[Chrome6Boy]

Originally Posted by CarManMotorcycl

1) Everyone knows about the famed DQ200 issues, we are planning to buy the 1.5 DSG so what is your opinion on the reliability of the gearbox now?


I like the Virtus overall but gearbox issues and maintenance cost is making me think twice.

For every person who tells you that they had issues with their DSG, you'll find another 100 who'll say they had no issues. However, that is still a poor track record. You will find many, many stories on Team-BHP about problems faced with the DSG, and people who tell you they have had no issues are simply lucky.

VW has toned down engine response until the DSG shifts out of the first gear in order to elongate the transmission's life. There are videos of the 1.0 TSI with its torque converter having better initial acceleration than the 1.5 because of the lack of confidence VAG has in the DQ200. I think this is pitiful.

I am a guy who's gearbox died while it was under warranty (99,920 KMs) and was luckily replaced free of charge. Now I drive like my grandma, never use sports mode or manual mode, because I am afraid of another failure. I can feel the clutch slip sometimes and I almost soil my pants every time it happens.

As much as I love driving my 2016 Vento TSI I will never recommend the DSG to anyone.

Unfortunately there is no other car in that price range which will give you the driving pleasure the 1.5 TSI + DSG does. You'll have to settle for substandard CVTs, torque convertors or dual clutch transmissions from Jeep or Hyundai which cannot hold a candle to the DSG.

[thiagust]

Have finally decided to go ahead with VW Virtus , booking it tomorrow. Yellow is the colour and everyone in the family is excited to welcome the second VW.

Did a TD of a few more cars , XL6 , City , Carens. The key swinging point for us was the luggage space on offer on Virtus. We do long drives ( 650 KMS+ one way) at least 4-5 times in an year. Going with XL6 or Carens had its limitations on luggage space. Adding a roof carrier etc wasn't ok too.

Got the car parked at my apartment and that is when we realized how big the car was , compared to my GT. More than happy to book the yellow , had a very tough time convicing my better half & my 5 year old daughter.

Will share a post once the owning process is complete.

Originally Posted by CarManMotorcycl

1) Everyone knows about the famed DQ200 issues, we are planning to buy the 1.5 DSG so what is your opinion on the reliability of the gearbox now?
2) My friend owns a VW Vento Diesel and he has to top up coolant at more than regular intervals, our Hyundai Eon in it's 44000km run has never had coolant top ups, what is the reason for this?
3)My dad is a staunch Toyota fan(me too) but as Toyota doesn't have the model we want, we had to look at other options, my dad being in the taxi industry in Dubai deals with Toyota Camrys so he is always of the opinion that VW maintenance is high and there is always problems with them. What is the case here in India?
.

I own a GT TSI for ~ 9 years and the only problem I faced with DSG was issues in shifting to/from D2/D3 , it used to throw a huge jerk. Got that sorted out without any hassle. But things have gone worse for others.

I'm going to buy the Topline AT Virtus Variant and found that good too. If your ask is to go for an auto and de-risk any long term concerns on DSG , I will suggest you to take a TD of the other auto option available.

Originally Posted by Chrome6Boy

VW has toned down engine response until the DSG shifts out of the first gear in order to elongate the transmission's life. There are videos of the 1.0 TSI with its torque converter having better initial acceleration than the 1.5 because of the lack of confidence VAG has in the DQ200. I think this is pitiful.

Absolutely spot on. This is the first thing I noticed when I took the TD of 1.0 TSI, the response was sharper compared to my DSG. In fact when I was trying to park the Virtus in my apartment , I had to keep braking while in D mode while putting the car into position , prior to me reversing.

[IceManMK1]

2000 KM + Roadtrip Update

Recently took the car out for a long drive to Chennai (Kochi - Coimbatore - Salem - Ulundurpet - Chengalpattu - Navalur)

And it was a joy driving the 1.0. Couple of folks who tried the car out were unwilling to believe this was a puny 1litre engine!

I got an average mileage of 19.1 KMPL for the whole onward journey on the MID
By a rough calculation, it was close to the actual mileage of 18.88 KMPL. The return leg saw a lot traffic, slow moving vehicles killing the overall mileage and increased my travel time considerably.

