[Gannu_1]

Came back today after a 3-day trip to Karad via Satara, Pune and Bombay. Clocked 1352 km for the entire journey and loved the whole drive. Clocked 7000 km en route (currently stands at 75xx km):



On the expressway:


There's a small diversion wherein towing vehicles were parked. We parked the car here for a brief while to get a view from atop.

During our onward journey, BHP'ian kau_therock treated us to a nice lunch (wholesome chicken curry, chicken fry, tandoori roti) from a roadside dhaba at Satara. Got a chance to check out his 300hp S60 Summum. What a brilliant car! Loaded with features, immensely comfortable seats with grey leather upholstery, gorgeous 7-spoke 18" rims among other things. Here's a snap while we had parked at the dhaba:



While on the way back, we dropped at the 3M Car Care, Viman Nagar outlet for some paint touch-up and wrap job, the details of which have been posted here (link).

Carbon fiber wrap on the ORVM:





Would like to get the piano black plastic surrounds in the interiors wrapped as well next time if this one holds good.

Originally Posted by Kanasu

I work in Night Shift

If you do night drives often, I'd suggest you to upgrade the headlamps. The throw of the stock lamps aren't great. Philips Extreme Vision and Osram NB+ are good. The NB+ is expensive but I've had a good experience so far. But please stick to the stock ratings - 55/60W. Anything above (90/100W for instance) will require splicing the stock wiring, additional relays and such which may void the warranty.

Originally Posted by Kanasu

So, should I wait for it to complete the 7.5k/3 months check point or should I go earlier, for the free checkup.

It is 7500 km or 6 months, whichever is earlier. Your showroom/service center should give you a ring intimating you that your car is due for service. Just keep an eye out for the engine oil level.

Originally Posted by Rakkum13

BTW, did you give the 1.2 TDI a miss only for the low end safety features or did other considerations help tip the scales?

The 1.2 TDI's highline variant offered the same safety features as that of the GT. But I was sold on the superior engine of the GT. Took a test drive on a weekend (2 days after which the car was officially announced) and paid the booking advance instantly.

That's all for now. Glovebox light mod coming up shortly.

[Gannu_1]

8000 km up!



Parents are here and so are my would-be-in-laws and all I've been doing is driving, driving and driving like a chauffeur. Loving it!

Another trip to Ahmedabad coming up this Monday. Parents wanted to go by train but I insisted that we take the car so they could experience one of India's best expressways.

[prakhar1998]

Great ownership review, a delight to read. You have performed some much needed upgrades in the car, great car! TBH I have never seen a black Polo on the road. It looks fabulous! Perhaps the best colour for this car. The most common colours like white (I have one in white) don't do justice to the beautiful, yet understated design of this beauty.

Cheers!

[Gannu_1]

Parents left for home last week *sob sob* after staying with me for a week. We went to Valsad and Ahmedabad. Needless to say, they loved the roads here and were all praise for the infrastructure here compared to the ones we have down South. The dreaded Kuthiran stretch during monsoons and Walayar-L&T bypass anyone?

Clocked 9000 during the process:


Notice the outdoor temperature! Summers have set in here and the temperatures have shot up. The AC has performed up to the mark and the cooling has been very effective.

6k to 9k and April isn't over yet! This has been the best month for the car. And the driver!

Originally Posted by prakhar1998

It looks fabulous! Perhaps the best colour for this car.

Black no doubt, looks good but requires a lot of maintenance. The shade I love the most on the Polo is the Emotion Blue but this has been discontinued since a while.

[Baddychat]

Great to see you munching up miles on a car which is great to drive !
BTW does VW have a 7.5 km check-up service like Skoda ?

Cheers

[etchemkay]

Originally Posted by Baddychat

Great to see you munching up miles on a car which is great to drive !
BTW does VW have a 7.5 km check-up service like Skoda ?

Cheers

Yes, they do. I got mine done early at 6200kms mark though.

[Intelsingh]

Thanks Gannu_1 for this extremely informative thread. I own a white of the same beauty and you are giving me ideas for experimenting with it. Had been contemplating Osram NB for a while, I am nearly sold to the idea now- are they equally good in rains as well?

Would love to go through all the DIY threads and share the changes

[Gannu_1]

10000 km of fuss-free ownership is up!



What a lovely car she has been all along! My fiancee complains I spend more time with the car, the car always makes it into our daily conversations in some way or the other, I choose to drive to a place instead of opting for public transport and what not. By God’s grace, we never met with any accident - minor or otherwise and the car has never stalled throwing up an error; I only hope the experience continues this way. *touchwood*

I have been doing frequent trips to Valsad since April. Averaging between 80 and 100 kmph and the climatronic temperature set to 21’C, the car returns a very good fuel economy. This was for the trip last weekend:



At those speeds, I was literally crawling on the 6-lane NH-8! Regardless, the solo drives are always fun with the car being driven sedately and some music in the background.

Btw another simple DIY is in the works. Adding the last bits to the thread in the assy. line. Will be up by tomorrow I hope.

