Volkswagen’s Phaeton launching in March @ 75 lakhs

6th June 2010, 11:43

is it a car ? or is it a plane ? do we require a flying license to drive this beauty.

only 2 words for it , simply awesome .

rightly said in the advertisement that the most complex engineering tools are human hands and they are created by the engineer of engineers sitting above .

deetjohn · 7th June 2010, 10:42

The Phaeton is a very capable machine born out of the eccentricity of Ferdinand Piech. The story is that, he wanted to create a bang before his official retirement and laid out a list of tough challenges for his engineers to crack while making the Phaeton.

And the VW engineers came out with flying colors.

I still have a video review of the Phaeton by Jeremy Clarkson, done many years back when the car was launched and he was spellbound by the quality and the sheer number of features/ functions in the car.

You do get a lot of high quality engineering for the price you pay. But cruelly, the car has never been able to translate this brilliance into sales and this has been attributed to the VW badge.

But the one good thing about the whole Phaeton exercise has been that, the latest Bentleys, Audis and Bugattis have benefited from it, massively.

mxx · 7th June 2010, 11:09

this is probably the most understated luxury sedan. It is sad it has not been a success as far as sales are concerned.

IMO, the only weak link is the exterior. I am a fan of understated styling eg: audi. But even I find the styling too uninspiring.

dhall_gagan · 7th June 2010, 11:20

AWESOMMME, I am sure it will take a book to list down the features in this car as I can see from the few pics you have uploaded.

What was that Safe to drive feaqture in the center console ?

Also, can you put some light on some of the features in your 1 hour long date with this beauty.

download2live · 7th June 2010, 12:26

Read this about the car that too from none other than Jeremy Clarkson, notorious for his acid laced tongue:

"When you pull the screen-washer stalk on a Volkswagen Phaeton, the headlights are given a squirt of water too. There’s nothing unusual about that. What is unusual is that one headlamp is squirted first, and then, when it’s clean, the other. This is so that the driver is not suddenly plunged into an impenetrable gloom as both headlamps are covered in soap suds at the same time.
...
...
It’s a great, great car. In my mind, the best VW has made"

Source:Jeremy Clarkson The coolest, the prettiest and the one to send a hi-fi salesman into spasm review | Driving - Times Online

All I can say is WOW.

vinaydas · 7th June 2010, 12:40

2 words for the phaetons success.
CKD & Diesel put it as simple as that.

kimianks · 9th June 2010, 10:51

Sorry guys im so busy with work i'll list my experience about it over the weekend . plz be patient till then

srikant · 2nd March 2011, 23:00

An update i would like to add is, this car is available on display only at Volkswagen Downtown showroom at Magarath road as of now, in Bangalore.

PPS · 12th October 2011, 00:15

They couldn't find too many buyers so they gifted it to someone !

Shah Rukh Khan's better half with her new Volkswagen Pheaton

Volkswagen’s Phaeton launching in March @ 75 lakhs-pheaton.jpg

Sahil · 13th October 2011, 18:27

No prizes for guessing what regn number that the Khan's Phaeton will have

anekho · 22nd October 2011, 12:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sahil

No prizes for guessing what regn number that the Khan's Phaeton will have

Hmmm...

MH XX RA 1?

Yeldo · 12th July 2012, 22:36

Couldn't believe my eyes, had to pinch myself, but on VW India's page, see the link: New Phaeton < Models < Welcome to Volkswagen India

It reads: " ... its 3.0L V6 TDI engine with 4-MOTION delivering a whopping 240 PS (176kW). 18-way adjustable front seats, Bi-xenon headlamps with cornering lights and air-suspension that adapts automatically to all road conditions. These and other exceptional features ...
Contact our nearest dealer for more details"

The last line is the Dealer Search link. The image is of the hind-side of the current face-lifted Phaeton.

So, they are launching this after all, and not the Touareg? I believed that the surprising success that Mercedes has had with the new ML (what recession, what slowdown- 100+ people spending 65L + OTR apiece on that) might have emboldened VW to release the SUV.

issigonis · 18th July 2012, 00:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yeldo

Couldn't believe my eyes, had to pinch myself, but on VW India's page, see the link: New Phaeton < Models < Welcome to Volkswagen India

It reads: " ... its 3.0L V6 TDI engine with 4-MOTION delivering a whopping 240 PS (176kW). 18-way adjustable front seats, Bi-xenon headlamps with cornering lights and air-suspension that adapts automatically to all road conditions. These and other exceptional features ...
Contact our nearest dealer for more details"

The last line is the Dealer Search link. The image is of the hind-side of the current face-lifted Phaeton.

So, they are launching this after all, and not the Touareg? I believed that the surprising success that Mercedes has had with the new ML (what recession, what slowdown- 100+ people spending 65L + OTR apiece on that) might have emboldened VW to release the SUV.

>>>
The Phaeton was designed with stiff performance benchmarks and will appeal to the low profile automobile enthusiast in us. It's a car capable of crossing 200 mph ( as per a Top Gear test drive), very comfortable and very well built. Unfortunately not many Indian plutocrats will plonk the cash as we Indians generally like our cars to show our worth. Sad.
Regards

Sahil · 18th July 2012, 01:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yeldo

So, they are launching this after all, and not the Touareg? I believed that the surprising success that Mercedes has had with the new ML (what recession, what slowdown- 100+ people spending 65L + OTR apiece on that) might have emboldened VW to release the SUV.

