A perfect storm is what I would call it. A combination of circumstances that eventually led to me selling the Swift. One month before I actually bought the GT I was never in the hunt for a new car.
Run-up to the buy
First was the decision to go with the 185/70 R14 tyres for the Swift. They did give me a certain level of ride comfort that I was looking for but I found I did miss the 205s that I had used previously.
1.63 lakh kms on the Swift and the Michelins looked to do the job for another 20 - 30K. A 205 change at that point would be pointless unless I was ready to continue for another 40k kms to around 2.5 lakhs and I wanted a change.
The biggest factor was that there were simply no products in the 6 - 10 lakh range that excited me. The GT TDi was interesting but at 9.5 odd was expensive. Also I had my concerns about the lack of rear leg room. But then VW announced a 60K discount on 2013 GT models. Under 9 was still expensive for a hatch from a layman's perspective but for me took the GT from interesting to worth a look.
What kind of resale would I get for the Swift? VW quoted a very low exchange amount and I would rather use the car for another 50K kms rather than sell for that. So things slowed down again. The main drawback seemed to be such a high mileage on the car. I then decided to try my luck online. Using my long term ownership report on tBHP to make the ownership of such a high mileage car transparent I posted ads on olx and Quikr. Things started moving and I straight away started getting prices close to what I had targeted. Within a week the car was sold and the GT was booked after a TD. The TD did reveal what I had suspected - a soft rear end which meant that it did not handle as well as the Swift. But it also meant that on an undulating road things were much more comfortable inside. However it was not so bad as to negate the decision to buy.
When I look back I think that if I had 205s on the Swift, I might still be driving it around. An acquaintance happened to mention that when you sometimes examine the rational for some decisions you might find that the root cause may actually be something simple.
Got the GT
So sometime at the end of June 2014, I owned my first 100 bhp car! 10 years back, after getting my first job, I remember looking at the pics of the 200bhp R32 Golf and thinking that it would be a practical beast to own. Now I have something close.
You could have all colors as long as they were red, black or white. So white it was again. Red was not to my taste and though I love black the fact that it would get pretty hot in sunny Kerala meant that black was not to be.
Here are a couple of pictures immediately after delivery.
Ownership Experience
15,000 kilometers down the line it's delivered as expected. Other than the lack of space in the rear seat which is not a problem 90% of the time for me it does not have any serious drawback. Even the soft suspension is something that you drive around. I also upgraded to Yokohoma S Drives - 205/55 R15s shortly after I got the car so that has helped the handling too.
The car is fast and you rarely need to go beyond 75% of it potential. Overtaking is a breeze and half chances get converted that previously you would not take. It is only that the cars in the opposite lane do not expect you to close down so quickly sometimes. In gear acceleration is very good and the lag is much less compared to the Swift. The power is usable and you rarely have to rev up the engine too much to access it or get caught in the wrong gear. The only fly in the ointment is the slightly heavy clutch compare to the Swift or the i20. However it is not too heavy and your legs do get used to it in time. The fact that you don't need to shift frequently also helps.
The ride is tuned towards the softer side so it sharp movements tend to upset the car's balance a bit. Keep things smooth, ensure that you contain the roll before a corner and it works fine. It does tend to pitch at times too when you get on and off the brakes too fast. On B-grade roads however it is a much more comfortable car to drive compared to the Swift. Not a point and shoot instrument.
The build is great. You immediately feel the weight of the doors, see the consistent shutline and the fit of the dashboard. It feels built to last. On the road there is this feeling of solidity that you get at the wheel. I would slot it between the Maruti and the Punto in this department - much closer to the Punto scheme of things though.
Mileage as expected is around 1kmpl lower than what I used to get in the Swift. My regular usage average is around 15.5kmpl which I am happy with considering the power on tap and the engine capacity. Best has been around 21kmpl while highway drives regularly deliver in the high 18s and 19s.
Drive on,
Shibu.