[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Good points. Cant help wishing that Audi also considers at some point their A1, A3 etc. All these are really lovely hatchbacks. But I guess the price points here would be super high and hence, impracticable for large volume sales.

Well these hatches being volume generators in our country is definitely some time away but we could choose to be optimistic and hope that as an experiment ,VW launches some sort of 'limited edition' Golf with only a limited number of units to be sold and a delicious diesel unit with DSG.
I reckon it would be bought by all enthusiasts in no time even if its priced at 15 lakh + & that is when we would have to seize the opportunity
(read wishful thinking)

[iSpoke]

Guys, just to make it bit more interesting here is the timeline for Golf Glimpses around Pune that interestingly started from Gurgaon, of course all credit goes to respective poster from the same thread.

Nov 2009 tanwaramit finds LH driven Golfs around Gurgaon. 1

Dec 2009 Angad_kalra catches the same LH driven Golf in Pune that tanwaramit has spotted in Guragon. 2

May 2010 autoluv finds first RH driven Golf in Pune, with temp registration MH-14 (14 is for Pune suburb, Pimpri-Chinchwad aka PCMC) 3

May 2010 theraginbull saw the same or same colored (Silver) Golf in Pune. 4

May 2010 dar3dev-l caughts a Golf again silver one running within the Pune city traffic. There were two of them, one clearly showing typical euro styled smoked headlamps. 5

Jun 2010 KALINGA finds Golf TDI on JM Road, Pune. Shows same temp number as caught by theraginbull. 6

Jul 2010 throttleking spotted the same numbered silver Golf. 7

Jul 2010 naj saws the same. 8

[layndrivr]

Originally Posted by Sunrise

IMHO it will not be a wise decision to launch it yet. Reason- they are yet to meet demand capacity for Polo and Vento, they need to give it a year to stabilize and then get the new launches. Still the reach is limited for VW and i am not sure if they want to remain in a few cities if they wish to reach the top in sales in India. Anyways, i think the reality is Golf is a little more wait for sure.

on that note, makes me wonder if vw has an upgrade planned for the polo anytime soon or if they are throwing in a automatic transmission or a 1.6 diesel (cup style) onto the polo ...

[avishar]

"Never say never" thats the must be the motto of the India car industry.Cars which we could not have dreamt of in the last 10 years or even 5 years are on sale now which just goes to show as the india consumer matures.car manufacturers will come up with products.

An i20 which costs a good 6.5-7lakhs is selling exceedingly well.
Just a few years back all hatches were below the psychological 5 lakh mark,anything above that would be madness to pay for a "car without a boot"
Jazz did not do so well because it was aiming for a segment that had still not formed.

I am sure 5 years down the line as our metros become more affluent with greater disposable incomes,worsened traffic conditions and small families,expensive fully loaded hatches will be much in demand.

[vineethvazhayil]

I really don't think VW can pull off selling a 13 lakh hatchback as of now.. Golf is pricier than Corolla and Civic in the US and sells at the same price point as Jetta. It has far nicer interiors than all the three above mentioned cars. I don't think they can sell it at 10 lakhs price. Oh and I do believe it is roomier than the Vento as well.

[vb-saan]

I don't foresee Golf coming to India for the next couple of years atleast. Conditions could be different 3-5 years down the lane, and hopefully we have a market for these great hatchbacks.

Couple of points against Golf in the current market:

• In most countries Golf is sold for a premium (read: more expensive than the Jetta). In the current market space, there will not be many takers for a 15 lakhs+ hatchback. And infact, it feels (and is) much more premium than the Vento as well.
• The Petrol Golf are generally powered by the 1.2, 1.4 TSI and the GTi have the 2.0 motor with 200+ bhp at disposal. GTi by itself is a legend, but the 1.4 TSI with 170 hp is an awesome piece of art. I am not sure if our fuel quality is good enough to get these beautiful engines running.
• Lastly, post Beetle mania, the Golf is the face of VW, and they will not launch it in any country were there is a slighest smell of failure.