Wonder if they corrected the price this time?

Yeldo · 18th July 2012, 12:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sahil

Wonder if they corrected the price this time?

No idea, and the launch of the S300, and hefty discounts on the 7 might leave little room for price maneuvers, but with the Diesel, I think it might sell in small numbers- after all, many people prefer Passats over X1s or 3 series. Might be well worth a look if priced between 50L - 60L ex- showroom, that is, just above top end E/ 5/ A6 crowd.

I might be one of the very few people here to have actually traveled in or even seen one up close, and I feel that it is something which you can get as close as possible to a factory fresh W140 S Class.

6th June 2010, 11:43	#46
vihang15 Posts: n/a	is it a car ? or is it a plane ? do we require a flying license to drive this beauty. only 2 words for it , simply awesome . rightly said in the advertisement that the most complex engineering tools are human hands and they are created by the engineer of engineers sitting above .
	() Thanks

7th June 2010, 10:42	#47
deetjohn Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kochi Posts: 4,530 Thanked: 10,583 Times View My Garage	Ah! the Phaeton The Phaeton is a very capable machine born out of the eccentricity of Ferdinand Piech. The story is that, he wanted to create a bang before his official retirement and laid out a list of tough challenges for his engineers to crack while making the Phaeton. And the VW engineers came out with flying colors. I still have a video review of the Phaeton by Jeremy Clarkson, done many years back when the car was launched and he was spellbound by the quality and the sheer number of features/ functions in the car. You do get a lot of high quality engineering for the price you pay. But cruelly, the car has never been able to translate this brilliance into sales and this has been attributed to the VW badge. But the one good thing about the whole Phaeton exercise has been that, the latest Bentleys, Audis and Bugattis have benefited from it, massively.
	() Thanks

7th June 2010, 11:09	#48
mxx BHPian Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 761 Thanked: 271 Times	this is probably the most understated luxury sedan. It is sad it has not been a success as far as sales are concerned. IMO, the only weak link is the exterior. I am a fan of understated styling eg: audi. But even I find the styling too uninspiring.
	() Thanks

7th June 2010, 11:20	#49
dhall_gagan BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Delhi Posts: 166 Thanked: 14 Times View My Garage	AWESOMMME, I am sure it will take a book to list down the features in this car as I can see from the few pics you have uploaded. What was that Safe to drive feaqture in the center console ? Also, can you put some light on some of the features in your 1 hour long date with this beauty.
	() Thanks

7th June 2010, 12:26	#50
download2live Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: - Posts: 1,147 Thanked: 1,144 Times	Read this about the car that too from none other than Jeremy Clarkson, notorious for his acid laced tongue: "When you pull the screen-washer stalk on a Volkswagen Phaeton, the headlights are given a squirt of water too. There’s nothing unusual about that. What is unusual is that one headlamp is squirted first, and then, when it’s clean, the other. This is so that the driver is not suddenly plunged into an impenetrable gloom as both headlamps are covered in soap suds at the same time. ... ... It’s a great, great car. In my mind, the best VW has made" Source:Jeremy Clarkson The coolest, the prettiest and the one to send a hi-fi salesman into spasm review \| Driving - Times Online All I can say is WOW.
	() Thanks

7th June 2010, 12:40	#51
vinaydas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 1,399 Thanked: 148 Times	2 words for the phaetons success. CKD & Diesel put it as simple as that.
	() Thanks

9th June 2010, 10:51	#52
kimianks BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mumbai Posts: 194 Thanked: 183 Times	Sorry guys im so busy with work i'll list my experience about it over the weekend . plz be patient till then
	() Thanks

2nd March 2011, 23:00	#53
srikant BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 488 Thanked: 12 Times	re: Volkswagen’s Phaeton launching in March @ 75 lakhs An update i would like to add is, this car is available on display only at Volkswagen Downtown showroom at Magarath road as of now, in Bangalore.
	() Thanks

12th October 2011, 00:15	#54
PPS Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: mumbai Posts: 2,470 Thanked: 3,720 Times	re: Volkswagen’s Phaeton launching in March @ 75 lakhs They couldn't find too many buyers so they gifted it to someone ! Shah Rukh Khan's better half with her new Volkswagen Pheaton
	() Thanks

13th October 2011, 18:27	#55
Sahil Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 6,292 Thanked: 7,607 Times	re: Volkswagen’s Phaeton launching in March @ 75 lakhs No prizes for guessing what regn number that the Khan's Phaeton will have
	() Thanks

12th July 2012, 22:36	#57
Yeldo BHPian Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Kochi Posts: 764 Thanked: 783 Times	re: Volkswagen’s Phaeton launching in March @ 75 lakhs Couldn't believe my eyes, had to pinch myself, but on VW India's page, see the link: New Phaeton < Models < Welcome to Volkswagen India It reads: " ... its 3.0L V6 TDI engine with 4-MOTION delivering a whopping 240 PS (176kW). 18-way adjustable front seats, Bi-xenon headlamps with cornering lights and air-suspension that adapts automatically to all road conditions. These and other exceptional features ... Contact our nearest dealer for more details" The last line is the Dealer Search link. The image is of the hind-side of the current face-lifted Phaeton. So, they are launching this after all, and not the Touareg? I believed that the surprising success that Mercedes has had with the new ML (what recession, what slowdown- 100+ people spending 65L + OTR apiece on that) might have emboldened VW to release the SUV.
	() Thanks