[avneeshj]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

Congrats man. A very fast decision indeed. Thats amazing. Anyways will eagerly wait for your ownership reviews.

Yeah it has to be a fast decision because the car is needed immediately. Now I'm after the dealer who's a personal friend. They're saying 2-3 weeks for delivery but can't wait that long. Looking for other dealers too who might be able to hook me up sooner. Will keep fellow bhpians informed.

I've decided on mocha color btw owing to family pressure haha. I really wanted the white one. Oh well.

[i<3turbo]

Volkswagen Passat Highline. End thread!

[avneeshj]

Went to the dealer today. The only dealer in Delhi who had the new passat available. He had a mocha and a black available. The mocha was too similar to my sophisto grey 730ld so decided on the black. Gonna get delivery day after.

The dealership was really crowded with people buying the Vento and the polo. Also a bunch of people leaning on the mocha passat standing inside the showroom and that made me cringe and I think that made me want that particular car even less.

The dealer sales person was nice and cooperative enough. However, as we waited for them to bring the black car up front he asked what I thought of the phaeton. Having test driven it earlier in Nagpur I told him that car didn't really impress me especially looking at its cost. Then he asks me how much I'd pay for it and I casually say maybe something more than a Mercedes E class but definitely not what I'd pay for a 7 series or a S class. He's like a how much? I plainly say how about 55-60? And he jumps up and asks me "with taxes?". I laugh and leave it at that as my car shows up. Now I sorta want to ask him if there is any special deal he can do for me haha.

Anyway everything is moving along nicely enough and I hope I can get my car on time as planned. I'll try and post some pictures and my thoughts once I drive it a bit.

[avneeshj]

Finally got my shiny new black VW last evening. Haven't yet had a chance to drive it more than to park it. I'll post my impressions soon.

[xtremeshock]

Congrats avneeshj!
Please do post photos along with the impressions, as i am intending to buy the same car in black.

[Jakku]

Originally Posted by avneeshj

Finally got my shiny new black VW last evening. Haven't yet had a chance to drive it more than to park it. I'll post my impressions soon.

Hi Avaneesh,

Congrats on your new possession and the quick decision making. You still owe us your impressions on this and if you really feel satisfied and happy on the decision you have taken.

Thanks.

[avneeshj]

Originally Posted by Jakku

Hi Avaneesh,

Congrats on your new possession and the quick decision making. You still owe us your impressions on this and if you really feel satisfied and happy on the decision you have taken.

Thanks.

Sorry for the really late updates but life has kept me very busy.

So since I got the car, for about 3 weeks I drove it myself 100% of the times after which I got a chauffeur for the day times. At the moment the car has done about 1200 kms.

I drove the car for about 600 or so kms in the first couple weeks. My impressions so far:

• The car in black is very pleasing to look at. I won't say its the looker that my F10 525d is but the looks are certainly very satisfying. However the black is difficult to maintain and I had to train my driver on how to not get swirl marks all over the car and buy him some real wipecloths.
• The front seats are brilliant. I actually like them better than my F10 525d because of the cooling feature. The seat cooling definitely makes a difference.
• The air conditioning is OK at best. In peak summer heat here in Delhi, it barely manages to keep up. The back seats get uncomfortable if the car has been parked outside and it takes a while to cool in the back. If it's just me with the driver I prefer sitting up front just because of this reason.
• The black exterior plus black interior definitely heats up quick and I would say that window tints are a must. However I have never had tinted windows in any of my cars so I would like some advise on that please.
• The back seats are comfortable and there is definitely more space than my 525d. I am tall (6 feet 3 inches) and I can sit up front with my father (6 feet) being comfortable in the back. This car feels roomier than my Q7 also when it comes to knee room.
• The arm rest on the back seat is very very nice. It has a sturdy feel to it and is of very good quality. Quick access to the boot from here or from folding the seats can be helpful at times.
• The door handles and other materials in the car feel nice. Except for the plastics a couple of places (reading lights in the back and power plug cover in the back) everything else has a premium feel.
• The entertainment package is pretty adequate in terms of sound quality. The touch screen is however a little distracting while driving but the steering has all the controls you'd ever want so you never have to use the touch screen while behind the wheel. USB works alright with pen drives but has no iPod connectivity where you can control your ipod and listen to playlists and stuff. However, you can do that wirelessly over bluetooth.
• Bluetooth for cell phones works flawlessly. I have both my phones paired with it and it tries to connect to the last connected phone first and then moves down the list. You can also use your bluetooth connected phone to play music on the car's stereo.
• Automatic Parking: I thought this was a gimmick when demoed in the TD and the commercials on TV. But this feature has been used a lot of times by me and very very effectively.
• Start Stop: This feature saves a bit of fuel I guess but I turn it off if I have passengers in the back as it turns off the air con. It's easy to get used to the pressure needed on the brake pedal to turn the car off vs just halting it in slow moving traffic.
• Auto Hold: I love this feature from my 730ld and 525d. The implementation here doesn't play nice with the Start Stop and is hence a disappointment.
• Driving Impressions: The steering wheel is very light at slow speeds and gets heavier as speeds go up. It's convenient in the city but I still prefer steering wheels with a bit more feel. The power delivery is very much like you'd expect from a turbo diesel. Once you get to 2k rpm the turbo kicks in and you feel the torque rush. Its good in D mode but once you put it in sport the rpms are pushed to the redline and the growl becomes a bit meatier. Paddle shifters are a fun little toy for me while driving this. This is not the most fun car to drive but I put that down to the fact that it's not meant to be that way plus the fact that I am spoilt by some of my other rides.
• Apart from the air con, one very big problem that I have is with the headlights. The light from them is just not enough. Even at high beam when there is no traffic on the street it doesn't give me confidence to go over 70-80 kmph at night just because of the fact that I can't see as far as I'd like.

