[tbppjpr]

What an timing, here VW launches the TSI and there we see a significant price cut in petrol price of Rs 3. Petrol price now has reached to it's lowest level in last one year. Looks like good future for petrol cars, especially for 'good' petrol cars, considering regular hike in diesel price.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by noopster

paid 9.21L in early 2011

Paid 9.6lac on road for a top spec T Jet in the last month of the same year you bought your car.

The price for cars are ever increasing.

[vb-saan]

Thinking about it, the pattern in responses based on the brand /body type is quite amazing.

For e.g. when the Laura vRS was released, one of the key response was “wish Skoda launched this with the brilliant DSG”.
And now with the Polo DSG, it’s just the opposite – "wish VW had provided MT option instead of DSG."

And then, everyone want paddle shifts! IMO, in a real-world scenario, paddle shifts are not something people will miss with a quick-shifting DSG box.

If someone need an AT with extra space for rear passengers + a boot, there are options like the City AT, or the Scala/Sunny twins, but if the requirement is limited to a reasonably powerful petrol AT which is good to drive and loaded on safety, we have only two options – the Polo GT and Fiesta AT. If I have to make a decision, I will go with the former, and will have a saving of 2 lakhs +.

[drpudhi]

Originally Posted by vb-san

For e.g. when the Laura vRS was released, one of the key response was “wish Skoda launched this with the brilliant DSG”.
And now with the Polo DSG, it’s just the opposite – "wish VW had provided MT option instead of DSG."

That's may be because they both are from different segments all together.

A person spending close to 20 lakhs for the vRS won't mind shelling a lakh more for that "brilliant" DSG. But, when a person can shave off a lakh from a 8 lakh car by opting out of DSG for a not so brilliant MT, that does really makes some sense.

[Vid6639]

The 3 rupee price cut from today from petrol should definitely put it back in the reckoning for some.

[delta5]

Originally Posted by Mpower

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.

I have a serious dilemma here and hope all you folks can help. To me this is my 'perfect' car, Ofcourse I have my inhibitions like the price(would have liked it Atleast 50k less), color choices(grey polo any day) and some additional features which I could have done without.

But, the cause of worry is mindset of my family, or should I say the immediate ones. My mom feels all my so called family would think I am an idiot for buying a hatch for 10big ones. The reason behind her argument is that there has been addition of two new cars in the immediate family - Etios Gd for some 8.5L and a Sunny Vx for 10+ and here is the GT sitting bang in the middle.

I don't care what others think, but how do you make your loved ones understand why you are going to do, what you are going to do. I am sure you all have been there once sometime or the other.

Sorry for posting an emotional question and this one might fit perfectly on an agony aunt site, but I guess getting emotional comes natural when u discuss a car like this!

I am planning for a TD the day after, called up the dealer, the TD vehicle has arrived but still they are quoting 'estimated' price of 9.5L OTR. And all our Bangalore friends are quoting a similar price, which puzzles me as usually the price here in Chennai is at least 30k cheaper for other hatches. Anyone sure of prices in chennai?

Cheers,
D.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by delta5

I have a serious dilemma here and hope all you folks can help. To me this is my 'perfect' car, Ofcourse I have my inhibitions like the price(would have liked it Atleast 50k less), color choices(grey polo any day) and some additional features which I could have done without.
…
…

If you feel this is the perfect car, I will say, go and do the booking now
After a few days of usage, your immediate family will start appreciating the car. And infact you are doing something good for your family by getting a car which is the safest in this category (<10 lakhs). The minimalist looks of European cars may not be appealing initially, but it’s more of an acquired taste.

I think the Chennai On-road price should be somewhere close to 9 lakhs. And yes, they should have offered more colour options for this variant. Don’t understand the need to restrict to just 3 colours.

[amitg79]

Had a very short drive of the GT TSI yesterday at BU Bhandari. The vehicle was not registered so we could not take it out on the main road.

So I ease into the lane and put that delectable 7-speed DSG box in S mode and set off. Up to around 1500 RPM, I begin to wonder "Whats the fuss all about?"
Then the turbo wakes up. And the car simply takes off. I am gently pushed back into the seat. The muted growl from the TSI engine is the perfect soundtrack for this car. The DSG holds on to gears longer and shifts are extremely quick. The aforementioned lane is peppered with rickshaws, cycle wallahs and old gentlemen driving i20s at sub-glacial speeds, so I have no time to look at the speedo and rev-counter to see what's really going on. I use the leather wrapped, nice-to-hold and pleasantly weighted steering wheel to dodge these obstacles.

In a blink, I am at the end of the lane, so I make a U-turn and repeat the above process. And I'm grinning like a monkey on an LSD trip.

