Team-BHP - Volkswagen Virtus Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 5317210)

There was a difference, even, between my 2012 Polo and my current 2014 model. :disappointed

Agree here, VW has been reducing the door weight in the Polo(s)/Vento(s) manufactured in the later years which might look disappointing to few but when I checked out Virtus I did not feel it is bad like the Honda City.

Build is still solid and the door thuds are not like earlier platform cars but still much better than what competition offers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by @og_adi (Post 5276220)

After the XUV700, if there's any vehicle that has kept me waiting for its launch, it's the Virtus. Ever since the initial photos and videos of this car came out, I've only been waiting for it to hit our roads. It looks elegant and if priced similar to the Slavia, looks per se it's the Virtus that wins my heart.

VW absolutely nailed it! The above is my post on the Slavia vs City vs Verna vs others thread where I had high hopes on how gorgeous this vehicle looked and I'm elated that the product in real life too strikes the chord.

Had a chance to turn my head and look at a Wild Cherry Red Virtus parked outside a Volkswagen showroom while stuck in traffic and was amazed at how beautiful this car looked. Couldn't click a picture as there was a lot of commotion but when I looked at that machine, everything just fell silent and it felt like it was only us there. Hands down the best looking sedan that can pose a tough nut when put up against its competitors. No German biggies' cars mesmerized me like this in the recent times and this should clearly be the best looking among the siblings (Slavia, Taigun, Kushaq). I am now working towards convincing dad to get one of these to make a lookers duo (Safari, Virtus :D). "YES PLEASE!" to any colour.

As luck would have it, few kilometres down the same road, had a chance to look at a Slavia too (It was being unloaded from a trailer) and I'm not sure if it's the white but this vehicle looked absolutely bland in comparison. It was clearly a Biriyani vs Fried Rice moment lol:.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bharathan (Post 5316676)

But a lot of places where the build quality is sub par. One thing that stood out was how flimsy the roof was. It kept going in very easily on application of very minimal pressure as shown in the pic.

Will be mostly cancelling my booking.

This happens in my Laura too. Please don't judge by these things, The center point of roof used to be light compare to the edges.

Quote:

Originally Posted by volkman10 (Post 5317476)

International-spec VW Virtus Sedan to get larger 17-inch alloys.

Attachment 2308193

Wow.. these alloys actually look really nice. I guess if they had even offered these as an optional accessory on the GT, i would definitely opt for it. Planning to go today to check out the car, avoided going on Saturday and Sunday assuming everyone would've swarmed the showrooms..:coldsweat

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsi_niks1989 (Post 5317339)

Another thing, 2012 to 2014 Polo. When I first had the 2014 I flipped up the sun visor, and there was a boom: the roof was properly padded/damped in the earlier model. Some things had improved, like the 4-window auto-up/down with remote. I think that cut back later? Eight years have gone by: I hope they didn't cheapen too much! Does the Vertus have it? It is something I value a lot.

But yes, the VW build is more than sufficient. And complaints aside, I'm still a fanboy

Quote:

Originally Posted by bharathan (Post 5316676)

Not exactly a good way to judge build quality. Almost all modern cars flex under pressure.

Yesteryear Mahindra/Tata SUVs (Sumos and commanders) never flexed under pressure. Doesn't mean they are safe in a crash.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony2298 (Post 5316434)

though I've a small suggestion for not only Volkswagen but for other OEMs too, in foreign countries I've seen OEMs offer heated steering wheel as the drivers' hand there becomes too cold and car tries to comfort him, in India considering the harsh heat, especially when the car becomes like an oven when parked under the direct sunlight, can we get cooled steerings, which compounded with the ventilated seats and a chiller air-con would make our lives oh so more bearable during the harsh and humid summers.

Adding heat is far easier than removing heat. To add heat inside the steering circle, all we need is a resistor in wire form and a way to pass voltage to it. To remove heat, a coolant/refrigerant needs to circulate and it will not only involve actual plumbing work through the steering column, it will also need a heat exchanger to shed the absorbed heat somewhere in the engine bay, by running the coolant/refrigerant through a heat exchanger breathing ambient air.

Engineering wise, it's a huge task, the fluid/gas flow has to be maintained leak free, for all steering positions.

Visited the showroom today with my folks, and initial impressions are good. They loved the car.

I was mesmerized by the way it catches attention and the CHERRY RED looks stunning even in low light conditions. Was impressed with the overall build quality. Also the fear of feature deletion was on my mind and I'm happy that all that was promised is available. A few key observations below.

The roof liner is of good quality and feels premium. On checking the Taigun and Virtus back to back, the quality cannot go unnoticed. Though there is a slight flex, no one would be checking the strength of the roof liner on daily basis. Sunglasses holder is missing which I'm so fond of using.
The switch Control for lights seemed a bit better as compared to the Slavia and also the Taigun(felt slightly more damped and worked with minimal pressure)
The Ambient lighting seems to be a half hearted effort, wish it was running all the way till the steering column.
The red inserts don't look all that bad, in fact i wasn't entirely convinced, but wifey actually loved the color matched inserts..:p
Space below the passenger seat, where an amplifier is mounted on the Slavia, seems like it has gone unnoticed and you can already see the floor padding coming off, there definitely will be a lot of dust accumulation. Hope VW rectifies this.
Happy to note that the entire lighting setup is LED except the fog Lamps and the Boot Lamp.
The Highline which was on display also has a full LED setup, although with different type of Headlight set up. I was slightly disappointed after checking that out as it has Double barrel LED setup as compared to single Low/High projector on the GT and Topline variants. Hope the projector does a good job.

Will be continuing with my booking on Cherry Red, they have no idea on deliveries and test drive, said would be updated in a weeks time. Hope the pricing isn't too steep as compared to the Slavia.

Please excuse the picture quality. Thank my stone aged phone:coldsweat