[GT145]

Happy news 145 bhp Abarth and 105 bhp TSI will stay as the practical hot hatches. And Octavia 1.8 TSI will still remain as the VFM performance car in India.

GTI's figures are incredible, but 30-35 lakhs on-road and 99 cars, seriously? VW could have done this with Golf MK7 but not with Polo GTI. 99 cars will be sold in no time, but still don't understand VW logic here especially when 1.2 TSI with DSG is just 10.4 lakhs on-road.

It took FIAT 4 years to put T-Jet engine into the Punto Chasis, but it was a worth wait for Indian motor enthusiasts. VW could have done the same or even better what FIAT did, they got 1.4 TSI and 1.8 TSI running on the Jetta's and Octavia's for long now. They have got Polo's running strongly for years, 1.4 TSI or 1.8 TSI engine + Polo chassis and other necessary upgrades to accommodate bigger engine and power, it would have been a monster. Well, expecting a locally assembled GTI looks far from reality now, if VW were really on to that then they could have done that now.

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

After spending 30 lacs, I still need to flip a switch for the IRVM!

Funny thing is that you don't need to flip a switch in the el cheapo GT TSi. It comes with an automatic IRVM

The bits that impress are the engine and gearbox. Close to 190 horses and just under 1300 kilos to lug around. Guaranteed to wet your pants. A few additional toys are available. More active and passive safety kit to keep you safe. You cannot ignore the electronic differential.

Some of the toys removed for India are:

- Launch control (this increases the 0-60 by half a second)
- Adaptive Damping control via electronic selector
- All the additional frills like Sunroof etc

This basically is a base model Polo GTI in Europe. The XDS electronic differential exists in the Polo GT TSi as well and it is nothing special, rather understeer biased.

What I want to know is, have VW done anything at all with the suspension? Sure, the bigger, fatter rubber will help but that is not enough.

Apparently the suspension is india specific. The suspension is made in India and so are the 16" alloys and the tyres. The CBU cars are coming to india without tyres and suspension.

Pay 30 odd lacs and get shortchanged for some things as basic as suspension and performance rubber. Its a pity .

[GT145]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

The suspension is made in India and so are the 16" alloys and the tyres.

Polo alloys are not "Made in India" as far as I'm aware, they were "Made in Spain" previously, new versions comes with "Made in South Africa" I believe.

[GeeTee TSI]

If the GTI is being positioned as a halo car, VW might have as well fitted racy looking alloys with performance car rubber. I remember the one at the auto expo had better looking ones and VW has wayy racier looking alloys in its vast parts bin

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

So here comes a limited edition Polo, not a sport variant. A missed opportunity in my book. I'm assuming the GTI version has an extensively modified chassis, hence VW could not import only the drivetrain and assemble the rest in India.

Well, they did it in China. But it would have required a significant investment that VW may not be prepared to undertake.

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Also, will the interiors be the same as a regular Polo?

Nope. It only looks the same.

The static GTI I checked out at one of their promotional events was seriously premium inside out. 2-folds, over the regular Polo. Everything is different, the seats are proper buckets, the steering is GTI spec and so is the instrument binnicle. The material used nearly everywhere is of premium quality, the dash board was made of soft touch plastic. Even the indicator / wiper stalks seemed straight our of my Octavia.

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Apparently the suspension is india specific. The suspension is made in India and so are the 16" alloys and the tyres. The CBU cars are coming to india without tyres and suspension.

Pay 30 odd lacs and get shortchanged for some things as basic as suspension and performance rubber. Its a pity .

I think it's the stock GTI suspension (non adjustable) which has been tweaked a little (read: jacked up an inch or so) to cope with bad roads. Also, I've seen these wheels on Polos in other markets. 16" wheels and slightly taller side walls make it more practical IMO.

But you're right. 30+ lakhs is too much money in general, for this car. Even a 20 lakh ex-showroom would have been expensive, but just about acceptable in my book.

