect to the Vento. I think it offers a superb balance of comfort driving and fun behind the wheel. The S mode on the DSG is a riot.

If rear seat occupancy is going to be rare, I'd stick with the GT Tsi.

The Octavia Tsi is at the other end of the spectrum. Guaranteed fun. Not that you may care, the low economy is what you will surely notice considering your ride is going to spend most of its time in the city.

The Octavia will offer much improved overall car quality, improved ride, more room and some more equipment. More than equipment, its the car quality and ride that will stand out the most. Though the asking price for a loaded Octavia is quite a bit, you are getting a lot more car.

Another option, though not an automatic is the VW Jetta Tsi 1.4 and the same on the Skoda Octavia.

Originally Posted by azeemhafiz

The way I see it, the only thing that's between you and Octavia is the bigger size.

Trust me, as silly as this may sound, the Octavia will out maneuver the Polo in the city. A tight turning radius and a more predictable turning style makes it easy to drive. I have found the Laura to be a lot easier to live with in tight spots than the Polo, turns more predictably and more nicely. However, I personally prefer the Polo for the city runs because it is equipped my Laura is not equipped with a DSG box. If the Laura was a DSG, I'd take that over the polo for almost all of my needs.

As far as service is concerned, the Skoda service has been superior to VW in my experience, this could differ based on the city the car is going to be at.

Either ways, you will not regret buying either of your cars and you may find your city becoming obsolete soon (again another point for the Octavia), and for us petrolheads, the heart has always ruled over the head (Point #7 on Octavia, defeats #4 on Polo)

Originally Posted by VW2010

Polo GT TSI makes more sense for you. You dont have to sell your current set up and have a back up car.

The car has been here for 4 years which also means your spares and supplies are spread out, and outside the dealership as well

Considering that there is a chance a new model can crop up you can work on discounts and extended warranty to sell of stocks.

YOu have a sedan in hand and you can add a hatch back that is super fun to drive.

The DSG is far better than most of the auto transmissions and most importantly one is VW and the other is Skoda. I love skoda cars but i have not heard one good story from my friends owning skoda.

Imagine taking the delivery and getting out of the showroom for the entire body protection to fall on a speed breaker where the customer is asked to cough up the cost of repair to stalling DSG's and over a month time taken to delivery the car back.

This is in chennai and all my friends owning a Skoda has advised to stay away.

On the other hand the VW atleast has service engineers trying to get the car out of the shed as soon as possible and 4 years the experience has been good with repair to get the car back.

Overall it makes sense with Polo which will help you manage your time with two cars than selling one to fund for the other.

Originally Posted by HKap

I had the same conundrum and ended up with the Vento TSI this July. I do not regret that decision one bit. Yeah, the Vento is about 4 years old now but doesn't matter. It looks good and it drives well.

Originally Posted by dark.knight

My opinion with regard to usage in India would always be to go for the best engine in the smallest body shell possible. Increasing traffic & drive from office to home are kinds of stuff nightmares are made of in major cities.

Purely for that reason the VW Polo automatic makes the best sense. Also while failures in the DSG have not been reported for awhile now, the Polo would be a lot cheaper to maintain and repair compared to a sub 20L sedan. Everyone in TBHP knows that the Octavia has seen its fair share of electrical failures so far. Also in crowded roads hatches are a LOT easier to drive than a sedan. A 280L boot is also more than sufficient to carry soft luggage for a couple of days or more. Lets face it with each update the VW group seem to resemble each other greatly so their sub-brands have zero distinction now. Power-to-weight in Polo will be adequate and you may not find too much difference between the two. Fuel consumption would surely be 20-30% more in a bigger car.

Buy the bigger car only if you want the bigger car. Else small is beautiful.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Why not go in between both these and look at the vento tsi? A bit of heart and a bit of mind.

Originally Posted by arunphilip

For this reason in particular, I'd say take the Octavia.

The key drawback of the Octavia will be its size compared to the Polo in the city. That drawback is a non-issue for your planned usage.

In fact, the boot of the Octavia will help for your weekend jaunts and outstation trips.

[petrolhead_neel]

Congrats on listening to your heart and booking your dream vehicle. Once you get the car, prepare a long ownership report.
BTW are you still keeping the diesel City?