[SpinWizard]

GTO/Rehaan, Quick question,

Which car according to you is the segment benchmark in Hatchbacks here presently ?

[R17]

Originally Posted by GTO

The Polo is solid, no doubt on that. However, at 140 kph, the Punto's "heavy" hydraulic steering is sheer bliss. The steering feel makes all the difference. I don't even think too much of the Merc E350 light steering feel at high speeds. My C220's unit remains the best I've driven in India.

Yes, Ive driven the C220 and I think its one hell of a machine - even more so on the straights.

That said, here's another subjective quip for you - In terms of general robustness of overall build ('door thud', 'overall feeling of solidity' etc), it'd be great to know your personal ranking amongst : Fabia, Polo, Punto, Figo, Beat.

At the end of the day, there may not be any tangible specs that reflect the above parameter, but for a lot of car buyers it is, undeniably, a pretty important criterion.

[harishF1]

I fail to understand why we cant have small cars with diesel units and auto transmission?? IMO this would off-set the FE issues of an AT while providing the driving comfort of a AT. Any particular reason for only petrol hearts with AT in small cars??

Also I would like to know the technical issues of a 3 valve in-comparison to a 4 valves per cylinder. I understand that the 4 valves are less FE while the 3 valves have more NVH (is it true?). Does the manufacturer save quite a bit on 3 valve units?

[rpmx1000]

Great review (You guys must be yawning at this right now). My colleague who sits right next to me is planning to buy this and is absolutely in love with the Polo. More so after reading this review !
Anyways, just to wake up this thread - How do you get a polo with an Indica and a drill?

[electricheart]

Nice write up there GTO/Rehaan, as always comprehensive and precise. The VW and Skoda stable are very popular in our forum for their amazing After.S.S and with VW making no additions to the numbers of dealers, this may be the area they might get a beating. Else the Polo seems to me as a real "mint with a hole"

[Vibhanshu]

OT
Which car below 10L (including hatch, sedans and the upcoming cars as well) has the best Ergonomics-Handling-Power package? (Fiesta?) - anything else?
Every cars seems to have something missing. I had big expectation from the Polo, but the clutch placements seems to be a turn off. Will take a test drive soon.
-Thanks

[rpmx1000]

Originally Posted by electricheart

Nice write up there GTO/Rehaan, as always comprehensive and precise. The VW and Skoda stable are very popular in our forum for their amazing After.S.S and with VW making no additions to the numbers of dealers, this may be the area they might get a beating. Else the Polo seems to me as a real "mint with a hole"

OT: Actually you answered my question.. Too bad for the spoiler but the answer goes like this. Indica was called the Mint originally (at least the project was) . Drill a hole in it and, well you know the rest.

[sydras]

I don't get the Polo's USP. It doesn't look that great. Interiors are not very appealing. The damn rear windows don't even go down all the way!!. It might be solidly built but I don't think that's enough to sell to the indian consumer. If it looks equivalent to a maruti in terms of interiors, it makes more sense to probably go for the maruti and avoid potential worries on service and doubts on whether this car will actually succeed or not.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

Because I guess in higher variant, windows controls are also given in remote.

Mixed bag variant again.
A few cars did have 4 power window switches on the drivers door - and i'm fairly sure this will be how it is on the highline (top end).

Originally Posted by tj123

What are the Pros/Cons of a hydraulic Power steering over EPS ? I read some where that the hydraulic ones saps lot of engine power & need maintenance periodically. Is it correct ?

HPS pump runs off the engine itself, so naturally some power is sapped from there.

See this thread for the other differences : TBHP : Differences between HPS and EPS

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

....
The point regarding using the gear lever for lateral support is ridiculous. You are NOT supposed to use it for any kind of support regardless of what driving mode you are in or which ever way you turn. Please do not blame the system it follows for engaging Reverse.....

When you're driving a 3cyl 1.2L up a winding road its a given that you'll be working the stick right?
And on the other hand, its a winding road, so you're working the steering and theres a good deal of lateral forces pushing you around.
Now putting two and two together, its only natural to put a slight force on the lever just to stabilize yourself slightly. We're talking less than 2kgs of weight. The gearshift moves down in this situation, which sometimes takes the driver by surprise.

