[Kanasu]

Glad that you got it restored to the earlier glory. Amazing job done by Sai.

O.T - Looks like one of your exes might have done this seeing the trouble they went through

[Vik0728]

Update:


Completed 3100 Kms of Blissfull driving. I wanted to snap this milestone as well and was really concentrating on the Speedo until around 2920 Km.

But then, the roads openned up at the same time and I just got completely carried away with the drive. Never once bothered to look at the speedo until it had crossed 3090 Kms !!

One small problem was observed during this drive. The driver side Window would not close inspite of repeated attempts and used to bounce back. I did read one other GT Owner having the same issue. I switched off the car completely for about a minute and tried again, was back to working as designed. Wonder if any dust was causing the 'Pinch Guard' to work !!

Will try and get some new set of snaps along with the recent tweaks done during the VCDS Bangalore meet.

Originally Posted by Kanasu

O.T - Looks like one of your exes might have done this seeing the trouble they went through

Hey Kanasu I gave it my everything to comprehend what you meant here dude, but I could not !!

[Vik0728]

Last Friday was Indian Independance Day, 67 years in all!!

Since it was a long weekend and most of the 'Weekend Getaways' were booked to the brim, me and couple of friends thought of just going on an early Sunday morning drive and testing our respective steads on Bangalore's 'Nice' road, which offers a good mixture of fast curves and long straights.

There was honestly no purpose or reasoning behind this, but just petrol heads doing what we do the best.

The participants:

1. 90 HP Punto Sports




2. I10 1.2 Sportz




3. Polo GT TDI




Acceleration:

There was no real competition here folks and I am not even bragging about the GT TDI. The pocket rocket I10 1.2 is blisteringly quick. Though these tests were done by a stop watch app on a mobile, the 0-100km/hr acceleration figures consistantly showed I10 getting to a ton in about 13 secs.

0-100km/hr

GT TDI - 10 s
I10 1.2 - 13 s
90 HP Sports - 14 s

In-gear (Roll on)

This probably is not a right comparison considering that Punto does have a terrible turbo lag. Hence between GT TDI & I10, the Naturally Aspirated I10 is quick to respond in every gear. That 1.2 Kappa is a gem but it is still no match to the 1.6 TDI. This mad engine from VW almost revs as freely as the Kappa.
90 HP Sports lost out quite badly in this aspect. We did not time it here but all of us agreed that Turbo lag spoils the urgency during a roll on.

Ride & Handeling

This was quite a surprise for all of us. The 90 HP Sports my friend has is the updated one with higher ground clearance. So we all presumed this would also make the Punto more wobbley compared to my GT, but boy were we wrong.
Punto really does explain why the ones who own it, brag so much about the riding comfort. 90 HP may lack the outright urgency of the GT or the peppiness of the I10, but man it surely blows both away in the way it hugs the road at high speeds & fast corners. The same corners where the Punto can maintain a high speed, gets a tiny bit scary in GT while one will have to be a dare devil to even attempt it on an I10.

Comfort & Ergonomics

We did this by adjusting the driving position to one point which all of us felt was manageable in each car, and drive the same for a distance. GT & I10 were the easier ones to live with compared to the Punto.
Remember, these were not tbe individual favourite positions and hence none of us were a 100% comfortable, but Punto felt the least comfortable. There just is something that is not quite right in Punto.


Finally, some photoshoot













Final Thoughts

These tests were not conducted to prove anything but our love for cars. All of us really had a wonderful time driving our cars and at the end we all agreed that Cars are an extension of one's soul.

My friend who owns the 90 HP could not find a comfortable position on either the GT or I10 to his complete satisfaction. I could not find the same on the Punto while I10 faired a bit better. My friend found a really comfortable driving position on my GT but did not on the Punto.

In the end, we all just agreed that whether the machines offer comfort, peformance or pure value for money, true petrol heads will never have enough of everything !!

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Last Friday was Indian Independance Day, 67 years in all!!
There was honestly no purpose or reasoning behind this, but just petrol heads doing what we do the best.

Nice report Vik! Good photos of the cars too! NICE road seems bereft of traffic at the spots you chose for the photos.

BTW any inspiration for mods to start? The instrument cluster maybe?

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Nice report Vik! Good photos of the cars too! NICE road seems bereft of traffic at the spots you chose for the photos.

BTW any inspiration for mods to start? The instrument cluster maybe?

Thank you abhinav, yes the 'Nice' road was quite Nice to us last Sunday morning !!

Quite frankly it is more of a temptation than an inspiration for mods. But then again, I have promised myself to keep my GT as stock as possible for as long as possible, which does not seem to be lasting a lot now.

Instrument cluster is surely one of the items on my wishlist but to begin with, I will probably go in for an Armrest in about a month or two. This must hopefully keep my 'Modding' itch away for some more time !!

