[tanwaramit]

Hi Guys,

Managed to spot a Volkswagen Golf, direct import, Left Hand drive, with number plates of outside of India undergoing testing at Gurgaon, (NH8)

I asked the driver, he said, its a diesel car and they are doing a testing of the car. Couldnt manage to get more info or pics as bumper to bumper traffic and couldnt get to any other angle for pictures. There was another person sitting with the driver (looked like co-driver)

Night time, iPhone, excuse the picture quality.


Mods, please feel free to delete/merge with another thread if existing.

[vkochar]

Nice scoop. That's the older Golf If I am not wrong, I guess they are doing the normal drives.

VW certainly is certainly gearing up for the Indian Market.

[vijaythacker]

nice catch tanwaramit, VW is testing this car all around india, this one seems to be the older gen Polo which might come in indian market.
We already have Polo thread, so mods merge the threads.

[sidindica]

WOW fantastic scoop! So the icon is headed here.
The car in the pics is the latest MK6 golf, here's a rear end pic to match.

[akhilesh51]

So, it is the New Golf and heading for India....WOW!

The past few weeks seem to be owned by VW. By every passing day, their strategy is being revealed and consumers are certainly in for a treat... Well done on the scoop.

[hiren959]

Surely this is latest Golf from VW, I think VW is gearing up like anything for Indian car market as it has huge potential for hatches.

Here is the latest 2010 Golf GTI available in three or five doors with 2.0lt FSI Petrol engine produing 200BHP...

[Parm]

Originally Posted by vkochar

Nice scoop. That's the older Golf If I am not wrong, I guess they are doing the normal drives.

VW certainly is certainly gearing up for the Indian Market.

That is NOT older golf mk 5, its the new mk6.

[issigonis]

Lads,

IMHO, VW will focus on the Polo as this will be their mass market brand. I am pretty sure their sales projections for it must be in the tens of thousands if not lacs.

The Passat and the Jetta are here; so the so called upper end of the market is taken care of, low volume sales notwithstanding.

The Golf is a hot hatch and competes with the Ford Focus/Peugeot 207/Honda Civic R/Alfa 147/Audi S3 and so on. I doubt very much that VW is planning to bring their hot hatch to India soon for the simple reason that 1. they don't want to lose their focus from the Polo, and 2. lack of a potential market - a hot hatch typically would cost much higher than ( even) a C segment car such as the SX4/Linea/City and even higher than the Civic/Corolla/Laura levels.

There would be very few takers for a hot hatch at that price point in India. If the requirement is for a 'buzz' model, the Beetle would fill the bill, as it is cute looking and would generate far greater public debate than the Golf ( especially the GTi) which is a driver's machine. Moreover the Beetle would also appeal to the fair sex, as opposed to the Golf GTi, an out and out driver's car.

Much as petrolheads in India desire a Golf GTi or a Ford Focus RS, we will have to wait till the Indian market matures and deepens further. Look no further than the on again-off again news of the Fiat Bravo - at about 22-25 lacs how many Indians will be convinced to buy it over a similarly priced Accord?

Regards

[harishnair]

Its most likely a test mule for a new diesel engine to be introduced in the Polo or the Jetta.

I don't think that VW will be releasing the Golf in India any time soon.

[rallystar]

There is nothing new about this .In fact they have been testing these cars for more than one and half years all round the country.One interesting car which i saw in this group was a black streached Laura ( oldmodel).The car had been stretched by about one foot
cheers

[anekho]

Originally Posted by harishnair

Its most likely a test mule for a new diesel engine to be introduced in the Polo or the Jetta.

I don't think that VW will be releasing the Golf in India any time soon.

bang on.

I think they are testing components for Jetta/Laura as they share the platform in a car that will never be lauched in india.

There really is no market for a hatch upward of 9L.

[aaggoswami]

1) This car is not coming here anytime soon. Probably, some engine, transmission or an entire powertrain is getting tested. May be suspension ? But this car cannot come very soon.

2) They are yet to come up with Polo. And that too polo is most likely to avoid TSi motors in it. So first the details or even exact launch date is not clear.

3) This is not a small hatch, but its a bigger machine as compared to what we have currently. Next, where will they place it ? Skoda has made it difficult for VW. Above Fabia ? I am sure if Golf is above Fabia, its not going to sell. Jetta based on MK5 is selling for quite a cost in India despite not so good engine lineup. Now if Golf VI comes up mostly it will cost Rs 12 lakh. At the end of the day, there is no place for this car in our market. We know what has happened to large hatches in India.

[crackingride]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

I am sure if Golf is above Fabia, its not going to sell. Jetta based on MK5 is selling for quite a cost in India despite not so good engine lineup. Now if Golf VI comes up mostly it will cost Rs 12 lakh.

Well, the Golf is never going to be smaller than the Fabia or Polo, so the question of being positioned lower does not ever arise.
And the Polo itself can go up to 13-14 lakhs in UK spec, and the Golf goes up to 16 lakhs even before getting to GT and GTI spec.
So lets all stop imagining hot hatches, and stick to the hot sub-hatches we can truly afford- like the Maruti Swift.

[//M]

Considering that the new Polo is going to be priced at the Rs 4.5-6 lakh bracket in India, the Golf may be well in the Rs 12-14 lakh bracket slotting it between the upcoming Polo sedan and the soon-to-be-launched Beetle. Surely this won't be a competitor to the Fabia or the Jazz, but its sure to create a niche segment. Moreover if it is priced in this bracket, its considerably cheaper than the Fiat Bravo. In my opinion its better to launch the hot hatch versions of the Golf rather than launching a rather simple version. The Golf GTI will surely attract well-heeled buyers as an extra car something similar to what Fiat has done with the 500. Nice scoop tanwaramit.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by crackingride

And the Polo itself can go up to 13-14 lakhs in UK spec, and the Golf goes up to 16 lakhs even before getting to GT and GTI spec.
So lets all stop imagining hot hatches, and stick to the hot sub-hatches we can truly afford- like the Maruti Swift.

UK is one country that has relatively high taxation. In US, Golf sells for $17490 ( base price ) and Jetta sells for $ 17605 ( base price ) which roughly is equal to Rs. 8,74,500 and Rs. 8,80,250 respectively.

But here, even Fabia is more expensive so this car is surely not coming.

Originally Posted by //M

Considering that the new Polo is going to be priced at the Rs 4.5-6 lakh bracket in India, the Golf may be well in the Rs 12-14 lakh bracket slotting it between the upcoming Polo sedan and the soon-to-be-launched Beetle.

Polo sedan, considering all the news and grapevine on the net, is expected to replace Octavia. So is mostly coming up with Rs. 10-12 price tag. Below that VW group has Fabia. And above Rs. 10-12, they have Laura range starting. So Golf has no place in here. Anybody will opt for Jetta rather than Golf if Golf is priced around 10-12 range.