Originally Posted by Intelsingh

Had been contemplating Osram NB for a while, I am nearly sold to the idea now- are they equally good in rains as well?

I cannot comment on that aspect yet. I took the delivery of the car on October 7th and we barely had any major showers after that.

[Gannu_1]

Was tinkering around with the car and figured out that the license plate lights are held in place with plastic locks that can be simply pulled out with bare hands!

They seem to be different compared to the ones we have on the Vento. BHP'ian el lobo 6061 has some snaps of the license plate lamps used on the Vento here - Link

Took them out of the bumper, pulled the harness off and found out that they were completely laden with dust (no pics). Cleaned them with a used toothbrush and since I had a pair of cheap white W5W LEDs lying around, I decided to swap the halogen ones with these. The results were pretty good. But I couldn't figure out how the bulbs could be accessed. The natural instinct is to pry open the plastic diffuser lens but turns out, it isn't that way! Simply twist the male connector on the lamp and it comes off the housing.



Part number:




Twist the male connector counter-clockwise:


And pull it off the housing:


The W5W bulb:


Pull it off the connector:


LED replacements are a straight fit:






These LEDs observe polarity so if it doesn't work the first time, simply swap their terminals.

[Intelsingh]

Seems like everything that can be changed and altered to make your vehicle distinct and better- you will do it.
Impressive!
I just clocked 9100 on mine in 4 and a half months

[DWC]

Hey Gannu, you have mentioned in your ownership report that the rear seats do not fold down completely. What is the purpose of partially folding rear seats? I would imagine that luggage space would be increased only if the seats fold down all the way.
The website doesn't mention anything about folding seats in the GT TDI, although the feature is there in the GT TSI.
Could you please upload a picture of the seats folded at their maximum position? With and without the headrests? Thanks in advance.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by DWC

Hey Gannu, you have mentioned in your ownership report that the rear seats do not fold down completely. What is the purpose of partially folding rear seats? I would imagine that luggage space would be increased only if the seats fold down all the way.
The website doesn't mention anything about folding seats in the GT TDI, although the feature is there in the GT TSI.
Could you please upload a picture of the seats folded at their maximum position? With and without the headrests? Thanks in advance.

Hey DWC, I don't mean to Hi-jack this thread from Gannu but I think I may be able to add my 2 cents to your query, as I am just fresh out of a thorough GT TDI experience.

I am coming from a Hyundai Getz which is one of the most spacious hatchbacks of all time in India. I knew from the TBHP review of the GT TDI that the 'Split seats' have been removed by VW. So I presumed that like many other hatch backs which do not offer 60-40 split at the rear, the rear bench will fold down completely. But man, was I so wrong.

The Sales Executive offered to fold the seats himself and that is when he probably realized his mistake. Believe me, he tried to remove the rear-head rests but zilch !! The rear seats fold only about 3/4 even without the head rests and the front seats pushed all the way front. It cannot be folded any further after this position.

If I remember, the expert Gannu has already demonstrated this in one of his threads. I think VW kinda messed up a bit with the GT TDI with respect to practicality.

[shibujp]

Hi Gannu,

Nice ownership thread. I've been following this for some time now. Especially your DIY enhancements that make small but very unique improvements to the overall experience. Thanks for sharing!

How is the braking performance of the GT TDi? Do you feel any deficiency in this regard?

drive on,
Shibu.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by DWC

you have mentioned in your ownership report that the rear seats do not fold down completely.

Originally Posted by Vik0728

It cannot be folded any further after this position.

Sorry guys, the rear seat-back does fold completely. My initial report stands corrected. Apologies for the same!

I did try this when we wanted to install the sharkfin aerial and someone had to go inside the cabin and hold the roof liner while I unscrewed/screwed the aerials from the roof. We raised the rear seat, pushed it forward and then the seat back and it folded completely.

Originally Posted by DWC

Could you please upload a picture of the seats folded at their maximum position? With and without the headrests? Thanks in advance.

Will do. Please give me a couple of days' time.

Originally Posted by shibujp

How is the braking performance of the GT TDi? Do you feel any deficiency in this regard?

Hi Shibu, braking is very good despite the rear wheels having drums instead of discs. But despite that, the car's braking performance is very good. There were a lot of instances when we had to brake hard/slam and the car stopped with zero screeching issues. I could also feel the pedal getting the vibes during a couple of occasions when the ABS was kicking in. This was when the car was doing some 80+ on the speedo and we observed a speed breaker, slammed the brakes and it stopped without a fuss. Commendable braking performance, if you ask me. But they should have given the discs on the rear as well just like the i20's top-end variants.

Why do you ask? Did you feel the brakes were not up to the mark?

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Why do you ask? Did you feel the brakes were not up to the mark?

I am seriously looking at buying a GT. Just reading through a couple of reviews that raised questions about the braking. Given my experience with the Swift (2008) I don't want the same issue in a much powerful car. I do not have any experience driving a GT yet as the dealership gave me a Vento instead. It seems someone had crashed their test drive GT TDi.

The Vento felt adequate but not in the same league of the Hyundai which I think hold the benchmark in braking.

Thanks,
Shibu