[BalaSNKL]

Let me start with a quick summary:

• Model: New Jetta 2.0 TDI MT Comfortline
• Colour: Deep Black Pearleffect
• OTR: Rs. 17.73 lakhs for individual registration in Mumbai
• Dealer: VW Downtown, Prabhadevi, Mumbai
• Booked on: 28 September 2011
• Delivered on: 6 October 2011 (as requested by me)
• Odometer reading: 1830 kms as on 15 November 2011

Read on.....


Starting with a little background, I have owned / driven a car since 1996. Started with Indian (M800, 1996, 30k+ km, 3+ years), then Korean (Accent, 2000, 40k+ km, 3+ years) and currently have Japanese (Corolla, 2003, 110k+ kms, 8+ years). I do about 1500 kms a month including few weekend drives every quarter on an average. Have a driver and car shunts between home and work on a need basis. I like to drive, but that had more or less reduced to weekend, early morning and late night driving.

New car had been on mind for a while, but didn't see a compelling upgrade in the Indian marketplace without blowing a big hole in the pocket. Was of course getting tired of the Corolla and, in Aug11, I finally decided to look around seriously.

The selection process...
My thought process went like this:

1. Should be an upgrade.
2. Travel distances do not justify diesel. That said, I may be wrong looking at the current fuel prices. Was open to diesel as well.
3. No entry level luxury car - As I see, almost all of them fall short in features, space, etc when compared to the top end variant from the previous segment. Secondly, you are going to be a "wannabe" in the eyes of those to whom you want to show off to.
4. Not another Toyota/Corolla - This is in spite of my Corolla serving me very well for over a lakh kms and the Corolla Altis being a good VFM alternative (particularly if one is driven around). Two reasons. Firstly, it would have been one more of the same or similar. Secondly, I got really tired of the service. Almost never had a trouble free service from Shinrai Toyota in all these years.
5. Never took a liking to American cars. Cruze being Korean-American lost out readily without even a TD.

Logical progression, I thought, should be to European. Didn't want to bet on new entrant Renault and I started looking at Skoda and VW. With no budget in mind, I looked at Laura to Passat. The launch of New Jetta was indeed very timely. Somewhere along the way, I decided to draw a line at Rs. 20 lakhs. Spent the next month pondering over Laura / New Jetta and reading up all that has been written in Team-BHP. Test drove Laura TSI, Laura TDI, New Jetta and Superb.

Skoda pretty much lost out on after sales nightmares that I read about in the forum and things I heard from others. Also, I thought the model is now old and due for an upgrade. Saw lot of similarities with the good old Octavia in terms of looks. As a result, my mind was slowly and steadily leaning towards the New Jetta all the time.

Limited TD one normally does can reveal only so much or should I say, so little. I obviously relied a lot on the wonderful review by Rudrasen and Team-BHP. In some sense, the decision boiled down to whether I like the New Jetta or not.

• I did not compare the New Jetta with old and lose heart/head over the missing features etc. There is simply no point in comparing with an outdated off-shelf model.
• I liked the understated styling of the New Jetta.
• Liked the solid build quality.
• Liked the ride, build quality and features. I got out of the TD feeling generally good about the car (which wasn't the case with the Laura).
• "Blown-up Polo/Vento" or "shrunk Passat" didn't really bother me. Anyone who is bothered will know which car it is. I am sure most of us have looked at the back of Beemer to check on 3-vs-5 or 5-vs-7, at least until we could automatically make that out.
• Lack of ACC - I have and use that in my Corolla - was surely a dampener, but not a deal breaker.
• No leather seat is ok with both my wife and me as we never liked leather, particularly in the hot and humid Indian weather conditions.

Wife and kids liked the car. Convinced my kids why expensive sunroof (going for a Superb, for example) does not make sense. Winner obviously was the New Jetta. As there was no petrol variant, I didn't have to break my head over fuel choice.

Which Jetta variant?
Trendline was a straight no-go. Its just too stripped. Choice then is between (a) CL and HL and (b) MT and AT.

