[NutsNBolts]

Originally Posted by sameer551

A fiat palio 1.6 engine is getting dust at showrooms for less than 4.5 lack and no one is ready to have a look at the beauty of that engine. When some good brand which comes with 1.6 for 6 lack then everyone is singing songs and betting to book over it. No good deal. I know fiat palio has not that charming interiors but see the beauty of 1.6 engine and the price at which its going.

We are humans sameer, we all like to welcome the rising sun and turn away from a setting sun. How long will this new sun will shine, is a hazardous guess. If reaction of Mango Man to the 1.6 GTX is anything to go by, we know where it is headed.

[tortoiseNhare]

I have that sinking feeling. Is the Polo another Palio in waiting? The buzz around the Palio at the time of its launch was similar to that around Polo now.

[Musicmaker23]

Originally Posted by DAutobot

Looking at these prices I really wonder what the Polo's USP is going to be? I don't find the prices enticing enough.

Who are the folks who will switch from the existing reputed brands to a relatively unestablished brand? VW does not have the pull of the Honda or Toyota.With a month or so to go for the launch I don't see any great increase in the service network either.

Looks wise I don't find the Polo as good as the international version of it.

I feel the Polo might struggle a bit.

I'm certain anyone who already owns a Hyundai, Suzuki, or Honda would find it difficult to shift over to VW. Service convenience & reliability aside, the brand is still a long way from establishing itself & it still has to distance itself from its sibling, Skoda. After sales will be a core conundrum in deciding whether the car makes a good investment.

In contrast, the urban youth or first time buyers may well be interested in taking a plunge in a car that they find exciting (read 1.6 petrol). There seems to be some ambiguity about the sequence of engine releases. Can someone please clarify when exactly the diesel & 1.6 petrol will launch? Heard we might have to wait till June

I didn't appreciate the fact that VW's given us a lesser Polo. The magnetic pull of the accented head-lamps & tail cluster is all gone. Add a 3-pot 1.2 & it gives me more reason to hold a grudge. If only...

[tj123]

The prices looks OK but not great value for money. The base model will cost atleast 5.5 + Lacs OTR in Bangalore, which I feel will not be enough to pull crowd from the Maruti camp.

Lets wait for the detailed TD's for insights.

Any idea what are the Fuel efficiency figures? K-Series engines & Fiat 1.4 diesel are quite hard to beat.

[prashanthyr]

I feel at the top end prices that VW is expecting, they will need to provide more features - like auto ac, steering mounted audio controls etc. I dont think many people will be worried about the relative lack of refinement in a 3 cylinder engine if it gives good mileage and is trouble free.
Friends and the general public dont notice a 3 cylinder engine - but the lack of features is immediately noticeable. So if VW want to charge more money, at least in India, make sure the car is loaded to the gills a la Manza/i20 top end.

[hiren959]

The prices are quite good considering the brand value "VW" for any common man in India, but what about the *** and the dealer network? As there are very few dealers present at this moment, so VW has to act just like the Ford did prior to the launch of FIGO!!

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by sidindica

3,600 views in just one night, looks like the VW Polo is the next big thing!

Among the car enthusiasts, yes. But I don't think same is going to happen across the country.

BTW, where are the VW showrooms? A dealer network present in 30 odd locations at the moment across the country. How much confidence does that inspire among the average Indian buyer?

VW website lists 3 dealers and 1 workshop in TN. Will the average buyer from Tirunelveli or Tuticorin come all the way up to Coimbatore or Chennai to buy/service a Polo? I doubt. They would still go to Hyundai/Maruti.

Miles ahead to go for VW, before they can talk about competing with Maruti/Hyundai when it comes to mass vehicles.

[gupta_chd]

Originally Posted by sidindica

Then ACI article also states that VW will lose Rs. 84,000 on every Polo produced. So they need volumes to overcome the losses, and a huge one at that.

Do not understand this, volumes should increase the losses instead of decreasing if that is the case.

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by sidindica
Then ACI article also states that VW will lose Rs. 84,000 on every Polo produced. So they need volumes to overcome the losses, and a huge one at that.

Originally Posted by gupta_chd

Do not understand this, volumes should increase the losses instead of decreasing if that is the case.

I guess thats the loss at the current production rate (stocking up before launch), taking into account the investments made for the POLO. So more the volumes, the input costs get shared.

