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Old 20th October 2009, 11:33   #46
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Originally Posted by harishv View Post
3 service outlets????

Dear friend, would you want a dealer or a model wise break up ?

Wait and watch. Will post a list of litigants during the forthcoming lawsuit.

@HarishV,
Pls do so at the earliest. Even a high level synopsis or highlights.
Many on this forum have been waiting to see some action happen on the said 'lawsuit' which has been in talks for months now.
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Old 19th March 2010, 00:53   #47
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Its that time of the year when I find myself doing some car shopping. And what a blessing this thread has turned out to be! Just the cars I am interested in. Well here is my honest view.
Drove all the three candidates.

Chevy Cruze is impressive. But only on the outside. The Styling is Yankee Butch! Sadly the interiors are more like Yankee Doodle. Never know whats going to fall off. The plastics are a joke. The controls feel like they have been taken from a Lego kit. The dealer did not have a TD car so was supposed to call me the next day. NO CALL. I did call him back and he asked me to come all the way to his showroom some 20 km away. The drive was eventful. The cars ODO was disconnected. Some poor chap is gonna buy this brutalised TD vehicle. Engine is a mad bull tho. Insane performance. Cheapest to service amongts the trio. Good mileage and.. I am running out of nice things to say! Oh yes, loaded to the hilt. The features are its standout feature. LTZ OTR Pune Rs.16.85L. Rating : 7/10.

Skoda Laura 1.9PD Elegance was my first choice. Been a Skoda user since 2003. On my second Octy now and I quite like it. So walked in with my head raised high into the usuall dealership only to find my favourite salesman missing. New guy did not know anything and I got the feeling he was doubting my credibility. Vexing. The car itself is awesome. Silky smooth, light controls, tight build, good handling and they had a few in stock. Everything was looking good. Until I drove the TFSI just for kicks. Stonking is not the word. But for my usuage the petrol did not make much sense. Servicing cost is the same as the diesel and the 1.7Lacs one saves is neutralised after only 35k kms. Thereon the diesel saves you maney.
OTR Pune Rs. 17.5L. Rating : 8/10

VW Jetta was my last choice, and I was so wrong. The dealership experience was ace. The TD car had 15k kms on the ODO and was the Comfortline with the DSG. I was skeptical at first but the gearbox won me over. Must say it is the best car under 20L to drive. Smooth, quick, effortless and oh so much fun. The sales guy actually let me take it to my favourite set of twisties in town and the chassis owned it! SO MUCH GRIP! DSG in sports mode was telepathically quick. The build quality was top notch. I gave me a feeling that the people who built this car were at the top of their game. Total drivers car. On the downside, there is a lack of space. Have no clue how the A.S.S. is and I would rather wait for the new CRDI motors. Then out came the pricelist and I could feel myself shrinking in my drivers seat. Good mileage thought. Even after my thrashing the MID was showing a decent 8lts/100km.
OTR Pune Rs. 18.77L. Rating : 9/10

Now comes the tough part. The Cruze is ok. I like the Laura but hate Skoda for all the obvious reasons. There is a certain element of risk involved in buying a Laura. Skoda's A.S.S does not help either. A friend spent upto rs. 2L on getting his A/C fixed. twice he had to replace the compressor. The Jetta is my favourite. Good car. Bad price. Tried to haggle with the dealer. I am not ready to pay full list price for a car which is gonna have a new motor in it. A better one at that.

When did car shopping become so stressful? I am clueless. Looks like I might have to wait and watch. Invest elsewhere before this year end.
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Old 19th March 2010, 10:33   #48
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BuBooMan View Post
Its that time of the year when I find myself doing some car shopping. And what a blessing this thread has turned out to be! Just the cars I am interested in. Well here is my honest view.
Drove all the three candidates.
...
When did car shopping become so stressful? I am clueless. Looks like I might have to wait and watch. Invest elsewhere before this year end.
How about the Sonata? On another note, Civic and Altis?
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Old 19th March 2010, 16:25   #49
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How about the Sonata? On another note, Civic and Altis?

Well the Sonata is a good car but the dealer told me they are built to order. Hence no stock. So no invoice before the financial year draws to an end. Plus spares are hard to come buy considering there are not more than a handful of these cars in town.

As for the Civic, its a great car but for my usage, it makes no sense in going for a petrol. 60k kms a year. 6000 lts of petrol equates to Rs. 3L in fuel cost. The diesels roughly cost half as much to run. Same applies to the Altis. Also I personally did not like the Toyota too much. It just does not hustle like the rest. It is a bit of a minger in the driving department.
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Old 20th March 2010, 11:10   #50
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Bubooman,

1. The Jetta is soon to be released with a common-rail diesel Link to thread.

2. Check with any other Hyundai dealers if they have a Sonata crdi in stock. This car would be my pick amongst the 16 lakh diesels.

