[volkman10]

Congratulation on the great buy of the 1.6 Polo! Nice review. VW has improved in their approach to the customer compared to the time of lauches of the Polo and Vento.

Once again thanks for a great report and awaiting further updates !

Cheers!

[raj_5004]

Polo 1.6 is one hell of a car. I dont know whether you have revved the car much but the real action begins after 3000 rpm!

[r_devakumar]

Very nice and detailed review. Happy and safe driving. I can see your love for the car . It is the best looking hatch in India today.

Originally Posted by rtm_8055

The VW Polo 1.6 is the car for you if you want a car that makes you feel special everytime you get into it. It is a car that emits a more premium feel than most other hatches, and in fact even behaves like a larger car. It is beautiful, so beautiful that you will often find yourself just staring at it for hours, not bothered about what is around you. If your car is parked anywhere that you can see it, you will find yourself often going there to peer at it. It is a car that you reluctantly get out of when you reach your destination, and long to get back into at every other moment. If you are the kind that wants power available at any times, but power that will only be used and felt when you so desire, this is the car for you. If you like to constantly try taking on every car around you, then this is not what you will like. This car encourages you to cruise peacefully for most of the time. When you do however put your foot down, you are left satisfied, very satisfied. This car, as mentioned earlier, attracts your heart more than it does your mind. It's not always very practical - it lacks good efficiency of a diesel, and has a back seat to fit only annorexic people or little kids. It carries good brand value, and is a good car to turn up in even at formal occasions or important events.

[sandeepmohan]

RTM...what can I say. Every word you penned down was from your heart and your love for a car. I must say that times have changed. The best I could do at your age was ride a geared Street Cat bicycle. He he. You drive a hot hatch.

One thing that caught my attention and I never knew this was possible was the insurance. Which insurance company gives you the option of taking 0% depreciation? How does this work over the years? You will obviously have to re new your insurance after a year. You will renew and the car does not depreciate in its value?

[vasanthn21]

Very detailed review rtm. Will be very very useful for anyone wanting to buy this car.

I took the Polo 1.6 test drive a few weeks back and agree with all your comments. I did use the wiper instead of the indicator.

Although, I found the clutch to be a bit hard and my leg was aching after 20 minutes of driving. Do you face this issue? My friend (who was actually looking to buy this car) also faced the same issue.

Voted 5stars.

[PGNarain]

Congratulations rtm on you buy.

No doubt the Polo 1.6 is a lovely car to buy and as I read you review I noticed that like me car buying and owning for you is a very personal and emotional choice.

It's good to hear that you finally listened to your heart and bought the car you always wanted, this way you will always be happy driving it and never feel any regret.

Happy mile crunching..enjoy.

[rtm_8055]

Thank you all so much for your kind words! It feels good to know that my love for this car has been conveyed successfully.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

RTM...what can I say. Every word you penned down was from your heart and your love for a car. I must say that times have changed. The best I could do at your age was ride a geared Street Cat bicycle. He he. You drive a hot hatch.

One thing that caught my attention and I never knew this was possible was the insurance. Which insurance company gives you the option of taking 0% depreciation? How does this work over the years? You will obviously have to re new your insurance after a year. You will renew and the car does not depreciate in its value?

Zero Depreciation policies are offered by most insurance providers these days, at a slight premium in cost. I have done mine through Bajaj Allianz (to be fair VW organized it for me themselves). Before signing a policy you should ask if Zero Depreciation is available; they usually don't offer/suggest it themselves. I only got them to do mine after I specifically asked them if it was possible. The SE did not know much about the policy and had to inquire with his Insurance team before confirming. This must mean that Zero Dep policies don't fly off the shelf too quickly.

Sandeep, let me explain to you how this works. Basically, a Zero Depreciation cover offers full settlement of claim without any deduction for depreciation. This is better than normal covers, which usually pay only something like 50% of Rubber / Plastic parts; 5% -50% deduction on Metal parts in case of accident claims. So essentially this means that while claiming insurance, you don't have to pay a single penny from your own pocket (while normally you might have to pay a fair amount yourself). While renewal, you can yet again pay the extra amount and opt for a Zero Dep policy, and enjoy the same benefits again.

Originally Posted by vasanthn21

Very detailed review rtm. Will be very very useful for anyone wanting to buy this car.

I took the Polo 1.6 test drive a few weeks back and agree with all your comments. I did use the wiper instead of the indicator.

Although, I found the clutch to be a bit hard and my leg was aching after 20 minutes of driving. Do you face this issue? My friend (who was actually looking to buy this car) also faced the same issue.

Voted 5stars.

I do agree that the clutch travels deep, but it is not too hard. I only got that ache after the first two or three times I drove the car. Now it is barely a problem.

Regards,
RTM

[vasanthn21]

Originally Posted by rtm_8055

I do agree that the clutch travels deep, but it is not too hard. I only got that ache after the first two or three times I drove the car. Now it is barely a problem.

Regards,
RTM

That is what we(me and my friend who took the TD) thought, we usually change our driving style to suit the vehicle.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by rtm_8055

The handbrake pulls up hard but does not seem very confidence-inspiring. This is strange, because it holds the car perfectly well. However, I park my car on a slope with the handbrake pulled all the way up, but whenever I get inside the car, a weird creaking noise is heard that falsely scares me into believing the handbrake is giving way and the car is going to roll back. RTM

The creaking is from the rear brake shoes rubbing against the brake drums. You don't have to worry about this. It could be a little rust as you live in a coastal city. This happens on my Ford too. I do not live in a city that is close to any water body but it still creaks if there is any strain. The hand brake is designed to hold the car. It may not hold if there is a pull pay load. At best, the hand brake is effective with 2 occupants. The car will slide back if it is too heavy. In your case, it probably needs some adjustment.

