Finally test drove Polo Hi everybody, Indian hatchback market is heating up like never before. There was a time when we had very little choice for cars, but a rising economy and purchasing power of Indians has met with good enthusiasm from car manufacturers from all over. A recent addition to this race has been VW. They say that life is beautiful if you have an American salary, Japanese life expectancy, Indian wife and a German car. I am more than delighted that today we have a possibility to own a German car. I have been following this thread right from the beginning as I am hunting for a hot hatch. Today was the day when I would come face to face with this much talked about hatch The Polo.
I went with my family to check the polo in real, because we Indians still do respect the opinions of our family when it comes to purchases, specially a car. For a while I have been using my Dads Honda city (2007) but now I wanted a car of my own. Let see my profile in brief,
I am single, working in a MNC, monthly running of 1400-1700Kms, budget of 5-6 Lakh. The car which I was looking for should have the following,
Petrol car, good fuel efficiency, looks, brand image, beige interiors, airbags and ABS, good build quality, maintenance cost.
Based on my requirements, we shortlisted the following cars,
- Punto
- I20
- Polo
Punto – Car looks really nice, good build, ride and handling. But Fiats tie-up with Tata gave me jitters. Also it was difficult for me to trust Fiat as they have been launching products in India for a long time but notoriously running away and then coming back and running away. Also Tata guys servicing Italian beauty, that’s leaves a lot to ponder. The black silver interiors don’t excite me and the quality of plastics was questionable.
I20 – Again a good car, with good sales number, comprehensive service network, good looks, features inside. But I did not enjoy the ride quality, was bumpy even though it is heavy. The test car which I rode had done 6000Kms and I could see the damage it has taken on the inside. The color of gear knob had come off, OVRM were making squeaking noise, coffee colored interiors were a turn off, back seat windows too small and passenger seem to be cut off from outside. The bonnet is short (I like long bonnets) and body design is curvaceous (I like more straight lines and edges, again a personal choice, opinion varies widely)
Polo – Biggest plus was that it is a German car. I have studied and worked in Germany and I always wanted my first car to be German (provided it fits my pocket and my expectations) So here I had an opportunity to check it inside out.
I am not putting up any pictures because there are lots of them available in this thread itself.
Exteriors : As I am a fan of long bonnets, straight lines, edges, Polo did excite me a lot. The front view is simply amazing. It has that ferocious staring looks. The bumper is very sporty and looks up market. Headlamps could have been smoked, but I believe that an after-market solution would be available soon. The VW badge looks fab and tapering bonnet adds to the sporty yet straight forward stance of car. The meaty 15 inch, 7 spoke alloys with 185 profile tyres add to the character in side profile. The rear is simple, its nothing great to talk about but its not something to criticize either. Again VW badge (which doubles as boot opener) looks striking in rear. All in all Polo for me is the best looking hatch in the market and it has already received applauses for its character looks.
Interiors: Interiors are dual-tone (black beige). The plastics have good texture and reasonably good quality, nothing to complain about. The fit and finish was good. The steering could have been leather-wrapped, but it feels good in hands and the shining VW badge in middle is fab again (I really like VW badge, don’t I ? ) The horn key placement is nice and practical. The speedo console lights up in white and looks upmarket. The MID is in red with good font size. It displays various parameters like fuel quantity, Mileage, trip, temp and so on. The central console is occupied by the music system it has all the regular features. Again it matches beautifully with the overall theme of interiors. Below the system are the climate control knobs, they seem to be a bit small in size but do their job. The AC vents are really large and chilly. For me they look more retro than modern. All the knobs and AC vents have chrome lining around them which makes the interiors look classy and elegant.
The seats have a very good travel and height adjustment. With an adjustable steering, height adjustable seat it was not difficult to find a good driving position. The height adjustment lever was sturdy and you can increase or decrease the height with relative ease. The gear knob has got a good grip, with chrome numbers. Lots of pocket holes here and there. What I liked the most was, place to hold 1.5lt bottles in the doors.
I have seen people complaining about rear legroom. Well I am 5 feet 10, I adjusted the driving position and came back to sit at the rear. The legroom was nothing to complain about and it was sufficient. This really delighted me as I was much worried about it. The seats have good thigh and lumbar support. The arm supports on the doors are comfortable. A good sitting position in rear and big windows give a pleasant airy feeling. The boot is really big (almost 300 ltrs) and wheel arches don’t spoil the space. Boot opens to a very good height, I guess almost 7 feet high. When you want to close, you need not slam the boot lid, bring it down about 70% and it has a retracting action.
Overall I find the interiors classy and elegant. It feels roomy, with good leg space at the front and back. The car is wide and in the front you wont be brushing elbows with your fellow passenger. At rear the bench is comfortable for 2 adults. A 3rd person can slip in depending on the size of other 2 persons
Fire and Drive : 3-cylinder engines are accused of being noisy. I fired up the engine, but it was not that audible. I turned down the stereo and AC to notice the noise, but it didn’t irritate me at all. I felt it normal and nothing to worry about. Engine noise was also my major concern, had it been loud it would have been a big turn off, thankfully it didn’t. I was taking test drive in Kolhapur and the showroom is on highway, so had the possibility to sprint the car. The gear shifts are butter smooth with short throws, absolute delight. Car has a good pickup and rev happy. From showroom to highway it is 500m, driving in 2nd gear kept the momentum of car and it did not feel sluggish at all. The steering is EPS and I like it (since my Honda city also has the same), its very easy to maneuver. Once we hit the highway, I started working on butter smooth gears and we touched 110 in good time. My uncle was sitting next to me and I said to him we have touched 110, he was surprised. He thought it was around 80. The car really felt heavy as if something is keeping it grounded. But by this time I could feel the grunt of engine, yes it grunts, its not fair to call it noise . The acceleration of car is good and it is not a lazy machine at all. It responds really nice to pedals. Pickup in high speed was also good. I had to brake and enter the service lane so as to go back to the showroom. I braked hard with confidence and car didn’t let me down. Back in service lane, I shifted places with my uncle. The service lane was bumpy with potholes, but we didn’t bounce around. Car was behaving very maturely, just like a big car. My father was seating on the back seat and he enjoyed both the highway and bumpy sections. From a passengers point of view he was impressed with no complaints at all. This kind of ride and handling I was missing in I20, which was my second choice. Its really a big difference I would say. We returned to showroom as satisfied drivers and passengers. All of us agreed on the value proposition and a green signal to book the car.
Only three colors are on offer, white, silver and red. I wanted to have pepper grey, but the sales guy said it would take a while to come !!! and he does not know how long ???? He plans to confirm me by tomorrow, if all goes well I would be booking the car on Padwa (16th Feb)
Some other points :
- Car has anti-pinching windows, meaning if windows are being rolled up and some one sticks his hand in between, the windows roll down.
- The driver-side viper cannot be lifted up completely
- USB port missing on music system
- Using the keyless entry key, you can roll up-down all the four windows, but all at the same time.
- Even while car is locked, the VW badge on boot lid flips, however it wont open the boot.
- Spare wheel is not an alloy
- OVRMs are manually operated
- No vanity mirrors or boot light
- Service interval is at every 15000Km. It requires 3 liter engine oil and service cost would be in range of 4000 – 5000 including synthetic oil change
- 2 years standard warranty, no option to extend it
- 3 years warranty for color
- 6 years anti-corrosion warranty
- 50000 is booking amount, 1% deduction on invoice price if booking cancelled.
- Waiting period is 2-3 months !!!! |