[btirthankar]

Originally Posted by poloman

If you use the correct gear, the overtaking maneuvers won't be an issue in highways. The car is surprisingly peppy with its tiny engine and as a bonus you get exceptional mileage of (~14/18 from ownership thread)for car of its size.

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

I seriously felt sluggishness with AC on in B2B traffic. Well, perfection is a very relative term after all .

Both points noted valuably.

Without countering the above, In my fierce test drives (3 so far), I have thrown the car in corners (it was very agile) , attempted drifts during u turns (with no fishtailing happening) and had a satisfactory a 0-100kmph rush - all with the AC on.

The rev meter did touch 4000rpms occasionally, to which I asked the dealer representative - "this car does run well but won't I be reducing the engine life if I drive it at 4000 rpm frequently, given those demands for power in day to day driving, it being a small 1.2 engine?"

The reply I got was that "the engineering is reliably VW and uses synthetic oil to complement such hi-performance. You can peacefully drive the way you are driving without harming anything"

To which I asked "what about fuel economy?"

to which the Dealer Representative replied stating "this very TD Vehicle was returning 13kmpl even after such regular spirited driving".

I mostly believe in ARAI figures (which is 17 kmpl in this case) and am sure the vehicle might return up to 20 kmpl with AC with a light foot during long trips on smooth roads.

Comments please, as perhaps my memories are a bit skewed from the riveting impression that I got during my TD.

[poloman]

Relaibility of the engine ? only time will tell.
Regarding mileage only one BHPian has ownership report running for Polo. He got figures which i had quoted in previous post.
The wide ranging comments on performance can be attributed to perception and the current car one is driving. If you go with a predetermined notion about 3 pot engines you may find it sluggish. Also if you drive a Fiesta 1.6 and Polo back to back you may find Polo sluggish. But if you have just driven a i20 you may find Polo peppy.All these terms are subjective and only the official 0-100kmph acceleration time is objective.

[sbkumar]

Originally Posted by poloman

Also if you drive a Fiesta 1.6 and Polo back to back you may find Polo sluggish. But if you have just driven a i20 you may find Polo peppy.All these terms are subjective and only the official 0-100kmph acceleration time is objective.

This is exactly what I went through when I did the test drives of figo,polo, beat, and i20 recently. I use my friend's fiesta 1.6 extensively and even drove it to the dealers to do the test drives of the above mentioned cars. Also, the other car I drive is my 1.3 Ikon flair. I find it really difficult to come to a conclusion on what the ideal performance of these 1.2 engines should be as it is very difficult to put aside the experience of 1.6/1.3 engines. It could also be because I am not that experienced enough to make that mental adjustment.

Another thing I experienced was that I went to the VW showroom (for the first time) immediately after I did a test drive of Beat, Polo looked almost like a sedan. The next time I did the test drives of polo and figo back to back and polo didn't look and feel that big now.

Any suggestions (do's and don'ts) to make a test drive as objective as possible for newbies like me especially when doing test drives back to back?

Sorry if this is off topic.

[khan75]

Originally Posted by btirthankar

The polo has decades of 'history' behind its engineering. Which other Hatch has been worked upon over decades to bring to its present level of perfection?

We also know 1.2 engine a trade-off of power vs. efficiency and Costs vs. VFM.

The one thing that impressed me was that I did not find the car sluggish even with the AC on. I had driven to the dealership in an Accent 1.6 that somewhat benchmarked my perception of what peppiness means. And I was not disappointed.

Read somewhere that it runs out of breath at 100kmph+ speeds.

What concerns me is the Highway Performance. Unless I drive the VW Polo on a 4 lane GQ standard stretch, I would not be able to find out the real drive-ability factor.

I am concerned about the bursts of power required to overtake those long trailers.

Any pointers on this area?

Posted my observations on all your points in the latest post in my Polo ownership thread. Be sure to check it out.

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by Revy

Looks like the VW dealers deliberately keep a "high brow" attitude in an effort create premium brand image. Huge mistake, if they start treating prospective customers like sethuv like this. Buying a car is very special and treatment that you get from dealers always influence your decision. That's where Maruti wins, I was treated like a king when I bought an Alto in 2004 ! When Ritz was launched last year, I walked into Pratham Bangalore with the intention of just seeing it. The sales guy made me do a test drive of petrol version and promised me to arrange Diesel TD on the same day or next ! They followed up with many calls, but I was somehow not convinced on Ritz though it remained in my probables list.

Now if they had ignored me when I first walked in, immediately I would have deleted the car from the list. Let's see how the VW dealers evolve. Too much of premium pretensions, this good car may end up like Honda Jazz. ( For Jazz, it was price only, I guess Honda dealers are much better in treating potential customers ).

I have visited both the branches of Elite Motors - Bangalore. On both occasions I was able to get a TD without having to wait much and also get good attention from the Sales rep. I have booked a Polo Black Diesel HL and waiting for delivery.
In fact when I was at the dealership, they were not behind me all the time (It can be irritating if they are behind us always). I took my time to go through things in detail. There were quite a few customers in the shop who had also come to see Polo. But when ever I needed assistance, Sales rep was there to help out. We wanted to have a look at the beetle which was kept there but was locked. They arranged for the keys and let us have a look. I placed the order in Down town branch. where as, the sales rep in Hosur road branch also had my visiting card. He had called me once in between and inquired. I informed him that I had already placed order. He said it is fine and took details.
I personally do not like people to be behind me aggressively to sell there products. This approach suited me. Even after booking the order, when ever I have called the sales rep for any details, Mr.Sayed who is at downtown branch, has been very informative and courteous.