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Last Friday was Indian Independance Day, 67 years in all!!

Since it was a long weekend and most of the 'Weekend Getaways' were booked to the brim, me and couple of friends thought of just going on an early Sunday morning drive and testing our respective steads on Bangalore's 'Nice' road, which offers a good mixture of fast curves and long straights.

There was honestly no purpose or reasoning behind this, but just petrol heads doing what we do the best.

The participants:

1. 90 HP Punto Sports
2. I10 1.2 Sportz
3. Polo GT TDI

I would have also joined...atleast as a cheerleader

Acceleration:
There was no real competition here folks and I am not even bragging about the GT TDI. The pocket rocket I10 1.2 is blisteringly quick. Though these tests were done by a stop watch app on a mobile, the 0-100km/hr acceleration figures consistantly showed I10 getting to a ton in about 13 secs.

0-100km/hr

GT TDI - 10 s
I10 1.2 - 13 s
90 HP Sports - 14 s

Yes, the i10 sure is a pocket rocket...I got to know about this when IU had gone with my colleague for a small drive to ooty. Whenever it was following my car, He always used to be on my tail but whenever he used to be ahead of me, I was finiding hard to keep up.

Ride & Handeling
This was quite a surprise for all of us. The 90 HP Sports my friend has is the updated one with higher ground clearance. So we all presumed this would also make the Punto more wobbley compared to my GT, but boy were we wrong.
Punto really does explain why the ones who own it, brag so much about the riding comfort. 90 HP may lack the outright urgency of the GT or the peppiness of the I10, but man it surely blows both away in the way it hugs the road at high speeds & fast corners. The same corners where the Punto can maintain a high speed, gets a tiny bit scary in GT while one will have to be a dare devil to even attempt it on an I10.

Why does Fiat owners called fanboys? If anyone asks me this question again, I'll lead them to this post of yours

Comfort & Ergonomics

Punto felt the least comfortable. There just is something that is not quite right in Punto.

I would say its different from others in the ergonomics. So when you are driving 3 cars back to back,for small duratioon of time, it is bound to feel uncomfortable. The far reaching power widow buttons as a simple example. Personally speaking, I feel uncomfortable in other cars.

In the end, we all just agreed that whether the machines offer comfort, peformance or pure value for money, true petrol heads will never have enough of everything !!

Nice conclusion.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

I would have also joined...atleast as a cheerleader

By all means, you would have been the 'Leader' of the pack Hemanth.

That 'Abarth' Punto of yours is simply gorgeous bro.

Few of my other friends who learnt about our 'Sunday' tryst have agreed to join in on the next one. So, there will be an i20, Figo, Polo 1.5TDI, Swift VDi & Liva Diesel joining in. Nothing has been planned or finalyzed, but if things do fall in place I will keep you posted well in advance.

Yes, the i10 sure is a pocket rocket...

Totally agree and I had the first hand experience. Another friend owns the Swift VXI with K-series engine and even he felt the 1.2 Kappa is far more responsive & potent on I10.

Why does Fiat owners called fanboys? If anyone asks me this question again, I'll lead them to this post of yours

Honestly if they follow your 'Ownership Thread' on Team BHP or your 'Abarth' on road, they would not need any further convincing about Fiat Fanboys Hemanth.

I really feel disheartened and sorry for Punto. It is such a wonderful product and I am damn sure that if Fiat just take the feedback from all its loyal 'Fiat Fanboys' to fix some issues with respect to egonomics (may be), gearing & engine, there is nothing that can stop this from being the most sort hatch in India.

I would say its different from others in the ergonomics. The far reaching power widow buttons as a simple example. Personally speaking, I feel uncomfortable in other cars.

This was the exact same conclusion of my friend who owns the 90 HP Sports

I also just love the way power window panel slopes down and I have actually no complains about it. The biggest issue I see is the Steering column. It must have had the 'Telescopic' function or at least had to be positioned a bit more into the dash. This would have sorted out most of the issue I think.
I am not quite sure if this has been addressed on the Evo.

[Vik0728]

Magic of 1.6 TDI !!

Last weekend me and couple of my friends had tested my GT TDI against 2 other sports versions, 90 HP Punto & I10 (Sportz) for Performance, In-gear acceleration & driving experience.

One a long drive early morning today, wanted to check what GT TDI is capable of, if driven with FE in mind.

Method was to accelerate gently in each gear and as far as possible kept the car below 80-90 km/hr. Allowed the engine to slow down on its own when de-celerating and some open roads also helped in cruising.

The result, well was astounding:



GT TDI is really one of the best things that VW India have given us. It is not only one of the fastest sub-20 Lks car but if need be, can also be one of the most Frugal !!

