[drpudhi]

Originally Posted by ironager

INITIAL OWNERSHIP REVIEW OF GT TSI

BRAKES
Brakes or the lack of brakes. Braking is inadequate for the power this car generates. VW will have to provide all round disk brakes in the near future. Although the braking does improve with better tyres as i replaced the stock apollo 185s with 195 Michelins.

Arjun

Congrats mate.

What is the exact size you've upgraded your tires to ? Does it go well with the VW warranty, all the more important with this car?

Looking forward for an exhaustive photo shoot. Also would like to know if the scooped out front seats really make any difference in the rear leg room?

[Guite]

Had a back to back test drive of Vento and Polo GT today. For a lot of different reasons, my wife prefers Vento and myself GT. In particular she was not in favour of the black fabric on the GT. After discount and offers there is just 68k difference between the two: GT for Rs.9.05 lakh on road in Noida.

The GT is effortless to drive, infact the steering is far too effortless, too light. With a light foot on the pedal the car picks up speed quietly but surely. For a person who has never driven an auto transmission car, never having to touch the gear lever except for starting off from parking and parking is unreal. We had a scary moment when my left foot went and depressed the brake pedal quickly, replicating clutch depressing action on a manual transmission car. It was on a wide road. Luckily no one was following close behind.

The SA was quite knowledgeable. He was saying that extended warranty covers the DSG gearbox, but I wouldn't take his word unless supported by some written official document. However I am not averse to taking the risk either.

[WindRide]

Originally Posted by ironager

..
But its not a practical car. with a fuel economy of 10-11 kpl ...

Thats a bummer. I thought the advantage of the TSI is that it delivers power and torque of a bigger displacement engine while returning FE of a smaller engine.

If GT TSI is going to return 10/11 kpl then am i not better off with say Fiesta 1.6 or Cedia 2.0? Atleast i will have reliable engine/gearbox combo and more space.

[floyd.bell]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

If you are going to need a boot, then the T Jet it is. I hope you stand to gain more power from the re launch and I also hope Fiat price it sensibly.

The re-launched T-Jet will have the same engine specs 114PS/207NM. Also, I don't think FIAT will price it lower than what it was before it was discontinued. At the max, they might price it on par as before.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

The GT felt effortless as it comes with a brilliant automatic gearbox. After the drive, I just wished the T Jet had something similar. The engines are brilliant in both the cars. In the GT, all you have to do is step on the gas as hard as possible and things start moving quick. Both your hands are on the wheel, your right leg switching between throttle and brake. You stay fully focused on the drive. To be as quick on a T Jet, you need to work harder. Going through the gates on a manual gearbox does add to the involvement when you drive a car and this is something that is not perfect on a T Jet.

Hmm, sounds too good. Need to get a TD soon

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

If I were to pick the best drivers car in the segment/price bracket, it will be the T Jet. I am not saying this just because I own one. Everyone will rate the cars they own to be the best. You need to drive a T Jet extensively to know how brilliant it is.

On other aspects, it will be wrong to compare the GT and T Jet. Hatchback and Sedan. The T Jet offers more passenger room at the back and a massive boot. The GT is cramped at the rear. Looks like VW decided to keep the boot nice and large and as a result, rear passenger room is tight. The GT works as a strict two seater. VW has the edge on quality of interior appointments.

Thanks for your insight. Definitely helps. I cannot compromise on the boot and rear space. And the reason for comparing GT with T-Jet was that I didn't wanted to miss out on the driveability aspect as well.

[stringbh]

Originally Posted by khoj

The trick really is in controlling the take off from stand still.

Hi Khoj, It is probably OT, but, what do you mean here ? it might help me and others improve FE.

[envy]

Originally Posted by ironager

FUEL ECONOMY
Using normal unleaded fuel the car is giving an average of 9.5-10 KPl. Therefore i find no truth in the VW Brochure regarding a fuel economy of 17-18 kpl.
Arjun

How many kms have you covered on it? Did you take a tank full-full reading? MID alone can be misleading by 0.5-1 kmpl, even on a complete tank run, on shorter runs even more way off than actual.

Even the normal manual used to give me barely 10+ readings at the start, once I got used to the car and once the car opened up the numbers changed drastically.


It's good to know that they have finally enabled the simple but useful Bluetooth phone pair feature in the stereo.

Does it take voice commands? sync phone contacts?

Sorry for the bombardment of questions, I'm curious

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by WindRide

I thought the advantage of the TSI is that it delivers power and torque of a bigger displacement engine while returning FE of a smaller engine.

When I put my money down on a T Jet, I was under the impression that this car will deliver power and efficiency. After driving a turbo petrol for a year and a half, I can easily say that there is absolutely no gain in terms of fuel efficiency when compared to naturally aspirated petrols. The turbo is all about power and torque and nothing else. My T Jet delivers no more than 9kmpl in the city cycle. Gets worse sometimes depending on how bad traffic is. I don't regret buying a T Jet. The worries about fuel efficiency are forgotten every time I get behind the wheel.