Between CL and HL, one gets the following for an extra Rs. 1.75 lakhs (OTR Mumbai Individual):

• Music system with larger touch screen, 6 CD changer, media adapter cable in glove and parking display:
  • 6 CD changer is something I consider useful. I am still an audio CD guy. While sound quality is very perceptible in a good quality system, one can possibly do with one or more of an iPod (I don't have one), SD card and CDs. One can go for loss-less format stripping of audio CDs.
  • Visual park assist would have been useful, but one can live without.
• Better looking "Atlanta" alloys in HL compared to "Navarra" in CL - Not a deal breaker
• Extra 2 airbags in HL - Guess, 6 airbags in CL is solid safety and lot more than what I have had in my current and previous cars.
• Chrome strip on the doors - Not a deal breaker. Considering my final colour choice, it doesn't really matter.
• Electrically adjustable seats - Didn't find this useful without at least two memorised positions.

Choice now is down to CL MT and HL DSG. I had test driven only the DSG as MT was not available for TD. The DSG was great once you got over the initial lag.

• While DSG itself is only costing an extra Rs. 91k, because of the trim one has to shell out Rs. 2.66 lakhs extra.
• In addition, there is lifetime cost of at least 3-4 kmpl in mileage.
• Having never had an automatic, I would not really miss it, I thought.
• Finally, there is a question mark on its reliability in Indian driving conditions.

Thus I settled for the CL MT.

Choice of Colour:
White is perhaps ok for a small car, but not for this car as I always associated white with rented cars. I have had while only on my M800. Black is obvious the classic and my favourite, but was worried about maintenance. Narrowed it down to Reflex Silver (which is the standard silver & a no-brainer) and the Sliver Leaf (which is a new colour). Wanted to physically check out Silver Leaf and waited for a week for the first delivery from VW Downtown which incidentally was for "lamboguy". Thought it was interesting, but a bit dull. By this time, only Deep Black was available for immediate delivery under CL. The heart-over-head decision to go for black was forced on us and I am not complaining.

Booking & delivery experience:
Extremely happy with the experience right from the time I placed my first call to VW Downtown which was about a week before the official launch of the vehicle. I was promptly called back when the display car reached the showroom and again when the TD vehicle arrived. TD was scheduled promptly and vehicle made available on reaching the showroom. Test drove the car twice. Despite demand for the few cars remaining for immediate delivery, the SE was willing to ride all the way from Prabhadevi to my office in Nariman Point to collect the booking amount. My final selection was available for immediate delivery, i.e. within 3 days of making the payment, but I chose to wait out a week to catch the auspicious Dassera day.

OTR price was Rs. 17.73 lakhs for individual registration in Mumbai (i.e. full octroi paid). No dealer in Mumbai offered any discount or accessory whatsoever, but all of them very readily agreed to match market price for insurance. Managed a princely saving of Rs. 18,688/- on insurance.

Did a PDI when the car reached the yard in Sewree. As suggested by the SE, took a demo - useful since there is no manual (see below) - one day before scheduled delivery as too much rush was expected on delivery date - there were some 50+ deliveries scheduled that day!

The dealer was providing a 25L fuel voucher. Requested the SE to arrange for fuel filling before delivery so I would not have to rush to the pump immediately after taking delivery and the SE obliged. Forgot about the tyre pressure, which was obviously too high, else I could have got that also checked.

Owner's Manual had not come and still hasn't. SE told me couple of days ago that the same is expected within few days. This is a genuine handicap, but there is also fun in exploring and finding new features along the way. On a lighter note, my 11-year old son was asking about the two buttons below the instrument cluster. I could explain the purpose of one and proposed we check the second one when we are stationary. He agreed and added "what if it is a self-destruct button"

Also, there is no extended warranty or AMC offered yet, but the SE has promised that the same will be made available to all owners as and when VW start offering the same. New Jetta gets embossed number plates whereas Vento and Polo get sticker plates. Guess, security number plates are provided for Passat and higher.

At the time of delivery, there was a pandit, coconut and garland (courtesy the Dealer) if you want to do puja. We also got a confetti pop to celebrate.

While on dealer experience, I would also add that I had contacted two other VW dealers over phone and have no complaints. Also, I did Laura and Superb TD through Skoda Autobahn, Prabhadevi and the experience had been good too.