[vikramk]

VW is nowhere calling this car the Polo GTI. Instead its just Volkswagen GTI. So for some reason they don't want to use the Polo name despite what the car really is with mechanicals on steroids.

Looking at the recent launches including Jeep, Mustang, Accord and now GTI its quite apparent that manufacturers appear to be keen to showcase their technical capabilities to the Indian market without worrying about volumes and slowly change brand image. Leaving Jeep aside for being new, Ford, Honda and VW all have entry level offerings for the mass market and are now perhaps seeing the trend among Indian consumer to slowly go up the value chain unlike a few years back with a Maruti 800 would by default be the first car for a lot many. While the new launches are way out of reach of most, they may still help in creating a halo effect for the manufacturer aiding sales of other models some of which may suddenly appear to be priced 'reasonably' .

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by kiku007

A JEEP for 1 Crore, Mustang for 80L, Accord for 40L, Polo for 30L. Is the Indian Currency devalued like Zimbabwe?

As soon as I saw the news, checked the Drive-Away(OTR) prices here in Adelaide & boy!!! Even here(Australia car prices are usually similar to India) it costs half(around 17L)



Source

However I wont be surprised if the 99 units fly off the shelf just like the over priced Accords.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

After spending 30 lacs, I still need to flip a switch for the IRVM!

Sandeep, IINM the GTI has the same IRVM as that of the highline models which do not need any switches to be flipped. The auto-dimming mode is turned on by default. Unless this is a different IRVM unit altogether!

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by GT145

Polo alloys are not "Made in India" as far as I'm aware, they were "Made in Spain" previously, new versions comes with "Made in South Africa" I believe.

The ones in my car (my2016) are made in India.

[GT145]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

The ones in my car (my2016) are made in India.

That's strange, my friend purchased "Oct 2016 delivered Polo GT" alloys for his Comfortline TDI and it was having "Made in South Africa" label. It was written as imported in August 2016. Maybe they are sourcing it from multiple places.

Either way with or without "Made in India" alloy 26 lakhs is too much to ask for a Polo GTI.

[volkman10]

Here is where the money is!

- The 1.8TSI snugly fit in the VW GTI!



First review on Indian roads!




Link

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Sandeep, IINM the GTI has the same IRVM as that of the highline models which do not need any switches to be flipped. The auto-dimming mode is turned on by default. Unless this is a different IRVM unit altogether!

The PDF of the india model states that the IRVM is of manual type not the electronic one found in the highline and GT twins.

[Passiautonate]

Well 2 things that comes to my mind-

- They are selling 99 units of this CBU and as I call recall that too with invitation only. I assume there would be few rich fans who would like to own this with bragging rights. Nowadays BMW 320 does not give same, trust me on this

- As clear from initial briefing VW is looking for localization so surely realistic price would be in price bracket of 20 lacs and I assume it will be still niche. Will find few takers only once exclusivity factor dies.

So not sure why we are so conscious of initial price offering. You were not expecting VW to sell just 99 units at not such niche price, Do you??

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

As soon as I saw the news, checked the Drive-Away(OTR) prices here in Adelaide & boy!!! Even here(Australia car prices are usually similar to India) it costs half(around 17L)

The pricing is similar in cases where the car is assembled in India. Take the Polo TSI for example. It's about Rs.10,00,000 / $20,000.

The pricing gets crazy when we move to cars above 20L or imports. Some folks blame the Government Tax structure for the high pricing but my opinion is that its the greediness (or dumbness) of car makers plus the tax structure.

In any case, they are killing the dreams of many enthusiasts.

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Indian car companies are sure stretching that "testing the waters" thing to it's full extreme.

Hope they meet with failure.

[DrivingNirvana]

A true enthusiast's dream from Volkswagen. But it is priced insanely. Respected fellow members have opined rightly that the Polo GT TSI looks value for money now.

I am happy with my Polo GT TSI. On a budget, it is enough to satisfy the occasional adrenaline rush which I require.

Regards

Saubhik