[Mustang.101]

I have something for all polo lovers here and its not going to amuse you!

Check out the pics of the 'Indian' polo ad the 'european' polo & you can easily notice the cost cutting VW have subjected the polo to... Look at the headlamps and tail lamps & notice the difference and there are other things that you can also identify .

[JLN]

I owned a VW jetta for 3 years in the US and even there where VW is a very established brand, service costs and spare costs were higher than my experience with the Hondas and Ford.

The car itself was fascinating to drive - I had a 5 speed manual - handled really well, built like a tank and overall I was very happy. When I sold it, the value had depreciated quite a bit - so was not happy about that.

[prateekm]

Put in an auto with the DSG gearbox to the top-end, have a good pricing and you will surely have a winner. I love the Skoda just for the amazing gearbox they offer. The only thing is they will have to make it a bit more reliable

[shankar.balan]

I dont think this will actually be the case - I d like to think that VW would have thought this through - and hence will match the spare to the actual car variant.
Yes it is however, true that many cars abroad do not give a full size spare - but we know that this may not work in our Indian road conditions. Hence, Im reasonably confident that the manufacturer like VW, who seem so extremely serious about our market, would not take a chance on something like this.
Go on VW, prove my surmise right!

Originally Posted by drpullockaran

Specification

I was just going through the specification feature comparison .pdf file and was horrified to see that in the highline version they are giving 15 inch alloy wheels but the spare wheel will be 14 inch wheels. Now this means that they are going to supply the car with different aspect ratio tires or God only knows what. Either the .pdf file is wrong or they think that they can get away with anything in India and Indians. Is the Skoda effect rubbing out onto the parent company too. If so they might as well pack up and leave the country. I hope and pray the .pdf file is wrong. Prospective buyers should not buy the car unless all the wheels are having tires of the same aspect ratio whether steel or alloy.

[theEnd]

Originally Posted by Mustang.101

I have something for all polo lovers here and its not going to amuse you!

Check out the pics of the 'Indian' polo ad the 'european' polo & you can easily notice the cost cutting VW have subjected the polo to... Look at the headlamps and tail lamps & notice the difference and there are other things that you can also identify .

This is no news. Testing pictures over the last several months have revealed many differences. There is no way VW could have acheived such low pricing in India if this cost cutting hadn't taken place.

Perhaps a list of "cheapenings" is required. Lets look at the differences between the top-spec petrol Polo (1.2TSI SEL) as available in Europe and the top-spec petrol Polo to be sold here (1.6 Highline):

1. Engine (1.2 TSI v/s 1.6 petrol... bhp is identical, but 0-100 is 9.7s for the 1.2TSI v/s 11.1s for the 1.6 petrol)
2. Gearbox (Euro cars get 6-sp manual with optional 7-sp DSG... we get 5-sp manual)
3. Airbags (Euro top-spec has 6 airbags, Indian top-spec has 2)
4. Rear disc brakes v/s rear drum brakes
5. 16" alloys v/s 15" alloys
6. Electrically heated and adjustable OVRMs.
7. LED indicators on OVRMs.
8. Flat tyre indicator.
9. Headlamps (Indian ones are less detailed, more plain looking)
10. Tail-lights (ditto)

Please feel free to modify or add to the list as appropriate.

Interestingly, I thought that the European Polo SEL had the electronic climate control as standard, but it appears that its an option. Perhaps the ‘option packs’ that sidindica mentioned earlier might include this. Other nice options for the European Polo include a "multifunctional steering" (basically it has audio controls plus leather covering), a range of head units (touchscreen sat-nav and others), headlight washers, an automatically dimming rear-view mirror (very useful in India), rain sensors, heated front seats, and a sensor pack (cruise control, parking sensors, flat tyre indicator).

[Zen2001]

Originally Posted by Zero Cool

In my humble opinion the VW badge holds as much premium as the Toyota or the Honda badge. They may not be the best priced compared to say Swift/Ritz and Beat but sure they look reasonable when compared to Punto,Jazz,i20 and Fabia.

In any other country I would but any of these cars, as I would be sure to get something that "fits" my requirements from all perspectives without COMPROMISE in quality. In India however the process is not without significant . Thanks to manufacturers having to appeal to the masses (profit is in volumes).