[msmatic]

Originally Posted by salunkhe.vizz

I have been badly waiting for a good AT hatch / compact suv under 10 lakhs since 1 year now. I want to replace my existing Ritz Vdi with a powerful AT which is also efficient (AT solely for wifey's part of the driving). A good AT is a dream come true in Mumbai traffic jams, giving you both peace of mind and hassle free driving experience (leading to lower road rage IMHO).

I will wait for couple more months to check AT options from Punto Abarth and Ecosport, if none are this good - I will go for the Polo GT for sure (with aftermarket 205/15 shoes, side skirting and leather seats)

I'm in a similar situation - Amaze Vx AT vs Polo TSI, prices almost same, one offers reliability and other fun to drive quotient.

Its a shame that i20 AT, Brio AT, Dzire AT do not come with a driver seat height adjust which in my opinion is a serious ergonomic flaw and a complete dealbreaker.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Yes. The technology is very expensive. Probably way more if its imported for us which I think is the case with the Polo GT.

Tell me what you think of this. In the month of March 2013, post discounts a Honda City S AT cost 10.6 on road in my city. This is exactly a lac over the Polo GT. There is no DSG, Turbo petrol or ESP. What do you buy?

Honda City S AT is 11.10 after discounts now, and Amaze Vx AT is 9.4 which is a rip off. In comparison Polo TSI is an absolute steal.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

How much more would it have cost to add automatic climate control

There is climate control on the GT. VW call this climatronic.

As for the rest, leather would have at least helped matters.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

~9.5L for a 100PS hatch ? Way too overpriced. Plus the reliability factor of the 7 speed DSG.

Maybe. But tell me, is there anything else out there that offers what the Polo does? Remember, we're talking about a turbo petrol engine mated to an iffy albeit brilliant gearbox. The Polo GT has a lot going for it. It has a strong engine and a smooth segment-first gearbox. Plus, it's put together really well.

If you break down the price-tag, you'll realize that VW has done well to keep it a shade under 10 lakhs. The closest competitor to the Polo GT would be the Hyundai i20 AT which is not as fun, not as quick and certainly not as solid. Sure, the i20 is more spacious. But if space is what you're after, you're not looking in the right place. Your other option would be a Mini Cooper. It makes 120 odd horsepower and costs 30 lakhs.

I think we, as customers, have have begun to expect the Moon and not get charged the Earth for it.

Yes, VW has tried to kill two birds with one stone by giving us a half-baked GT and a DSG gearbox. A hot hatch is not a hot hatch without a manual transmission. But as Akshay1234 had rightly pointed out earlier, having several options for a car that's going to be a low-volume product does not make sense.

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Maybe. But tell me, is there anything else out there that offers what the Polo does? Remember, we're talking about a turbo petrol engine mated to an iffy albeit brilliant gearbox. The Polo GT has a lot going for it. It has a strong engine and a smooth segment-first gearbox. Plus, it's put together really well.

If you break down the price-tag, you'll realize that VW has done well to keep it a shade under 10 lakhs. The closest competitor to the Polo GT would be the Hyundai i20 AT which is not as fun, not as quick and certainly not as solid. Sure, the i20 is more spacious. But if space is what you're after, you're not looking in the right place. Your other option would be a Mini Cooper. It makes 120 odd horsepower and costs 30 lakhs.

I think we, as customers, have have begun to expect the Moon and not get charged the Earth for it.

Yes, VW has tried to kill two birds with one stone by giving us a half-baked GT and a DSG gearbox. A hot hatch is not a hot hatch without a manual transmission. But as Akshay1234 had rightly pointed out earlier, having several options for a car that's going to be a low-volume product does not make sense.

I agree with you when you say there is no other option in the market for a hot hatch - BUT, 9.5L for a 100ps hatch is just not worth it. Better save up a little more and buy a City or look for Second Hand market for depreciated diamonds.

If VW knew this was anyways a ultra-low volume player, they might as well have plonked the 1.4TSI with manual option and priced it 1L more - that would have been the true hot hatch.

[binz]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

I'd look at it in another way. At 9.8L OTR Bangalore, aren't they already alienating the regular petrol hatch customers and targeting a niche segment of buyers?

If it wasn't a high volume product and was aimed at enthusiasts who could afford to pay 9.8L for a petrol hatch, they could have as well added a few extra kit to complete the picture and kept those enthusiasts happy. How much more would it cost to add automatic climate control, leather seats or paddle shifters anyway? If someone is buying a petrol hatchback at ~10L, he is not the kind of guy who will run away if the same car is priced 50-60k more. Just my 2 cents.

The car would cost a lakh or two more, at which point the potential buyer would begin to consider the laura tsi instead!

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

I agree with you when you say there is no other option in the market for a hot hatch - BUT, 9.5L for a 100ps hatch is just not worth it. Better save up a little more and buy a City or look for Second Hand market for depreciated diamonds.

Save up more for a City? If you need a boot then yes. Otherwise why would you make a statement like that? Without driving the Polo tsi I can tell you it will be faster than the city, it has a better gearbox, the high speed dynamics and handling will be far better, the braking will be better, and there is esp.

Paddle shifts can most probably be added for about 35k, the steering wheel will have to be changed.