Pit-stop(s):
First pit-stops for the following:

• Sun film - Read up the forum section on sun film and spoke to my regular vendor - Bharat Auto, near Worli Naka next to Hyundai service. Debated a lot on whether to put film on for the front windscreen, but eventually decided to wait on that. Have since decided not to put any film on the front windscreen. More on that in the section on initial drive. Chose Blaupunkt G-50 film for the windows and real. Essentially relied on the recommendation from Bharat Auto as to quality and service. I have been going to Bharat Auto since 1996 when I got my M800 and have been a very satisfied customer to date. Key specs are as under:
  • Transmittance - 50%
  • Reflectance Exterior - 12%
  • Total Solar Energy Rejected (TSR) - 47%
  • UV Rejected - 99%
  • Construction/Thickness - 2ply / 2 mil
• Mats - Checked on 3D Kagu mats with Hitesh at Car Point (forum recommendation). Hitesh said they are available, but on prodding further he checked and confirmed the mats are for the Old Jetta. Decided to buy cheap mats (set of 4) in the interim. Update last week is that the manufacturer has come, taken measurements of the New Jetta, the new mats are expected to be shipped by end-Nov and likely to reach by end-Dec.
• Tyre - Debated a lot whether to change the stock tyres or not. Spoke to two of the stockists recommended by the forum. Eventually decided to run on stock Goodyear tyres.
• Air and pressure - Promptly emptied and refilled with Nitrogen. Initially, kept the pressure at 30 psi and later upped to 33 psi. Intend to maintain pressure at 33 psi. Happy with the ride and fuel efficiency.

About my Black Beauty ..
Think Rudrasen's photos forming part of the Team-BHP Test Drive & Review have captured the car in all its glory and there is no way I can get anywhere close to that. So, I have uploaded only a few photos to give a flavour of the colour.

I have done couple of long drives and fair amount of city drive though mostly in easier driving conditions relative to what one can go through in a city like Mumbai. Coming from years of petrol car driving, I managed to stall the car many times. At low speeds, I think the car is unforgiving your laziness in changing gears. Power delivery is fairly linear. At higher speeds, press the accelerator and you get more and some more. Car is stable and is nicely planted to the road. While I did not do any daredevilry, I could deal with corners at ease without slowing down too much (relative to my Corolla or some lesser mortals I saw on road at those corners). Suspension is a bit stiff. You can feel it at slower speeds, but that is nothing to complain about. Breaking is great. While breaking, I was worried a times someone may bang me from behind. Ground clearance is fine. No issues.

I drove through some serious rains in the Kasara Ghats (Igatpuri to Thane/Mumbai). This 90 minute drive was in worst driving conditions that I have come across. It was pouring sheets of water accompanied for strong winds and it was night time. Two things come out from this experience. First is that the car is superb. Felt extremely confident and safe. More importantly, my wife sitting in front felt very safe. Secondly, I was very happy that I did not go for sun film on the front windscreen. At the time of pit-stop, I only postponed it, but now I am sure not to go for it.

Cruise Control - I loved this. For me, while on the wheels, this is one of the most exciting features of the car. Incidentally, there is no mention of this in the brochure and even the SE wasn't aware until he had a CL delivered. Felt a bit unnerving at first when I took my foot off the accelerator, but got used to it in no time. Very easy to figure the controls and use. You cruise at say 120 kmph, break to slowdown (cruise comes off now) to say 60-70 kmph and tap the cruise button and see & feel the engine wake up and swiftly climb back to 120 kmph. Great.

No major complaint on interior space and comfort, save for the fact that the hump in the middle combined with the rear a/c vents will make middle passenger rather uncomfortable. Have been driving or seated in front and hence have nothing much to say on rear sear comfort. That said wife and others who sat at the back were very happy with the space, seat, etc. Manual AC hasn't bothered me as I had been on the wheels most of the time, but will certainly be an irritant to instruct the driver from time to time when driven around.

Fuel efficiency: I have been getting 12-15 kmpl in city. Have also got 16-18 kmpl in late night / early morning drives. Highway numbers are something else altogether. All data below are based on the MFD readings. Will need to cross-check with actual fill data in due course of time.

Have done two long drives namely a day trip to Pune and an overnighter to Shirdi which was long overdue. Trip sheet (route, distance, journey time, mileage) are as under:
(a) Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai - 336 kms, 7 hrs, 18 kmpl
(b) Mumbai-Shirdi - 253 kms, 4:14 hrs, 20.2 kmpl
(c) Shirdi-Shani Shingnapur-Mumbai - 390 kms, 7:50 hrs, 19.4 kmpl

Couple of points to note. The Pune trip was with a tyre pressure at 30 psi and the Shirdi trip at 33 psi. Secondly, the Shirdi trip included the rainy 90-minute drive through Kasara Ghats.