Originally Posted by rtm_8055

Zero Depreciation policies are offered by most insurance providers these daysRTM

Thank you very much for explaining how this works. I never knew we had this. I believe your policy is called Drive Assure by Bajaj Allianz. It is not mentioned anywhere on their website. I clicked on Request a Quote and entered all the details of my car. The quote finally listed 3 insurance options I could choose and one of them had this option I could tick off called Drive Assure. There was a link below this that opens a PDF document explaining what Drive Assure is.

[theragingbull]

WOW!! That is easily the most impressive and extensive car review I have read on TeamBHP. Deserves *5 stars*!
I bought my Polo 1.2 from the same showroom after a long 5 month wait. Didn't really have a good experience with the sales executives but that's all forgiving after owning the Polo It's been over a year now and I'm very satisfied. It's as good as new. I just wish I had bought the 1.6. It wasn't launched at that time but would have surely been worth an extra wait.

EDIT: I just noticed in one of your pictures that the chrome around the headlamp switch is not there!! Is that new cost cutting by VW? My highline model has chrome!

[rtm_8055]

Originally Posted by theragingbull

WOW!! That is easily the most impressive and extensive car review I have read on TeamBHP. Deserves *5 stars*!
I bought my Polo 1.2 from the same showroom after a long 5 month wait. Didn't really have a good experience with the sales executives but that's all forgiving after owning the Polo It's been over a year now and I'm very satisfied. It's as good as new. I just wish I had bought the 1.6. It wasn't launched at that time but would have surely been worth an extra wait.

EDIT: I just noticed in one of your pictures that the chrome around the headlamp switch is not there!! Is that new cost cutting by VW? My highline model has chrome!

Yes the chrome from the headlamp switch is missing on the newer models. I believe this was done as a part of their localization process, not cost cutting.

Some updates:

1. I had high-security number plates fitted. They look quite nice.

2. It is becoming very inconvenient to look after the seats. They get dirty too easily, and require careful precaution. I have therefore decided to go ahead and fit art leather seat covers. It was between plain beige and plain black, but I have chosen plain black (with a wrinkle effect) since it suits a white, self-driven car better. Car-Lounge at Milan Subway is supplying and fitting these seat covers within the next 2 days. So far they have been very helpful and patient; I will upload pictures and some comments after the seats are fitted.

3. The wipers are quite useless. Wiper swirls and dry wiper fluid drops are very noticeable. In fact at night, along with the poor headlamps, the visibility is quite bad and leaves me with no confidence. I am thinking about what can be done about this.

4. I have almost zeroed-in on V-Kool K37 sunfilm. It looks great on a white car and has a decent heat rejection percentage. The drawback however is that it is not RTO approved. My little research tells me that traffic police don't notice this too easily, and so it should not be a problem. Any suggestions?

I am extremely pleased to see my thread featured on the homepage of Team-BHP, in the "Hot Threads" section. To whoever is responsible for this, thank you very much indeed!

Regards,
RTM

[Ramanjit]

An excellent writeup,congratulations for your new ride.Polo is definitely a very eye catching car on the road ,I personally prefer the red it is just too hard to miss on the road am looking forward to the day when I get to possess one.
Wish you happy driving.

[Omega Man]

Originally Posted by rtm_8055

Some updates:

1. I had high-security number plates fitted. They look quite nice.

2. It is becoming very inconvenient to look after the seats. They get dirty too easily, and require careful precaution. I have therefore decided to go ahead and fit art leather seat covers. It was between plain beige and plain black, but I have chosen plain black (with a wrinkle effect) since it suits a white, self-driven car better. Car-Lounge at Milan Subway is supplying and fitting these seat covers within the next 2 days. So far they have been very helpful and patient; I will upload pictures and some comments after the seats are fitted.

3. The wipers are quite useless. Wiper swirls and dry wiper fluid drops are very noticeable. In fact at night, along with the poor headlamps, the visibility is quite bad and leaves me with no confidence. I am thinking about what can be done about this.

I am extremely pleased to see my thread featured on the homepage of Team-BHP, in the "Hot Threads" section. To whoever is responsible for this, thank you very much indeed!

Great review indeed.

Regards,
RTM

1. They look any day better than those unlawful fancy number plates.

2. Livon fabric are a dirt magnet, awaiting pictures of your new seat covers.

3. Agreed. We really had a hard time with this issue. We then got a windscreen treatment done. The guy initially used a clay bar before using a DA polisher after applying some compound. In a matter of about 2 hours both front and rear windscreens looked like new, completely crystal clear.

[shashank.nk]

Congrats on you Polo 1.6! One of the most powerful petrol hatch in the market. You review is very well written and your attention to detail is brilliant your thread definitely deserves a 5 star rating.
Can you pot some interior pics with the lighting sans the flash ? Want tot get an idea how it looks at night when lit up

[C300]

What a review RTM. Unbiased and detailed. I am impressed by maturity and clarity of thought given your age.
Congrats on your new love! I am sure you will keep this thread alive with ownership experience.