[procrj]

Vikram - Congrats on the new ride! Do let me know the next time you planning a drive around Nice road, I will try and join.

Th red look smashing and the only thing missing is wet black alloys!

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by procrj

Vikram - Congrats on the new ride! Do let me know the next time you planning a drive around Nice road, I will try and join.

Th red look smashing and the only thing missing is wet black alloys!

Thank you procrj and will surely let you know on the next drive.

I had really decided to get the Alloys re-painted to glossy black even before I had paid my booking amount for GT. This thought was really ringing in my head until recently when I met some other GT owners, where I learnt that these Estrada Alloys were nearly 18k a piece!!

Compare that to regular (read old) Polo alloys, which retails at around 20k for set of 4. This has made me think about a paint job.

[Kanasu]

Better go for a new set of wheels than do a paint job. Looks like you are enjoying your weekends

[Vik0728]

Milestone Update:
It has been around 4 months of blissful ownership of the Polo GT TDI. I have loved every minute of the ownership and by far every meter of the drive.




The Perks:
[FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]1.6 TDI is the best that happened to an Indian Hatchback !!
[FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Even though it has the heart to take on cars from 2 levels up, it can give the cars from 2 levels down a run for their money when it comes to mileage.
[FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Attention to detail is immaculate and I always thought Koreans were the best.
[FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Simple yet Subtle features like a small chime every time the Distance-to-empty goes below 70kms and a continuous chime if the handbrake is engaged and the speed exceeds 10km/hr.
[FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Once the car touches 17km/hr, the doors auto-lock and do not unlock even if I switch off the engine at a signal. The doors unlock only once the key is removed from the key hole. Brilliant.
The Problems:
[FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]Strangely, the driver side window would bounce back every time I tried closing it. This issue sorted out by itself after 2 days of almost psychotic tension.
[FONT=Symbol]· [/FONT]The hand brake symbol would not go off despite dis-engaging it. Got it sorted out at the service station for free of charge and was done in under 10 minutes.
Me and my better half have planned loads of long drives in this brilliant machine and hope the entire journey & ownership remain hassle free.

[no_boundaries]

Hi Vikram,

How is Mr Red doing.

I recently completed a 1000Kms run to Kodaikanal and back which ticked the ODO past 8000kms. Before I left for this drive, I did the 7500km check up. The car has been like how its supposed to be because its being driven like how its supposed to be driven.

Got the Lock/Unlock sound feedback enabled, which I'm coming to regret now.

This trip has been true revelation of the GT with the acceleration levels opening up to put a smile every time I nudge the accelerator. I finally hit the sweet spot on the seating position and the tire pressure so handling has come under control to an extent.

The ghats to kodaikanal was covered effortlessly without any sign of fatigue.
After the rainy cold winter nights at Kodai, the first putter of engine after the crank was like stones in an aluminum tin but later it settled to a refined trademark german growl.

Overall mileage from the log has been at around 16.5Kmpl with the latest recording at 18.76kmpl in city driving.

No fouls on the mechanicals as such however I feel the front suspension goes through a jitter while crossing those molded speed bumps or through some of those pot hole craters after the monsoon lashing.

Speakers are the first thing that I want to replace soon so I'm doing my research.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by no_boundaries

Hi Vikram,

How is Mr Red doing.

Hey no_boundaries really sorry for a delayed reply, was not in town all along. I came back from UK on Sunday after about 2 months and my bro was using my GT all along.
He claimed that he almost stopped driving his I-20 (P) ever since!!

I drove my GT back from the airport and man did I miss that rush so much. The first thing I did on Monday was to take him to the 3M and get a thorough wash.

I am not a big fan of Chrome on cars, which apparently seems to be the choice of "Premium Add-ons" on top models. I was not liking the chrome strips of the front grill and did not want to go into for a GTi grill either.

So, I got the 3M folks to give me a Glossy wrap and here are the results:





Planning a long (much needed) drive to Kerala sometime this month and I will let those German horses free. I was almost longing to get back to India and drive my GT first !!

Yes, I agree completely with whatever no_boundaries has posted with respect to the GT. It simply is the best fun-to-drive hatch south of 20lks and quite frankly, nothing else comes close.

[ajaypjayaraj]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

I am not a big fan of Chrome on cars, which apparently seems to be the choice of "Premium Add-ons" on top models. I was not liking the chrome strips of the front grill and did not want to go into for a GTi grill either.

So, I got the 3M folks to give me a Glossy wrap and here are the results:

Looks good. Not a fan of chrome either. The glossy black instead of chrome does give it a classy look and looks better than chrome.

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Planning a long (much needed) drive to Kerala sometime this month and I will let those German horses free.

You got me thinking you were going to Petes! It hit me later what you meant.