Overall though, this car is for my house in Delhi for whenever we are visiting and it serves that purpose very well. The seats are comfortable, the car looks nice, the boot is HUGE and it's decent enough for the times I drive myself.

I am very satisfied with my buying decision so far. The 2 things that I need to sort out is the headlight situation and that with the tints on the windows/windshield. Any help on these two would be much appreciated.

If anyone has any questions, I'd be more than happy to help out. I am no expert but I can give you my personal opinion about the car. I just pointed out all the things in the car that were either excellent or disappointing. I hope this answers at least some of the queries that other prospective buyers might have.

[S2!!!]

Originally Posted by avneeshj

The touch screen is however a little distracting while driving but the steering has all the controls you'd ever want so you never have to use the touch screen while behind the wheel. USB works alright with pen drives but has no iPod connectivity where you can control your ipod and listen to playlists and stuff. However, you can do that wirelessly over bluetooth.

Are you sure about this?? Isn't there an aux-in in the centre arm rest?? Cause the last time I checked the car out I was told there is an Aux-in slot in the arm rest. Please confirm.

[avneeshj]

Yes there is an aux-in but when I say iPod connectivity I mean controlling the iPod completely from the integrated ICE. And as I said I mostly use bluetooth to play music off my iPhone since it's connected for phone calls anyway.

I have always preferred controlling my music from the central ICE (touch screen or steering controls) than reaching in the central arm rest to skip a track.

[androdev]

Congrats avneesh! I am yet to spot the new Passat on Bangalore roads. I particularly liked the comparison with 525d and Q7 and good to hear that this car is not out-of-place for such a comparison. The ventilated/cooled seats are very thoughtful additions.

Did you give any thought/dekho to Superb during this buy? The exteriors of Superb are hard to get used to, but the nice boot door and better rear seat seem to be compelling enough to give it a look.

[avneeshj]

Originally Posted by androdev

Congrats avneesh! I am yet to spot the new Passat on Bangalore roads. I particularly liked the comparison with 525d and Q7 and good to hear that this car is not out-of-place for such a comparison. The ventilated/cooled seats are very thoughtful additions.

Did you give any thought/dekho to Superb during this buy? The exteriors of Superb are hard to get used to, but the nice boot door and better rear seat seem to be compelling enough to give it a look.

Thanks androdev. I compared it with what I drive back home and what I'm used to. It's very true that some things in this car I like a lot more even compared than more expensive cars.

I did think about the Superb but the looks of the car and skoda badge put me off. Plus the dealers were very very casual in their approach. For example, Audi Gurgaon called me multiple times even after I told them I bought a different car including a call from a manager to understand my apprehensions with Audi and their reliability issues I have faced with the 3 that I have at home.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by avneeshj

The 2 things that I need to sort out is the headlight situation and that with the tints on the windows/windshield. Any help on these two would be much appreciated.

There's got to be something wrong here. Xenons lamps are VERY powerful, there must be some glitch that needs to be checked/rectified at the service center to get them back in action.

[avneeshj]

Originally Posted by Sahil

There's got to be something wrong here. Xenons lamps are VERY powerful, there must be some glitch that needs to be checked/rectified at the service center to get them back in action.

That is what all my past experience with xenons suggests. I'll get it checked out.