[noopster]

Phew! Some 10 pages of debate added since I logged onto this thread last...all because the pricing was announced!

Let me put things in perspective. If I were to buy a VW Vento 1.6 AT today, the price I'd have to pay is 9.61L ex-showroom (I am not sure about this, paid 9.21L in early 2011 and this is the number I pulled from carwale since VW's own site doesn't seem to list it). Let's assume this is the correct price-certainly is in the right ballpark.

So for 1.6L less than this, I get a Polo GT TSI with:
- Superior DSG box compared to a torque convertor (leave reliability aside for a moment)
- Turbo petrol engine with 21 Nm more torque and same BHP rating
- Superior driveability since the extra torque kicks in early
- All the bells and whistles the the Vento Highline offers (pretty much- we can debate if "leatherette" is better than the sporty upholstery on this baby)
...and all I lose is a boot!

I mean...I know we Indians are obessed with our dickeys but seriously, guys? This is an awesome car for the price (and I am a Vento AT owner). Of course the DSG reliability is a BIG factor but if VW is offering the 2+2 year extended warranty, I'd pick it up in a heartbeat!

Tongue firmly in cheek: if this car bombs, VW will know what they did wrong. All they had to do was add a boot and price it at 2.5L higher. would sell like hot cakes

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

If VW knew this was anyways a ultra-low volume player, they might as well have plonked the 1.4TSI with manual option and priced it 1L more - that would have been the true hot hatch.

If having more litters or bigger displacement badge on the engine is more important then they had a 1.6 variant that too with MT and at much lesser price, did it sell?

Anything over 1.2 also attracts a hefty increase in excise hence the price increase in case of 1.4 won't only be 1L, it will certainly cross 11L mark, even if its MT. Better to expect it in Vento but I highly doubt on that since the 1.4 is already doing duty in higher segment Jetta.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

There is climate control on the GT. VW call this climatronic.

climatronic is now standard in top end variants of all the Polos.

[khoj]

Yes, that is a very valid point. With this I hereby withdraw my wish of seeing a 1.4 Tsi in the Polo but in turn will hope that it's success will pave the way for the GOLF to be made available in the near future

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Anything over 1.2 also attracts a hefty increase in excise hence the price increase in case of 1.4 won't only be 1L, it will certainly cross 11L mark, even if its MT.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by binz

The car would cost a lakh or two more, at which point the potential buyer would begin to consider the laura tsi instead!

If merely adding a couple of plastic paddle shift levers and leather seats will increase the price by 1-2 lacs, I'd like to know where they are importing their leather and plastic from . Those add-ons will work out very cheap for VW when a car is mass-produced and the car maker orders in bulk.

Jokes apart, my point was- it is already in niche territory at 10L, so a few thousands here and there won't make any difference for the kind of customers whom Polo GT is targeting. Anyway, I respect your views, so I guess we can agree to disagree on this .

[binz]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

If merely adding a couple of plastic paddle shift levers and leather seats will increase the price by 1-2 lacs, I'd like to know where they are importing their leather and plastic from . Those add-ons will work out very cheap for VW when a car is mass-produced and the car maker orders in bulk.

Jokes apart, my point was- it is already in niche territory at 10L, so a few thousands here and there won't make any difference for the kind of customers whom Polo GT is targeting. Anyway, I respect your views, so I guess we can agree to disagree on this

My bad, a couple of lakhs was factoring in all-round disk brakes, which in turn would necessitate better tyres - something which the bean counters may not favor. That along with a climate control system, leather seats, navigation system will easily push the price up a couple of lakhs - while reducing the value proposition of the vento. Vw will probably launch a special edition down the line with all these features.

My whole point was that VW engineers aren't fools, if they put drums at the rear they would have compensated with better brakes/braking technology up front. For all you know they would have brought the power down to 104hp just to use drums at the rear to save costs. I still stand by what i said earlier, this car will brake better than anything in it's price bracket.

[androdev]

This is a classic VW value proposition. Cutting edge tech offered at affordable prices with a reliability time-bomb ticking inside.

This is not a car for risk-averse enthusiasts on budget, things can get harsh down the line. This is not an aspirational car for family-trophy situation as this doesn't have a "big car" image. It is not a car to give it to your driver to pick up groceries and run errands.

This is ideal for people who don't keep a driver and are looking for refined smooth AT car for the city while they already own other cars to meet their work-horse/luxury/image demands. They will be thrilled with the refinement at this price.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by androdev

This is ideal for people who don't keep a driver and are looking for refined smooth AT car for the city while they already own other cars to meet their work-horse/luxury/image demands. They will be thrilled with the refinement at this price.

All good points. I see another niche segment

As the only car in the house, it will also suit the needs of a young upwardly mobile couple who don't suffer from the 'typical desi mindest' in the sense that they seek quality, comfort and class & don't care about having the vaunted trophy-trunk.

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by noopster

...and all I lose is a boot!

Polo also suffers from another problem. The rear seat is cramped, so it doesn't for a good Family car.

[Mik]

I hope this car does really well.
Why?
So that we can have the manufacturers sitting up and giving us the real hot hatches
1. Punto with Tjet engine
2. Figo with the 1.6 L engine.

Ah well. Wishes, horses - i know.