Total Onward Journey : 612 Kms
Split of traffic: 85% Highway, 15% Crawl Traffic (A/C on 95% of the time for the journey)
Average Speed: Maintained 88-92 KMPH on the highway, with very less sprints of upto 115 KMPH



Total Return Journey: 705 Kms (Took a small detour via Palakkad)
Split of traffic: 75% highway, 25% stop-go traffic ( The stretch between Angamaly to Ernakulam was painful to say the least)
Average speed: 86-90 KMPH, few bursts of speed
Average Mileage: 17.9 KMPL
I had a loaded trunk with few furnitures, 9 bags and the seat folded. I'm confident that even with a heavily loaded car -- the engine + gearbox will not be stressed and you can munch decent miles.

Couple of pointers on the overall ownership:
1. City mileage is pathetic (the traffic here - even more so). You won't get decent figures until D3. D4 onwards you see the average mileage climb.

2. Lot of brake dust!! I will get this checked in the upcoming December service. I am concerned about the brake pad wear

3. AC is not a deal breaker : I was driving in heavy traffic inside Chennai for a week and the compressor didn't throw a tantrum even once. This was in the morning 9AM hustle.

4. Valet mode is a boon: Had to give the car to couple of concierges at hotels, one of them came back saying they can't operate many features. Nifty small trick and quite useful

5. Ground clearance is underrated: I had a few bad patch in Chennai near interior Tambaram, I was observing an Xcent Cab ahead of me struggling to get through them. The Virtus? It just held a line and went on without a worry about scraping the underbelly over all those craters

I have started to hear some rattles near the rear door and I will get them inspected and fixed too. I had the ceramic coating done post delivery, and cleaning the car is a drama-free effort. The dirt comes cleanly off the body and doesn't leave any marks behind. I will probably get the PPF sometime later this year.

Signing off with a pic

[Conquistador]

Finally after nearly an year of searching and waiting I got my car.



My search started with the Slavia in Nov 2021, it looked awesome in blue. However family and friends suggested an SUV. This led me to Seltos (features and looks) and also the MG Astor (wine red interiors and the ADAS). Almost narrowed it down to the Astor, however the heavily porous roof liner looked cheap with the huge sunroof. But the Slavia and Virtus were always tugging at the heart.

VW Virtus booking and the wait:
I booked the Virtus GT on 3rd week of April. I was offered white/silver on the day of the price launch (9th of June). But Blue was the one. The VW team also increased the wait time from their initial promise of June 20th for the Blue GT to 1st week of August.
I am reiterating that VW/Skoda have to work on their customer service and ASS.

On the day of the delivery, I was barely given a talk about the features etc. No safety tips, no mention of the 1 month free checkup or free services or anything. I did get their service pack for 4 years and the 5th-6th year extended warranty.
I got the accessories but feel it is a rip-off for INR 13k. The only useful things are the blinds and the mats. The torch didn't have a battery either. The car costed me around 21.9 lakhs on road (22.23 lakhs sticker) and 22.4 in total with the Extended warranty and the service pack. Was offered around 30k discount in all.

After all this ordeal, I think I punched way above my weight here. The car is a beauty. The blue pops like any thing. Few pics, don't mind the dirt and lousy pictures, I am no good at taking pictures.







Initial thoughts:
I just keep running down to my apartment's parking to sneak a peek. My apartment parking also feels like it is built for hatchbacks, somehow accommodates it barely and it sticks out quite literally. I barely managed to get it in the box after a 10 minute back and forth, with the help of few people. This I have to get used to.
It is a big car, and the length really becomes apparent in parking lots with cramped spaces with multiple pillars or 2 story lift parking. You really feel the lack of a 360 degree camera, and the shoddy reverse camera make it a bit of a downer. I also miss the electronic seat adjustment and decent storage.
The ambient lighting feels cheap and like an afterthought, it stops half or a quarter way from the end it starts on the dash (passenger side) and doesn't extend till the steering wheel like in Taigun.
Would've liked a sunglass holder and a Key card/change holder on the right side of the steering wheel under the light knob or something like an old Camry I used to have. Enough rants.

Once out on the open roads, the car is easy to drive being automatic and all. DSG is buttery smooth and you have plenty of power on tap. I turned off the auto start-stop as it was quite aggressive and it didn't want me to baby the car in traffic.
The air-conditioning is good, but the ventilated seats are OK at best, I barely even felt it.

Filled HP power from their outlet, the SA recommended regular fuel though. Full tank showed a range of 560KMs, on the first refill, immediately after the delivery (had nearly empty tank with 40km range at the time of delivery). I drove around 60-65 km, averaging 10.5kmpl, at the end the range shows some 410kms now. I am out for next couple of weeks on vacation and will just miss it.