Others:
Few interesting observations / inclusions:

• The pax side airbag can be deactivated using the car key through the glove. When done, there is a prompt display "Passenger Airbag OFF".
• Manual boot release from inside the boot which can be accessed through the 60:40 split seats. Some of you may recall 26/7 floods in Mumbai when few lives were lost due to electronic shutdown and water flooding outside which meant doors/windows could not be opened and there was nothing in the car to crack open the windows/windshields.
• Two red laser lights on the front reading light panel which gives a nice reddish soft lighting in the cabin at night.
• Aircon blow is nicely diffused and does not blow on your face.
• Auto dimming rear view mirrors - The green tint was quite nice and easy on the eyes.
• The speedometer dial is non-linear. While the full dial is for 280 kmph, half way mark is only 100 kmph.

Few minor irritants:

• Music system, despite having separate MEDIA, RADIO and AUX buttons, does not have a one-touch on function. You need to first switch it on and then change if required.
• Steering mounted control for music system - I would have expected the prev/next buttons to take you to the prev/next preset FM station, but it doesn't. Instead, it starts tuning backward or forward.
• The chrome strip on the left & right aircon front vents reflect on the ORVMs.
• The space below the rear windscreen is flat and things kept keep sliding left to right and vice versa on turns.
• Too little space between the clutch and dead pedals. I could not smoothly slide from one to other while wearing my sneakers.
• AUTO headlights come too soon i.e. before it gets dark enough.
• Halogen DRLs - People do sign you about headlights being on.

First Service Call:
On my drive in the rains through one of the toll gates, a sheet of water fell on the car and few drops on my shoulder through the well shut door. Ran my fingers through the rubber seal on the door and could feel water there!

Called VW Downtown Service on Monday. They scheduled a pick-up on Friday, but I insisted they at least pay a visit before the water dries off. The visit happened on Tuesday, but water had completely dried up by that time. Anyway, the car got picked on Friday as promised. It was later afternoon due to logistics at my end and was delivered Sat afternoon. I have been told that they completed checked and fixed the alignment. Hope the problem has been fixed, for I won't be able to check until next monsoons which is a good 9 months away.

VW Downtown Service was courteous and responsive, but could have communicated better in terms of what's happening with the car and when the delivery is expected. No complaint otherwise.


OVERALL, I AM A HAPPY AND SATISFIED OWNER.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownerships Forum. Thanks for sharing!

I had an absolute blast putting the 6-speed Jetta MT through her paces on the country roads of Rajasthan. Superb poise, excellent engine and great brakes. Plus, the new Jetta never fails in getting a second look from me. I just love the clean, understated design that oozes class.

Hope you've read our official review at this link

[BalaSNKL]

Originally Posted by GTO

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownerships Forum. Thanks for sharing!

I had an absolute blast putting the 6-speed Jetta MT through her paces on the country roads of Rajasthan. Superb poise, excellent engine and great brakes. Plus, the new Jetta never fails in getting a second look from me. I just love the clean, understated design that oozes class.

Hope you've read our official review at this link

Yes, of course. That was perhaps the most important input in my decision making process. Thanks for the same.

[mikon]

Excellent Ownership report. I read it in one shot. Simply loved it!
Congratulations!

Originally Posted by BalaSNKL

"Blown-up Polo/Vento" or "shrunk Passat" didn't really bother me. Anyone who is bothered will know which car it is. I am sure most of us have looked at the back of Beemer to check on 3-vs-5 or 5-vs-7, at least until we could automatically make that out.

Exactly, Many people would say the same, but I love the design (the tail-lights in perticular).
Recently there was a new jetta parked besides my car. I was ogling it until my friend reminded me to unlock my own car so that she can atleast sit, and I can continue with my job

[DeKay]

Hi BalaSNKL,
A huge congratulations! The Jetta is my favorite car in the sub 20L segment. If everything goes according to plan, will book one next year.

Was eagerly waiting for your ownership review ever since you posted your pictures on the Jetta Thread. These are the same pictures! What about some of the pictures you might have clicked during your long drives? Hope to see some more soon

What is the recommended tyre pressure? And did you consider the Toffee brown Metallic color?

[xander]

Congrats on the excellent choice! The new Jetta looks classy in Black.

[MAS]

Congrats on your new drive. At first, i always thought the older Jetta was a better looking car. But somehow the new Jetta grows over and looks elegant and absolutely class leading.