Its an observation that we thought was worth sharing.

Originally Posted by SPARKled

... Is it a pain to get used to this new gear change scheme or is the transition fairly smooth?

Not a problem at all, and the box slotted into reverse easily too.

Originally Posted by harishF1

....Under what conditions would it make sense to go in for the diesel instead of the petrol Polo?

If you plan to drive a lot of miles, keep the car for a long time, and most of your driving is highway cruising (as opposed to lots of stopping/starting and slow speeds).

Originally Posted by SPARKled

....What no spare wheel? What was VW thinking? This is India guys....

It does have a spare wheel! See the pictures.
Just not an alloy wheel from what we saw.

Originally Posted by Vibhanshu

...
Which car below 10L (including hatch, sedans and the upcoming cars as well) has the best Ergonomics-Handling-Power package? (Fiesta?)...

I drive a Fiesta, and to be honest, i think its biggest sore point is ergonomics!
As mentioned, the Polo is quite adaptable on that front - with the tilt/rake steering (and height adjustable seat on highline). Once again, clutch pedal positioning didn't bother me.

cya
R

[sandeepmohan]

I don't agree. At the time of launch, the Palio 1.9d was an EXCELLENT diesel engine.

As I said in my original post; Fiat did a Polo 10 years ago. I am talking about the base engine it offered. It was rubbish. The Fiat Palio 1.2 was horribly under powered. As for the Diesel engine; it came at a much much later date and never really did well but this probably had to do with the image Fiat had made for itself.

One hand on the steering, the other on a gear in a tight corner. That's very normal, and will be the case especially when you need a shift change at the start / middle / end of a curve. You will - unintentionally - push the gear lever down in such a situation.

I agree; but how often does this take place & will it destruct the gear box. Since you carried out a test on the Polo did this system cause any trouble while you were driving?

[hpzone]

GTO, Rehaan,

Could you please do a quick comparison between POLO and i20? both base and top versions - Build, handling and overall VFM

[vijayvb]

Just checked out the Polo in the showroom... The car looks amazing, rock sturdy and at the same, amazing in looks.. I can surely say this is the best looking hatch in India. Though you have the cost cutting bits evident, there are other things that spells class.. You need to see the car in person to appreciate its quality. the interiors in my opinion is better than Punto (may not be in terms of specs, but surely in terms of finish and quality).. i saw the interiors with the backlights on in the night and they were awsome. the sound system was in my opinion not in par with the Laura 1.8tsi (i was hoping it would have the same punch) and was just above average.

As per the reviews from GTO and also elsewhere the engine options are not so good. I couldnt test it as there was no test drive vehicle available today, but the reviews suggests they are pretty slow and unresponsive. As per the sales person the 1.6 will mostly be available by may-june. I would think that would be a kick-*** option.. pretty much worth the wait.

And yeah it is sick that we have to wait for 2 months to get the delivery of it even if you book it now.

[fi.robin]

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

Any idea how much Fabia takes? Last time I heard Mobil was somewhere aroudn 1K for a liter. May be the fuel/oil filter must be very expensive or its skoda's famous day time robbery.

BTW, I used Synthetic in my Palio and the Selenia Synthetic for petrol is 650/- per liiter.

3.8 liters. The price range is ~750 - 900 a liter for Helix.
Oil filter ~ Rs 390
Fuel filter ~ Rs 960
Filter elem ~ Rs 590

So far I have spent 12,000 on 2 service (20,000 kms). Next service is at 35,000 kms. I don't think it is too expensive.

[psathya]

Hi GTO & Rehaan

Was thinking with the polo coming in I would finally get to leave my santro and walk into a polo. Your review has put paid to my ideas of a polo.

[anu21v]

Originally Posted by fi.robin

3.8 liters. The price range is ~750 - 900 a liter for Helix.
Oil filter ~ Rs 390
Fuel filter ~ Rs 960
Filter elem ~ Rs 590

So far I have spent 12,000 on 2 service (20,000 kms). Next service is at 35,000 kms. I don't think it is too expensive.

Its not expensive.... I just spent Rs 1200 for all type of oil changes etc for my first service on UVA. Rs 6000 per servie seems exhorbitantly high for a Hatch.