[freakmuzik]

A friend recently picked up a Virtus GT (1.5 TSI + DSG) in the dashing Cherry Red shade and I got to drive it for around 50 kms. Here are my thoughts:

1. The car looks incredibly dashing and the front, side looks incredibly good. Wasn't a fan of the rear though.

2. The hood and boot felt strong and hefty where as the doors felt much lighter than the older VW cars. But everything felt super solid overall.

3. Many plastic bits on the interiors looked low-rent and cost-cutting seems evident. The area around the AC vents, roof liner, certain door pad bits especially didn't go well with me. No 360 degree camera and importantly, no under-body protection gives an idea of the cost-saving measures. The steering looks fab and feels great to hold as well.

4. Loved the seats - the front ones were super supportive and also loved the positioning of the dead pedal. The rear seats felt a tad too firm but it did feel good over a longer period, though I wish it had a slightly more relaxed recline angle. Legroom was abundant!!

5. Reverse camera looked bad and did not even have adaptive guide-lines. Also I didn't like the audio quality overall plus the huge screen + the huge digital speedo console felt more like a distraction. One sore point was the inability to have the Tacho and Speedo on the same screen in an analogue fashion. I'm hating these digital screens more and more - too much info and too much in your face.

6. Coming to the Engine - I was crazily waiting to drive the 1.5 TSI + DSG combo. But it did not initially come up to my expectations. In D mode, the start off felt very normal or rather slower than I imagined. The speeds climbed in a very linear fashion and I felt it did not respond well enough to the relative inputs I made. Then came the S mode where the revs mostly stayed above 2k and that's when the car felt really alive. It was super quick to gain speeds and it was super fun! Shifts were quick and the car stayed in the power band whenever necessary. Some long trips with free roads will sure bring a lot of smiles. The FE though with some energetic driving was in single digits.

7. Loved the handling part - it was super solid and stuck to the curves much better than the cars I've driven till date. The steering, though light, gave enough confidence. The brakes were brilliant!

8. NVH - I wasn't happy with the amount of vibrations I could feel on the drivers arm-rest and some other places around. It definitely did not feel refined enough. The noise did not filter in much though but it sure is sweetly audible post 2k rpm.

9. Ride was firm and I could feel a large number of unevenness on the surface but on great roads, the car felt super good over mild undulations and stuck to the surface brilliantly.

10. More Negatives - Auto Start Stop is extremely harsh and I mostly turned it off. Window motors were irritatingly noisy - so much that two other friends who came along for delivery even asked funnily whether it's already gone bad. VW has missed thoughtful stuff - like a place to keep the keyfob, play/pause & mute on steering wheel, a better sound system, powered seats, and there's a dummy button for AEB etc.

11. More Positives - Clean interior design (except for AC vents), excellent paint quality, super clean engine bay (1.5), timeless styling, excellent headlights, overall comfort and long list of safety features.

12. Pricing - At 22.5 L, the car is nowhere close to being VFM but it's a unique offering. I still can't stop wondering how car prices have risen so sharply and a decade ago, the incredibly sorted Jetta costed lesser than this!

13. Comparing with my 2011 Altis VL-AT - fun reason being Virtus is costlier than what the Altis costed a decade earlier!

The 1.8L Altis feels super relaxed compared to the 1.5 TSI but the turbos acceleration after a point is incredible. Though overall, I would like to stick to a larger, NA engine. For some reason, the Altis overall feels more mature and balanced and to me, it clearly feels a segment above. I love the Virtus steering anyday. I love the simple dials of the Altis. Though the numbers speak otherwise, the Altis seems to have a larger boot than the Virtus to me. Virtus seems to have more legroom, esp at the rear. The Altis seats are super comfy though Virtus might have better under-thigh support, more so at the front. I might get out fresher out of an Altis than Virtus - ride quality, relaxed engine and it's simplicity. In a racer-boy mode, I'll always get out of a Virtus happier! Altis has an incredibly practical interiors and Virtus doesn't feel as sorted, also with a better Air-con. Altis sure feels old school (which I actually like). Virtus has wayyy many more safety features!