That said, as PlatzdaTurbo mentioned, it will be great if VW think of bringing the Golf as a CBU in India. The Golf GTD will the ideal candidate to do the honours. The 2.0 TDI with 170Bhp and 6-speed DSG is indeed an awesome motor, though not as sweet sounding as the GTI

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by vb-san

I don't foresee Golf coming to India for the next couple of years atleast. Conditions could be different 3-5 years down the lane, and hopefully we have a market for these great hatchbacks.

Couple of points against Golf in the current market:

• In most countries Golf is sold for a premium (read: more expensive than the Jetta). In the current market space, there will not be many takers for a 15 lakhs+ hatchback. And infact, it feels (and is) much more premium than the Vento as well.
• The Petrol Golf are generally powered by the 1.2, 1.4 TSI and the GTi have the 2.0 motor with 200+ bhp at disposal. GTi by itself is a legend, but the 1.4 TSI with 170 hp is an awesome piece of art. I am not sure if our fuel quality is good enough to get these beautiful engines running.
• Lastly, post Beetle mania, the Golf is the face of VW, and they will not launch it in any country were there is a slighest smell of failure.

That said, as PlatzdaTurbo mentioned, it will be great if VW think of bringing the Golf as a CBU in India. The Golf GTD will the ideal candidate to do the honours. The 2.0 TDI with 170Bhp and 6-speed DSG is indeed an awesome motor, though not as sweet sounding as the GTI

With the quality and price of petrol in our country , even if the Golf and the others did miraculously make it , i wouldn't expect more than a single petrol on offer (maybe the 1.2tsi) with a choice of 2 diesels. Something like a detuned 90bhp oil-burner with a 5-speed manual and some cost-cutting (read lower trim levels etc.) followed by a top of the line fully loaded 140bhp diesel with a 6-speed DSG.
Besides, with the kind of thrill a diesel with great low-end torque derives , i wouldnt really be bothered about the petrol. With an oil-burner i can go as fast (if not faster) than the petrol and keep going double the distance without a fuel stop.All this with the looks of a Golf or A1/A3 What more do i need ?

[2cents]

I dont see whats the big deal here. The Octy was just the Golf in disguise. yeah! but for the badge, and a notch bigger (pun intended). But why would it cost the heavens to bring in its hatch version? Pricewise Octy was between Laura and Vento. I reckon its hatch version cant be way beyond the Vento then. Well, if you need all the bells and whistles, and a VW badge, of course that would cost you more.

[v.anand]

^^If Octy was Golf in disguise sold at a cheaper price and a little smaller, so is the present day Laura. The difference is generations, and the present Golf is newer gen to the current Laura platform, even though the difference is only limited to minor tweaking.

There is no way in this world would a Golf be sold less than Laura (Octavia II internationally), let alone Jetta. There is a huge difference in the quality aspects of Laura, Jetta platform and the Vento, which completely lacks the refinement and feel good factor of the former.

I agree with @2cents about Golf being no big deal though. We already have Jetta and Laura which share the same engines, platforms, suspensions and hence drive experience, difference limited only to body style and brand value.

[Parm]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

Jeremy Clark son:

"Greatest car of the 20th century."



Check this thread for the ownership report of Golf by fellow bhpian from Germany
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ions-pics.html

i waited for Golf GTi Mk6 in dubai, then came the Civic Type R euro version, now Golf R has been launched.....its all getting confused in my mind!

took test drive of GTi and Civic.....liked the Civic cause its got MT compared to DSG in GTi.

Golf R is beyond my budget!!

but the heart is still on GTi!!

i think if Golf is ever launched in india, i would prefer a 2 Ltr TDI.

[suhaas307]

The Golf will not make it here, at least not in the next few years. There is no market for it yet. The Indian automotive scene is yet to mature. People in India still have to get used to the concept of premium hatches like the Golf, the Fiat Bravo, the Ford Focus, etc.

My guess is that VW will introduce the Golf when the Mk-7 is completely established in other countries. Currently, the Mk-6 is in production and it has been since '08/'09.

EDIT: In a few years, maybe 3-4, expect the Golf to be sold along side the Jetta, just like the Polo and the Vento.