Protection - PPF/Ceramic:
I did enquire PPF in my city. The showroom has tie-up with a 3M outlet and is offering the full exterior PPF for around 80K (have to check if roof is covered). This price is similar at other vendors as well like "Detailing Mafia" and couple other local vendors. This 80k cost is for their base model film with a 3 year warranty (no self healing or fluid repelling). The cost goes up with the additional warranty like 5 yrs or more with self healing and hydrophobic layers. Llumar with 12 years warranty was coated around 2.25 lakhs.

A local company offers a brand called "MotoGlanz" which claims it has a ceramic coat in top layer aiding the shiny look and self healing capabilities.
Still undecided on what to do here.

Thanks to the forum and many of the posts above have learnt a lot of things which now help take care of my car and enjoy to the fullest extent.

[firstguri]

Originally Posted by Conquistador

The torch didn't have a battery either.



Filled HP power from their outlet, the SA recommended regular fuel though.

Congratulations on your buy and wishing you safe travels.
Just two things I wanted to point out. The torch has batteries inside, they're just insulated with a cover. So you just need to open the end cover and remove that insulation cover.

Secondly the SA's don't know anything! The manual clearly advises 95 octane fuel. Even the fuel lid says 95 octane with 91 minimum. If you use normal petrol, which is 91 octane then you'll get slightly reduced power and mileage (stated in the manual) but more importantly it's not good for the engine in the long run. 95 octane is 5-6 bucks costlier than normal petrol and only Indian Oil has it. HP Power is just 91 octane with additives.

[Conquistador]

Congratulations on your buy and wishing you safe travels.

The manual clearly advises 95 octane fuel.

95 octane is 5-6 bucks costlier than normal petrol and only Indian Oil has it.

Thanks @firstguri!. My friends checked the torch, will check it. Thanks for the Indian oil tip, the price difference is more or less the same as HP Power. I also need to take time and do the due diligence of going over the manual thoroughly.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by raycers_honda

A quick look at the 1.0 tsi manual engine bay.
Looks small but packs enough of grunt for a 1.0.

After looking at your post - indeed the 1.0 TSI engine bay really looks very shabby! It looks worse than a lot of Indian/East Asian cars in fact. Hadn't really noticed it before & not able to "un-see" your post.

Originally Posted by raycers_honda

The bonnet rod holder is placed in a very wrong place. If it is not anchored properly then the clip can break easily. Seems like a big design flaw.

This one is like a trend. While not as bad as this - the Tata Nexon's bonnet holder resting clip is also too complicated & needs careful handling. I suspect those will break if not carefully used in many Nexons too. Decade old cars had this quite well done. People like to re-engineer things that need no change.

Originally Posted by raycers_honda

Stupidly placed brake reservoir tank. How on earth does someone access that. Or maybe I could be wrong.

This really is stupid - and usual funny German engineering at a place you least expect it. Making things complicated for no reason! Maybe the need to use an angled funnel or tube, will justify a higher labour charge for brake fluid change in future. This is really disappointing design. 2 Teams didn't get along well it seems.

Originally Posted by raycers_honda

Minimalistic Heat shield I guess. Note the exhaust manifold. But big massive hole in the engine bay. Easy peasy way for rats to access.

Not a big deal. In fact - trust me the rats will never bother use this portal. The favourite & easy access way for rats to enter - is from the front wheel insides. They climb into the suspension / drive shafts and then on its easy access anywhere. The underside needs much more efforts to climb in comparison, so they don't opt for it .

Originally Posted by raycers_honda

Wonder what this is for. Seems like it's a generic part for a higher capacity model but has no use in the 1.0 tsi. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Nice catch! But I wonder what they use it for. Because this plumbing is completely different in the 1.5TSI and the part is not shared I think. Of course mostly its for some further ducting in some other cars (anywhere else in the world even) as it seems to have latch holders on the inside. However there is a remote possibility that this is simply added after R&D to avoid certain resonation / frequency specific vibrations in the overall assembly.

Originally Posted by raycers_honda

Just into two and a half weeks and the coolant level is just about touching the minimum mark. I'm not sure whether I received the car like this cause I hadn't noticed this before.

Many times they fill EXACTLY the minimum level at factory. Save every ml. I'd not be too worried. Just keep an eye on it for a month once in a while. Should be ok.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I'm surprised at the lack of engine cover. I thought VWs usually had them? Mine have.
But I don't mind. Unless it does suppress noise, I'd actually rather see the engine than a plastic sheet.

Smaller ones have often skipped it. The original Polo that we got (1.2 P) didn't have an engine cover, just 1.2 black brick like filter holder I think (The 1.2 Diesel had engine cover). Even the later 1.2 TSI didn't have a cover.