Cheers

[dieselhead01]

Originally Posted by robby0707

Just took delivery of the Virtus GT for my in laws!
Looks dashing in wild cherry red. Took delivery from pune and driving to Kerala along with my Octavia. Will post a detailed review once the trip ends.
Sorry for the dirty pics. Octavia has been on the road for last 4 days ( driving down from Punjab )

hey that’s an indeed amazing sight you got there two handsome sedans in one picture, virtus is a delight when it comes to sheer looks, and the mk3.5 octavia, being an owner of one, is the best looking generation of Octavia according to me. Many more happy miles to you with those beautiful yet beastly Germans.
I actually wanted to know, among the virtus 1.5 tsi dsg and your octavia 2.0 tdi dsg, which is the faster car and a better performer?
Thank you in advance

[Gannu_1]

A friend picked up a Virtus recently and he noticed this panel gap near the climatronic panel. Turns out a few other owners who picked up their Virtus from Jun 22 batch had this issue too.

[CEF_Beasts]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

A friend picked up a Virtus recently and he noticed this panel gap near the climatronic panel. Turns out a few other owners who picked up their Virtus from Jun 22 batch had this issue too.

Share these pictures with folks outside India, having VW group cars and they won’t believe that this is actually a VW car!

How did the car pass the QC ?!

[TechnoBloop]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

A friend picked up a Virtus recently and he noticed this panel gap near the climatronic panel. Turns out a few other owners who picked up their Virtus from Jun 22 batch had this issue too.

Woahh, this is not the Volkswagen we have known for so many years! Why aren't they taking any interest to improve the parts where they're being criticized heavily upon? Is the management sleeping?? C'mon VW India, you are better than this.

[sandeep3764]

Saw this video on YouTube today, details not available but says something about the build quality of the car.

https://youtu.be/8F4Bdl7MQGc

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by sandeep3764

Saw this video on YouTube today, details not available but says something about the build quality of the car.

How can it say anything about the build quality of the car when there are no details about the accident? It says nothing. Apart from the fact that is a shame someone made such a mess of such a beautiful car!

[robby0707]

Originally Posted by dieselhead01

hey that’s an indeed amazing sight you got there two handsome sedans in one picture, virtus is a delight when it comes to sheer looks, and the mk3.5 octavia, being an owner of one, is the best looking generation of Octavia according to me. Many more happy miles to you with those beautiful yet beastly Germans.
I actually wanted to know, among the virtus 1.5 tsi dsg and your octavia 2.0 tdi dsg, which is the faster car and a better performer?
Thank you in advance

While driving, i felt that the virtus is faster till about 80 to 100 kmph. But the Octavia felt like a much more mature car to drive while the virtus felt more like a RC car. Light steering and point and shoot nature with a bit more stiffer suspension. The TDI also has a boomy sound from the engine when sitting inside that is commensurate to the rpm and the speeds which i like and i am used to. But the virtus was very silent. I guess this is also a reason why i felt that the virtus felt like an RC car. The start of the the Virtus from 0 speed is slow though.

[raycers_honda]

The Virtus versus Vento a Pictorial comparison.
Yes, you can look at this as an upgrade to the Vento but keep in mind that in terms of fit and finish it is a bit of a downgrade. Not by leaps and bounds but by just a bit.
It's an upgrade in terms of look and feel and in terms of size. After sitting in the Virtus and then immediately sitting in the Vento you can really feel the age difference.
The Vento feels well built and sturdy. Even the body panels a tougher thud sound when you knock on the panels.
Will put up a video of the comparison soon.
All though the Vento here is a Mt 1.6 petrol, the Virtus 1.0 Mt does feel more powerful. It is only when going on a slope you feel it is underpowered. But that is if you are slow in speed and then hit the slope then you need to drop to a lower gear.

[Indepth]

After having experienced the Virtus and Taigun in person and also reading various posts here, I think it is better to rename VW to VWIN.
There is no way these cars deserve the true VW badge. No offence to owners but I am really disappointed with way things have gone downwards at VW INDIA.