3. Your running is on the higher side. Does any of it entail rough roads? If so, you'd probably want to consider SUVs such as the Captiva & Fortuner.

4. Toyota is testing the Altis diesel; this car is almost certain to be launched in the coming quarters. Is buying a car now absolutely imperative or can you wait? The Altis diesel will make a stronger case for itself, vis a vis the Cruze & Laura.
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Old 20th March 2010, 12:24   #51
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Kizashi is around the corner and it's one heck of a machine in this segment, loaded with equipment. If I were to buy a petrol, I would go for this one. It's a fully loaded Suzuki and possibly a segment changer. Honda and Toyota will have their hands full against this fellow Japmobile.
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Old 20th March 2010, 15:01   #52
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Originally Posted by GTO View Post
Bubooman,

1. The Jetta is soon to be released with a common-rail diesel Link to thread.

2. Check with any other Hyundai dealers if they have a Sonata crdi in stock. This car would be my pick amongst the 16 lakh diesels.

3. Your running is on the higher side. Does any of it entail rough roads? If so, you'd probably want to consider SUVs such as the Captiva & Fortuner.

4. Toyota is testing the Altis diesel; this car is almost certain to be launched in the coming quarters. Is buying a car now absolutely imperative or can you wait? The Altis diesel will make a stronger case for itself, vis a vis the Cruze & Laura.

Hey GTO thanks for the heads up. I have decided to wait and invest elsewhere this time around. Yes I have read the new engine link. I do encounter rough roads. I remember this one time when the old Octy had beached itself within two huge craters. Full see-saw style.
The Captiva and Fortuner were under consideration. Captiva has a few issues. Have driven it around town and the turbo lag is a physical drain. Automatics have huge waiting again. Fortuner is near perfect. But there is a 1 YEAR WAITING on it. Rediculous.

Update : Drove the Laura 2.0 L&K yesterday. Impressive engine. Interiors are way to awesome and the car is feature packed. Xenons and parking sensors work fabulously. ICE is right up there with the best. On the flip side, the engine has loads of lag which confuses the DSG. Shifts are not as seamless as the Jetta DSG. I am guessing the Jetta's box has better software. Plus I missed the paddle shifts. Another surprise. Skoda has dropped the sun roof. The car was 10k km old and everything worked like new. Still not as nice as the Jetta to drive. haggled with the dealer and here is his best offer.
OTR - Rs. 20.3L
Discounts - Insurance free : - Rs 68529
Cash Discount : - Rs. 50000
Also, I might be able to bill it outside Octroi limits. Another 65000 saved.
I told him straight to give it to me for Rs. 18.5L. He is hesitent but I am sure he will come around.
All this is certainly tempting. All right Team! Your thoughts count!
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Old 20th March 2010, 17:49   #53
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All 3 are strong competitors with looks, comfort, power, stability, road grip, and more. The from grill and the positioning of the Cruz gives you the go ahead feeling when compared only to the looks. When you take brand into consideration the Jetta from VW pops out and of course no doubt the Laura will be ahead in the lineup. Laura has got life under its hood. You feel the thrill of life when you drive it. Go Sport, Go devil , Go Laura
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Old 20th March 2010, 20:49   #54
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Originally Posted by BuBooMan View Post
Fortuner is near perfect. But there is a 1 YEAR WAITING on it. Rediculous.
Wait for another quarter, the Fortuner's backlog is supposed to be resolved by then.

Quote:
On the flip side, the engine has loads of lag which confuses the DSG. Shifts are not as seamless as the Jetta DSG. I am guessing the Jetta's box has better software.
For city driving, I actually prefer the (cheaper) 1.9.

Quote:
I told him straight to give it to me for Rs. 18.5L. He is hesitent but I am sure he will come around.
All this is certainly tempting. All right Team! Your thoughts count!
Too much for a Laura IMO. End of the day, the car doesn't even have the interior room of an Altis or Civic.
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Old 21st March 2010, 04:23   #55
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GTO and CarSpotter, big thanks for the replies. Skoda guy has agreed to Rs. 18.5L. Tempted. But the lag and the insipid DSG is working against it. I think I will wait for the the Jetta 2.0CRDI DSG. Still hopeful about milking the VW ddealer for some discounts and better deals on the new updated version.