Originally Posted by Stratos

I have seen new generation Golfs being tested near the VW Chakan plant in Maharashtra. I won't be surprised if its launched soon, although I reckon that they would be priced quite high compared to other premium hatches in India

It could probably be a test mule. Several cars are brought to India and tested in harsh conditions so that they could be sold in other countries with similar conditions. I remember running into a Seat Ibiza in Goa sometime back. It was accompanied by a fleet of Polos, just before VW introduced it in our market.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by 2cents

I dont see whats the big deal here. The Octy was just the Golf in disguise. yeah! but for the badge, and a notch bigger (pun intended). But why would it cost the heavens to bring in its hatch version? Pricewise Octy was between Laura and Vento. I reckon its hatch version cant be way beyond the Vento then. Well, if you need all the bells and whistles, and a VW badge, of course that would cost you more.

Thats a bit of a wrong statement / comparison. Platform sharing does not mean that one car is re-badged version of another. Golf platform is what VAG use for a number of models in its family (be it VW, Skoda, Audi or SEAT).

Just my two cents here

• Laura is indeed an updated version of Octavia. It is sold as Octavia in other markets. In India VW wanted to do a Maruti-Suzuki by selling both versions of Octavia together, and Laura was born
• As we all know, Vento is based on the Polo and this is a platform smaller than the Golf. Infact, passenger space in the Golf is almost identical to the Jetta.
• The A5 or PQ35 platform is the base for cars like VW Golf, Jetta, Scirocco, Tiguan, Skoda Octavia / Laura, Yeti, Audi A3, upcoming Q3 etc. But that does not mean that the Audi Q3 is a re-badged Yeti and will be priced same as the Yeti.

[shankar.balan]

vb-san I totally agree with your post.

Laura = Octavia in international markets.

While the VW Golf may share the same development platform, the vehicle is inherently different and cannot be said to be the same.

12 years ago when Ford launched the Ikon in India as a first time world premiere, it was built on the FIESTA platform.

Did that mean that the Ikon and Fiesta were the same? No it certainly didn't.

Same logic applies to this.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Thats a bit of a wrong statement / comparison. Platform sharing does not mean that one car is re-badged version of another. Golf platform is what VAG use for a number of models in its family (be it VW, Skoda, Audi or SEAT).

Just my two cents here

• Laura is indeed an updated version of Octavia. It is sold as Octavia in other markets. In India VW wanted to do a Maruti-Suzuki by selling both versions of Octavia together, and Laura was born
• As we all know, Vento is based on the Polo and this is a platform smaller than the Golf. Infact, passenger space in the Golf is almost identical to the Jetta.
• The A5 or PQ35 platform is the base for cars like VW Golf, Jetta, Scirocco, Tiguan, Skoda Octavia / Laura, Yeti, Audi A3, upcoming Q3 etc. But that does not mean that the Audi Q3 is a re-badged Yeti and will be priced same as the Yeti.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

12 years ago when Ford launched the Ikon in India as a first time world premiere, it was built on the FIESTA platform.

Did that mean that the Ikon and Fiesta were the same? No it certainly didn't.

Actually, Shankar, The Ikon is nothing but a Fiesta with a boot. (It happens to be a Mk-IV Fiesta that began production in 1999.) Everything else is identical. Much like the Polo-Vento and the Golf-Jetta.

However, the current Fiesta has nothing to do with the Fiesta hatch that was sold in other markets. The Fiesta here was designed and manufactured from scratch.

EDIT: One can compare the platform-sharing concept with other VAG cars. For example, the Skoda Superb, the VW Passat and the Audi A4 share the same platform, but the Audi is positioned a segment higher. So platform sharing may not necessarily mean that the cars should be priced similarly.

[mxx]

I had posted this in the "Volkswagen Golf Spotted Testing" thread

Just saw an AutoBild magazine, which had an interview with a member of board, vw India-forgot his name. His answer regarding Golf:
Golf will come to India eventually. But we wont produce it here, it will be assembled in Aurangabad plant via CKD route.

positives:
1. A very strong indication that the Golf is coming
2. Will be expensive obviously, but not CBU pricing as we suspected since it will be CKD.

negatives:
does not speak of a time frame. So, might not be this year