[raycers_honda]

Originally Posted by Indepth

After having experienced the Virtus and Taigun in person and also reading various posts here, I think it is better to rename VW to VWIN.
There is no way these cars deserve the true VW badge. No offence to owners but I am really disappointed with way things have gone downwards at VW INDIA.

We should all be wary when a company says India 2.0. I feel anything Made in India seems to be substandard. It’s a very sad feeling and makes you angry because the same car abroad has better quality.
We anyway are getting a car that’s 3 to 4 years old. No matter what people say that it’s a brand new car, blah blah, Vw already has all components in their bin, yes certain things of the car might be new but essentially it’s a same car launched in 2018. Okay yes, engine is different but the internal interior parts are the same, so why a substandard fitment in terms of quality, for eg roof liner, I’ll fitting console, rattling noises from the seat and many more.

In fact India or make in India should mean the best quality but companies always seem to give us the other side of the quality spectrum. Yes we all could have walked away but we still bought the Virtus in the hope that we believed what India 2.0 stood for but we were fooled.

[dieselhead01]

Originally Posted by robby0707

While driving, i felt that the virtus is faster till about 80 to 100 kmph. But the Octavia felt like a much more mature car to drive while the virtus felt more like a RC car. Light steering and point and shoot nature with a bit more stiffer suspension. The TDI also has a boomy sound from the engine when sitting inside that is commensurate to the rpm and the speeds which i like and i am used to. But the virtus was very silent. I guess this is also a reason why i felt that the virtus felt like an RC car. The start of the the Virtus from 0 speed is slow though.

Hey thank you for the clarification
So from standstill to around 160 kmph, the octavia will be the faster car compared to virtus?

[tsi_niks1989]

Hi Folks,

Anyone in Pune able to get GT Virtus delivery? I have a prebooking done in March but the BU Bhandari dealership has been unable to deliver car till now. Color of the car is Cherry Red, initially they had committed Aug 1st week delivery. Then they said a White GT was available but the same got allotted to someone else as I was late by 1 day to confirm.

Today called Sales head of Pune for status, she mentioned only 1 Cherry Red GT was allotted to them in August and mentioned that no more allocations would be coming to them in August now. Next month few more GTs would come but difficult as Cherry Red might not be coming in next slot as well.

Should I wait or cancel my booking? Skoda have 1.5 GT DSG available for delivery, it is just that I like the way Virtus looks and feels inside than Slavia. Slavia has that downgraded 8 inch unit now compared to 10inch in Virtus with wireless carplay. GT clearly distinguishes 1.5L and 1L cars in VW compared to Skoda. Also Slavia 1.5 DSG is costly by approx 80k to Virtus GT for a degraded feature set.

[robby0707]

Originally Posted by tsi_niks1989

Hi Folks,

Anyone in Pune able to get GT Virtus delivery? I have a prebooking done in March but the BU Bhandari dealership has been unable to deliver car till now. Color of the car is Cherry Red, initially they had committed Aug 1st week delivery. Then they said a White GT was available but the same got allotted to someone else as I was late by 1 day to confirm.

Hey. I got mine from pune. Had booked much later than you, after the price was revealed. 1.5 Wild Cherry Red. Got delivery in July.

[SolidusSnake]

I have booked a Virtus 1.0 AT Highline here in Delhi. The price offered is as follows:
Ex showroom:1427900
TCS: 14279
Insurance: 60,591 includes all coverages like zero dep, rti etc
Registration: 149,120
Fastag: 500
Standard accessories: 11,499
Total: 1663889
Price offered: 1630000 without any negotiation, but not willing to budge further

My queries to fellow bhpians:
1) Is there any scope for negotiation on price, has anyone got better price?
2) I have been told that highline with auto ac will take 10-12 days to arrive from Pune plant. However the car will be of April - June batch. How come such 3-5 months old cars still lying at plant? Or is dealer duping me?
3) 5 year SVP is priced at 61,999. Is it worth buying? And is their any scope of negotiation on the price?
4) Extended warranty of 4+2 years is priced 24499? Is it worth buying right now or later? And any scope for negotiation on price?