GTO u mention that you still prefer the 1.9 in the city. Exactly what appeals to you about it? Keeping my options open. I have deals on the current Jetta 1.9 DSG from outstation dealers. Should I go for it? or should I seriously wait?
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Old 21st March 2010, 10:15   #56
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Jetta will get next month the 2.0 TDI engine that was powering the Passat.
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Old 22nd March 2010, 10:46   #57
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Originally Posted by BuBooMan View Post
GTO u mention that you still prefer the 1.9 in the city. Exactly what appeals to you about it?
Though both the 1.9 & 2.0 diesels have lag, the 2.0 has a substantially greater quantity. That's what makes the 1.9 better within the city.
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Old 22nd March 2010, 11:24   #58
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Originally Posted by ACM View Post
Laura elegance has both the 1.9PD and 2.0 TDI engines. Not exactly Crdi but a 2.0 engine delivering 140 bhp is as good as it gets right now.
ACM, The Elegance comes only in 1.9PD. Only Laura Lnk gets the 2.0 PD.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BuBooMan View Post
GTO and CarSpotter, big thanks for the replies. Skoda guy has agreed to Rs. 18.5L. Tempted. But the lag and the insipid DSG is working against it. I think I will wait for the the Jetta 2.0CRDI DSG. Still hopeful about milking the VW ddealer for some discounts and better deals on the new updated version.

GTO u mention that you still prefer the 1.9 in the city. Exactly what appeals to you about it? Keeping my options open. I have deals on the current Jetta 1.9 DSG from outstation dealers. Should I go for it? or should I seriously wait?

BuBooMan
Thanks for the pricing info. Both the dealers in Pune did not offer me the 50K discount you mentioned. Thanks to you and this forum.
I think we are in the similar boats and TDing same TD vehicles. Similar because I am also considering petrol ones as my usage is low (14Kms per day + ~ 1000Km per year for outings).

Now what you say about the Laura Lnk is also echoed by Autocar - "The downside of this engine is the considerable amounts of lag you get at lower speeds. The lack of response makes you mash the throttle pedal to the floor, and the abrupt burst of power makes it difficult to drive smoothly and makes it difficult to judge overtaking in the city."

Contrary to the above I had the above feeling (abrupt burst for power) in Jetta Comfortline and Laura Lnk was what I liked and was comfortable with. I took the TDs of Laura Lnk and Jetta Comfortline back to back. I think it has to do with the way I drive. I had almost stroke off Jetta based on this but the engine change takes me one month back (when I started the TDs); I have to start over again for VW and Skoda group in next month that too after the TD vehicles arrive.

I also drove the 1.9 Laura Elegance manual with 20K kms on odo (Europa Auto). While depressing the clutch pedal I felt continuous minor jerks. If you have driven the same did you feel them? Also can anyone explain what that means (worn out clutch?). I was more comfortable with this than the Jetta DSG.

GTO
I too am waiting for your reply on preference for 1.9.
Off topic:
By the way I considered myself as "general public" and followed your opinion on another thread that autos make sense for them. I had started TDing with only autos in mind but as dealers don't have both ATs and MTs and also to feel the difference I test drove manuals. So I started with Accord AT, Civic Manual, Jetta AT, Laura Lnk AT, Laura 1.8 MT, Corolla MT, Civic AT and Laura 1.9 MT. Had driven the Corolla AT few months back.
Having driven only manual for past 9 years, I was more comfortable with MTs and enjoyed almost all the MTs over ATs. On the MTs the best I found was Civic (was a bigger and powerful Alto for me) followed by Laura TSI (6 speed) , Laura 1.9 PD (5 speed) Corolla. On the ATs I was impressed only with the Laura Lnk DSG (auto mode). I also tried the manual mode in ATs but its not as direct/responsive/intelligent as a MT + human brain.
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Old 22nd March 2010, 11:56   #59
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Booboo, this might not help you at all - but I personally, and many females I have come across, find Jetta's looks very "Uncle-ish".

Don't know if that is a criteria for you ...
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Old 22nd March 2010, 14:37   #60
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alto99 View Post
ACM, The Elegance comes only in 1.9PD. Only Laura Lnk gets the 2.0 PD.

===========
On the ATs I was impressed only with the Laura Lnk DSG (auto mode). I also tried the manual mode in ATs but its not as direct/responsive/intelligent as a MT + human brain.

Well like I said before, I did like the Jetta DSG way more than the Laura's. The lag is way less and the the engine spools up quickly. No confusion in shifting either. It is quite telepathic. As for the 1.9's clutch, if you are talking about the vibrations when you just rest the foot on it or even when lightly pressed, not to worry. Have used two Octavias and have realised that it is an inherent trait. Not a problem. Minor irritant.

As for why the manual, well you control the torque. Have always been of the opinion that MTs are better. But you know how urban driving is these days. And the Jetta's auto box compensates for that feeling of not being in control very well. THe Skoda guy needs to be haggled and being a long time customer, I can put some pressure. Try it.
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