Drive safe...

[VW2010]

Great color....Hope you get some collinites and micro fibres to keep that glossy look forever.

The black with darker sun films makes this car one of the finest for eyes.

Maintaining the black just makes you live closer to this beauty.

[vb-saan]

Congratulations on the new car, and thanks for sharing the ownership review. The Comfortline trim indeed is the best option, if you’re not keen on the DSG. Just that the Highline alloys looks wicked

The New Jetta is my personal favorite in this segment. Even with the said similarities with other VW family cars, I felt the New Jetta has more road presence in comparison.

[druk75]

Hey... congratulations on your new car. The Jetta looks amazingly beautiful in jet black. Welcome to the Jetta owner's club.

A very good first report as well. I am munching on the idea of putting up one of my own this very moment. Hope to get to it by next week.

Happy driving.... and keep us posted too.

[swiftnfurious]

Congrats on the new Jetta! The car looks good in black. The FE figures are superb too for a new car. Hope this serves trouble free for a long time.

Would love to see some interior shots too, in day time & night time to see ambiance lighting. Have you planned for some paint protection schemes for the black car?

Originally Posted by BalaSNKL

I have been told that they completed checked and fixed the alignment. Hope the problem has been fixed, for I won't be able to check until next monsoons which is a good 9 months away.

I don't think you need to wait for monsoons for this. Take the car to some good water service guys [like 3M], sit inside the car and make them spray quite some water on the top & sides of the driver side. You could check whether the leak has been fixed. We may not be able to re-create the absolute rainy conditions, but something close to it.

[vkaul1]

[quote=BalaSNKL; Also, there is no extended warranty or AMC offered yet, but the SE has promised that the same will be made available to all owners as and when VW start offering the same.[/QUOTE]

Can you pls chek with them again. I picked up mine from VW Pune West on 6th Oct & have opted for extended warranty (4 yrs / 100,000 Kms). I was handed over all the extended warranty documents along with delivery. I will check the exact amount, but it was somewhere to the tune of INR 11,500.

[Swanand Inamdar]

Congratulations on the car. Jetta looks classy in Black. Perhaps the most suitable color to bring out the clean design.

Do update some interior pics as well.

Wish you many happy miles.

[BalaSNKL]

Many thanks to all the wishes.

Originally Posted by DeKay

Hi BalaSNKL,
A huge congratulations! The Jetta is my favorite car in the sub 20L segment. If everything goes according to plan, will book one next year.

Was eagerly waiting for your ownership review ever since you posted your pictures on the Jetta Thread. These are the same pictures! What about some of the pictures you might have clicked during your long drives? Hope to see some more soon

What is the recommended tyre pressure? And did you consider the Toffee brown Metallic color?

Will lookup or shoot some more pictures forum. Thought the New Jetta is well photo-ed, albeit in other coulours.

Have been maintaining 33 psi and am happy with that.

Did not consider Toffee Brown Metallic. For us, the choice was between easily maintainable silver variants and the favourite black and you now know how we ended up with black!

[ninjatalli]

@Bala,
Excellent ownership report. Although RudraSen has given a large number of pics in the review thread, we are always hungry for more pics - people do turn out to be innovative with their cameras - more pics awaited

Any particular reason you didn't opt for the brown color (not sure if you have mentioned it by a different name in your post), I loved that color available only with the new Jetta.

Do check up on the extended warranty, as far as I remember it was available for the Jetta here in Pune too. I have opted for it for my Vento.

Originally Posted by BalaSNKL

Few minor irritants:

• Steering mounted control for music system - I would have expected the prev/next buttons to take you to the prev/next preset FM station, but it doesn't. Instead, it starts tuning backward or forward. Surpringly it works fine on the Vento. Can you get it checked with other Jetta owners?
• The chrome strip on the left & right aircon front vents reflect on the ORVMs. Same with the Vento.
• The space below the rear windscreen is flat and things kept keep sliding left to right and vice versa on turns. Same with the Vento. Really irritating, as you can't keep anything.
• Too little space between the clutch and dead pedals. I could not smoothly slide from one to other while wearing my sneakers.
• AUTO headlights come too soon i.e. before it gets dark enough.
• Halogen DRLs - People do sign you about headlights being on.

Looking forward to more updates on you car. There are very few (new) Jetta ownership threads out here.