My previous car was a 9 year old Ford Ikon 1.6. In just about any driving cycle, it was more efficient than my T Jet.

I have never done a mileage run where you keep the speed steady at say 80kmph or something. The car might deliver when driven like this.

Originally Posted by WindRide

If GT TSI is going to return 10/11 kpl then am i not better off with say Fiesta 1.6 or Cedia 2.0?

No you are not.

Originally Posted by WindRide

Atleast i will have reliable engine/gearbox combo and more space.

Yes. In the case of the GT, we don't know about this yet. It is too early to say anything. If VW have fixed the problems with this gearbox, you have nothing to worry about. In the GT, the gearbox is dealing with a lot less power and torque.

In terms of performance, I have a good feeling that the GT will smoke both the cars you have listed and the T Jet. How does it do this? That brilliant DSG.

[roy_libran]

Just wondering - How does the GT compare with the Rapid with the 6 Speed Automatic? Can anyone shed any light on this please?

[MuzzledMoose]

Originally Posted by roy_libran

Just wondering - How does the GT compare with the Rapid with the 6 Speed Automatic? Can anyone shed any light on this please?

Rapid and vento are same petrol auto units. Vento was a slouch to drive when i test drove the same and rapid should be no different.

[roy_libran]

^ I just want someone who has driven both to reaffirm on the same. Another thing that I wonder is that Rapid seems to have the Gearbox that is of lesser ill-repute, or is it not the case?

[fiat_tarun]

I got to drive the GT TSI quite extensively over the last weekend and I quite liked it, but I must say the 'involvement' factor was missing.

A few points from my experience...

• The DSG is nice and the shifts are seamless with no drop in power at all in between shifts. The engine pulls very cleanly and the car does feel fast.
  
• The Sport mode is fun where the rpm doesn't drop 2000 rpm which means you are always in turbo zone.
  
• The updated Polo with a proper music system, climate control, etc is nicely kitted as well, although the seat fabric design and colour do not feel premium at all.
  
• The new scooped out rear seats do help with leg room, but can still be a problem if the front passengers are tall.
  
• The suspension is quite good, a bit on the stiffer side is what I felt and does it's job very quietly.
  
• Coming back to the drive, since the car is being targeted at the enthusiast it MUST have a manual transmission option. The DSG is good, but common, it gets boring after sometime. Maybe Pune isn't crowded enough to appreciate the convenience of an automatic, but it sure got boring after a point.
  
• Then the steering. It's not too light, but doesn't have the feel that one looks for in a sporty car. Feedback also isn't there. The Punto / Figo have set the benchmarks for steering feedback.
  
• I got a FE of 9kmpl around Pune, though I'd point it to the style of driving. In a turbo petrol, one is always driving on the limit, revving the car, enjoying the rush and the downside is the FE. Drive her sedately and I'm sure she will return atleast 13kmpl in the city.
  
• One more thing that I missed in the car was a sporty engine note. It's there, but very subtle. The T-Jet has that lovely engine note that adds to the overall experience.
  
  All in all a good car, but it's priced too high to be a success. Maybe that manual option can help lower the price by a lakh which should open it up to a wider market.

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

A few points from my experience...

• Then the steering. It's not too light, but doesn't have the feel that one looks for in a sporty car. Feedback also isn't there. The Punto / Figo have set the benchmarks for steering feedback.
  

It's a typical VW steering. Weighs well but there is no feedback. I am planning to buy this, but will wait for a couple of months. I have already been offered a corp discount of 6K plus another 10K off on insurance. The effective price will be 9.7L OTR in Bangalore.

[ironager]

Originally Posted by drpudhi

Congrats mate.

What is the exact size you've upgraded your tires to ? Does it go well with the VW warranty, all the more important with this car?

Looking forward for an exhaustive photo shoot. Also would like to know if the scooped out front seats really make any difference in the rear leg room?

Exact Tyre Size Upgrade- 195/60 R-15 Michelin

Original Tyres- 185/60 r-15 Apollo

As far as warranty goes will check up on that in the owners manual

Pix will be uploaded soon. tried uploading some pictures but the file size was too big. Will retake some pictures

[ironager]

Here are a few pictures of the car

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by roy_libran

Just wondering - How does the GT compare with the Rapid with the 6 Speed Automatic? Can anyone shed any light on this please?

From a performance point of view, the GT will shred these (Rapid and Vento Automatic) cars to bits.

The 1.6l in the VW and Skoda are not exactly exciting engines. There is power on paper but you don't feel as much of it when you drive them, even with a manual gearbox. The automatics on offer on these two cars are for convenience, not performance. Reliability of the gearbox won't be a concern on Vento & Rapid. They don't use the same DSG unit as in the GT.