[poloman]

sbkumar, even iam newbie when it come to test drives. But my logic is simple. Don't read too much in to test drive reports of others. Shortlist the cars for test drive based on your requirements. Drive them back to back if possible on the same route. Buy the car which ever you feel comfortable for your driving style.
Slowly Polos are getting spotted on Bangalore roads.

[sanjayc]

Originally Posted by sbkumar

This is exactly what I went through when I did the test drives of figo,polo, beat, and i20 recently. I use my friend's fiesta 1.6 extensively and even drove it to the dealers to do the test drives of the above mentioned cars. Also, the other car I drive is my 1.3 Ikon flair. I find it really difficult to come to a conclusion on what the ideal performance of these 1.2 engines should be as it is very difficult to put aside the experience of 1.6/1.3 engines. It could also be because I am not that experienced enough to make that mental adjustment.

Another thing I experienced was that I went to the VW showroom (for the first time) immediately after I did a test drive of Beat, Polo looked almost like a sedan. The next time I did the test drives of polo and figo back to back and polo didn't look and feel that big now.

Any suggestions (do's and don'ts) to make a test drive as objective as possible for newbies like me especially when doing test drives back to back?

Sorry if this is off topic.

Mate, you are already doing an objective test and your feeling are spot on! No do's/don'ts reqd.

Polo will feel bigger than Beat and Figo bigger among almost all hatches!! If you drive a 1.6/1.3, 1.2 will seem sluggish! That's why TD's are important.

[poloman]

Chethan, To some extent I agree with you.But I am quite unimpressed with their infrastructure. The Hosur road show room is literally on the road with no proper place for visitors to park. If lot of Polos come for service, how are they going to handle this?

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by poloman

sbkumar, even iam newbie when it come to test drives. But my logic is simple. Don't read too much in to test drive reports of others. Shortlist the cars for test drive based on your requirements. Drive them back to back if possible on the same route. Buy the car which ever you feel comfortable for your driving style.
Slowly Polos are getting spotted on Bangalore roads.

TD Reports of others do help. It gives us an idea as to what to look for. In our short test drive we can not guage a car fully. we have to depend on others opinion also.

I usually concentrate on the negative things listed in the TD reports and check for myself how bad they are and is it going to affect my requirement. I believe in looking at the car as a whole rather then looking only at the engine or interior or features etc.

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by poloman

Chethan, To some extent I agree with you.But I am quite unimpressed with their infrastructure. The Hosur road show room is literally on the road with no proper place for visitors to park. If lot of Polos come for service, how are they going to handle this?

Even the down town showroom is not better. I had to park my car in garudha mall and walk to the showroom.

I hope that they expand once the Polos start pouring in. 15,000 km service interval is the only good feeling.

[poloman]

I am not sure how many magazines or forums in India give neutral and objective test drive reports. May be Team-Bhp is an exception. I am not fully ignoring those reports. But finally the car has to please my requirements.For example I never bother about cosmetic features like vanity mirror, EOVRMs etc.

[yajaman99]

Saw the Polo in all its is glory at the Palace Road showroom. Had been there to check out the Figo Diesel for a friend. After test driving the Diesel Figo decided to have a look at the Polo. First impression, looks real nice. Next opened the door, om my god it felt os heavy and solid. Sat in the drivers seat and felt gear shift.
I was in heaven as i pressed the clutch and put the shifted gears. A hot knife through butter was what popped into my mind at the time.
I did not have time to test drive the car but its on my to do list just to feel the gear shift in action.

[khan75]

Originally Posted by poloman

I am not sure how many magazines or forums in India give neutral and objective test drive reports. May be Team-Bhp is an exception. I am not fully ignoring those reports. But finally the car has to please my requirements.For example I never bother about cosmetic features like vanity mirror, EOVRMs etc.

Don't most people on TBHP post overly doting reports about their cars without any regard for the negatives when compared with the rest of the segment? A quick glance through some of the threads in the initial ownership section should reveal that.

[Mustang.101]

@khan75 : I think poloman was referring to the official team bhp reviews like the one on the figo & polo by team-bhp mods like GTO.

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by poloman

I am not sure how many magazines or forums in India give neutral and objective test drive reports. May be Team-Bhp is an exception. I am not fully ignoring those reports. But finally the car has to please my requirements.For example I never bother about cosmetic features like vanity mirror, EOVRMs etc.

I thing you did not get the point.

When we go for a TD, we will be driving the car for 2-5 kms. We will be with the car for say 1hr? In this period, what we can best know is engine noise, exterior style, interior fit and finish and features at the most. Most of this will be cosmetic.

TD Reports are published after driving the car for atleast 100 kms in different conditions/roads. This will give us input on Ride and handling, high speed stability, mileage, fitment quality (read noise), etc.

Dependable TD report is very important for this reason. That is why neutral forums become indispensable. It is up to us to make use of the available information in a suitable/sensible way without being influenced. By knowing about the product before hand, our TD can only be more successful.