Another blink and the drive is over.

Back in the showroom, I let my adrenaline levels settle and here are some thoughts that go through my head:

• The engine and gearbox combo is fantastic and will make you desperately want this car.
• VW haven't extended that 'want-one-very-badly' factor to the exterior. Maybe a different alloy wheel design, one size larger even. And a couple of exciting color options like that racy blue they have in Europe. And DRLs, maybe?
• OTR Pune was around 9.1 Lakhs. You do get a great car for that money, but it is still a lot of money and VW may miss their conservative sales target. So would expect some discounts / offers somewhere down the line.

Just out of curiosity, I asked their evaluator to take a look at my 2007 Palio Sport 1.6, which is in great condition, by the way. He offered me 40,000 Rs. Which means I can't even buy an iPhone if I sell my car, much less use it to make a sizable down-payment on the GT TSI. (Not that I was planning to buy, but yes will think about it in an year or so.)

[rana_kirti]

I see some members talk about Paddle Shifters.

Could someone briefly jot down top 3 instances when the Paddle Shifters could come handy ? In what ways would the Paddle Shifters add to the driving experience ?

[dkaile]

This car will definitely sell for a 1 lac discount 6 months down the line as I had predicted before. I am still holding on to that conviction. Wait and watch...

[noopster]

Originally Posted by rana_kirti

Could someone briefly jot down top 3 instances when the Paddle Shifters could come handy ? In what ways would the Paddle Shifters add to the driving experience ?

Paddle shifters are cool in the sense that they enable you to shift without taking your hands off the steering wheel and make you feel like you are a Formula 1 race driver.
In terms of practicality, the 'tiptronic' manual mode on the VW gearbox is intuitive and easy to use. As I've said before on the forums, the novelty of paddle shifts wears off in about 7 minutes .
If you're a serious driver, having an effective manual shift option is more important than the "kewlness" of a paddle shifter. In short, it's not a deal-breaker for someone who really wants this car!

[Hayek]

Having driven my Superb for over 28,000 kms, I must say that the DSG box delivers all the power you need based on accelerator input even in D mode. Agree that a 1.2 TSi will not respond like the 1.8 but I suspect that there will be virtually no circumstances where you can do a much better job than the gearbox. So paddle shifters or even tiptronic are nice to have but certainly not deal breakers for this car. And I agree with Anoop, I have hardly ever used the paddle shifters in my Superb (even though I wanted them while buying the car).

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by amitg79

And I'm grinning like a monkey on an LSD trip.

It is good to hear that your drive, though short, provided a good hint of the power of the GT. I am just not sure if you can call it a replacement for your Stile. It is going to be a bit of a side step in terms of power. What you stand to gain is the gearbox and safety net. The GT might out handle your Stile and that's about it. A suitable replacement for your Stile will be a Laura Tsi or a Kizashi. If you must buy one, you might want to wait for the year end when all the discounts start rolling. You never know. Like what Fiat India did with the T Jet towards the end, there could be over a lac in discounts for the GT and that's going to make it, the deal of all deals for the GT.

Was the Stile 1.6 a 5lac car in 2007?

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by Hayek

I have hardly ever used the paddle shifters in my Superb (even though I wanted them while buying the car).

Your 1.8 TSI AT Superb came with paddle shifters?? I thought they were standard only on the 3.6L FSI version!

[VEA]

Originally Posted by rana_kirti

I see some members talk about Paddle Shifters.

Could someone briefly jot down top 3 instances when the Paddle Shifters could come handy ? In what ways would the Paddle Shifters add to the driving experience ?

Well, i use a city AT with paddle shifters. I think they are extremely useful on the honda city, they are so nervous with the steering that you always need both hands on the wheel once you go past 60 kmph. It is quite relevant in ghat and winding roads as you might want to use both your hands for the steering part. Once I was a passenger in an Audi A6 on such a ghat road, and i remember how my driving friend wished his car had paddle shifters. Having said that a quick shifting gearbox almost makes sure you dont need paddle shifters. I have used a 2007 superb with the shifter like the one on the polo tsi and i can say that its not very natural and intuitive to be shifting manually from the centre console without your left foot on the clutch! You cannot casually change a gear too unlike a paddle shifter, you need to move the shifter to manual mode before you can execute a manual shift. A paddle shifter is more intuitive in that respect. You might not want it 99 percent of the time, but the 1 percent makes your drive a little more fun. Its nothing you cant live without.

I checked out the polo tsi yesterday, 9.28 lakhs OTR, Kochi with regular insurance. Couldnt drive, but it is well covered in the review so i might buy one even without a test drive. I found two things sorely missing in the car of this price, a front centre arm rest and rear split seats which all the regular polos have!