The 1.0 TSI also never had a full engine cover in the Polo/Vento etc. Was just like in the Virtus.
Like you said - its mainly a cosmetic item in most cars to give a cleaner look. I don't think should be a big issue for anyone as long as the engine runs fast .

[lazyboy8134]

I recently got my Virtus and one issue has been bothering me a lot

While playing music, the volume automatically reduces as soon as I first move the car. For example, if I've set the volume to 15, and the car moves even to a speed of 20, there is a pause of a second and suddenly the volume sounds low even if it's still 15.
I'm assuming it's some sensor which is coming into play, but any idea which sensor is it? There is no navigation on either.

I've already reduced the navigation volume to 0 and have adjusted the speed dependant volume to both minimum and high, but even then the volume automatically drops even if the number remains the same. I then have to increase the volume to 20 or higher to get something close to the earlier sound level and even then it doesn't feel the same. Unable to utilise the speakers properly. Any fixes for this?

Thanks!

[Venkygupta]

Originally Posted by lazyboy8134

I recently got my Virtus and one issue has been bothering me a lot

there is a pause of a second and suddenly the volume sounds low even if it's still 15.

Please check if the notifications for the Sygic maps from the apps is turned on. Cause it sends various notifications regarding speed limits in certain areas and Parking status and all even if the navigation is not set at a destination. Sygic map->Settings->Navigation option->Notifications

[lazyboy8134]

Originally Posted by Venkygupta

Please check if the notifications for the Sygic maps from the apps is turned on. Cause it sends various notifications regarding speed limits in certain areas and Parking status and all even if the navigation is not set at a destination. Sygic map->Settings->Navigation option->Notifications

I haven't been using Sygic. Mainly it's Google maps.

One more thing I noticed is that the volume issue is maybe related to Android Auto. Because without it if I'm listening to music, the volume doesn't go down

[Mustang111]

I thought that VW had a winner on its hands with mass appeal that would do large volumes in sales with Virtus, but the sales figures of the last three months suggest otherwise. Steady decline in sales from 2177 to 1850 and further down to 1338. That too in the first three months after launch. Does not look promising unless there is some production output problem from the company. Even if that's the case, it's not encouraging and does the brand and product no good. I was very hopeful to see the revival of sedans as well as rise of European manufacturers in our market dominated by so called SUVs by Japanese, Korean and to some extent domestic manufacturers.

[saats07]

Originally Posted by raycers_honda

The AC is performing really well. I don't have auto AC as I opted out for it. But I put the blower on the first level and cools really well. I don't think people realise that with auto start stop the compressor of the HVAC turns off, hence cooling is reduced. The pros could correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes I agree, even I was a bit worried of AC cooling when I initially got the car. But never felt any reduction in cooling.

I set it on Auto and it works seamless. There is reduction in cooling when the auto start stop is on, but when there is increase in temperature, car automatically starts and dosent turn off until the desired temperature is achieved.

May be this is a feature they added post initial review, but this truly is a great innovative idea.

[AtheK]

I parked my Vento right next to Blue Virtus in a parking lot today, and it was the first time I actually saw the car up close.

Must say it looks absolutely smashing in the blue colour, looks much better than its Skoda cousin, and I am sure that engine + gearbox combo will be a hoot to drive. Must say did get tempted to think of picking one in exchange for Vento, though will hold on to Vento for some more time.

Good Job VW.

[tsi_niks1989]

Originally Posted by Mustang111

I thought that VW had a winner on its hands with mass appeal that would do large volumes in sales with Virtus, but the sales figures of the last three months suggest otherwise. Steady decline in sales from 2177 to 1850 and further down to 1338. That too in the first three months after launch.

They have been suffering from chip shortage, read a recent news that since Skoda had a floating setup for their infotainment it was possible for them to replace the head unit with the 8inch one from euro cars.
Since VW has it embedded in their cars, they are manufacturing lesser units based on the system availability. I am still waiting for my car to arrive, prebooked before the launch .

[MayurS]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Nice catch! But I wonder what they use it for. Because this plumbing is completely different in the 1.5TSI and the part is not shared I think. Of course mostly its for some further ducting in some other cars (anywhere else in the world even) as it seems to have latch holders on the inside. However there is a remote possibility that this is simply added after R&D to avoid certain resonation / frequency specific vibrations in the overall assembly.
.

Its for the air intake of the VW Up GTI whose engine bay is too cramped to accommodate the straight air intake setup like polo, virtus, taigun.