I have been thinking to change my ride since last few months, currently I drive a 3.1L Chevy Malibu V6. No decision has made so far, still test driving cars. Today, I took a test drive of VW GTI (known as Little Rocket here).
Scheduled the appointment at 1PM, I had to wait around 10 minutes at the showroom to get the 'right' GTI for test drive (I wanted the automatic one). Here is a quick spec of the car I drove,
Engine - 4 Cylinder Turbocharged Petrol - 2 Litre ( I am amazed with the number of vehicles equipped with this engine - Here is the list of vehicles equiped with the same 2L engine - VW Passat, Beetle, EOS conertible,VW Jetta GLi, Tiguan, Passat CC, VW Golf, Skoda Laura, Skoda Superb, Skoda Yeti, Audi A4, A3, Q5...may be many more which I have not heard of)
Power - 200 BHP
Torque - 280 Nm
Transmission - 6 Speed DSG with paddle shifters
Wheels/Tyres - 225/40 R18
Initial Impressions:
Very comfortable driving position, the visibility at the front is fantastic.
Exceptional steering wheels - it has some sort of leather finish and gives a nice feel.
Took off from the showroom, hit the road and floored the pedal, the turbo showed its muscle, easily picks up the speed, steering is precise ( still not as precise as my old Palio 1.2 - some of you guys may laugh at me, but I loved my fiat's steering precision and it has become a benchmark for me). The turbo kicks in at 2500 rpm, and I felt its too late, once it kicks in then the car can be called a '" l'l rocket" you want to keep and eye on the speedo, else it will easily attract cops. For the first 5 miles I was driving on a road with 50 Miles/H speed limit and I had to make an effort to keep the speed below 50. The vehicle seemed begging to floor the pedal and I was tempted too. :)
The salesman pushed back his seat and left the car to me, he answered all my questions and never tried to overwhelm me with the praise of GTI - I was glad. The only question he asked was what other car I am considering. Subaru Impreza - that was my answer.
Took the car to highway 101, effortlessly merged to the traffic and picked up speed of 75Miles/H, it still had so much power left out, for a moment I wish if I were on the Autobahn,:Frustrati the car would have touched 120M/h easily. The breaks are engineered marvellously, at all speeds the breaks gave me a confidence that it can stop the way I want.
Photos :
I did not take any pictures of the test car, please visit the VW site for photos.
2012 Volkswagen GTI Photo Gallery | Volkswagen < 2012 Volkswagen GTI, VW GTI Hatchback | Volkswagen
Pros:
Lot of power, peppy drive, very good visibility
Very effective breaks ( 9/10)
Nice grrrrr sound when floored above 2500 rpm
Good steeting feel (8/10)
Good mileage ( city 24 MPG - 10kmpl approx), 34 Highway (15Kmpl approx)
Cons:
Stiff suspension - my 8 years old chevy has a better suspension ( I am sure my wife won't be happy doing a long drive in GTI).
Turbo - I wish if the turbo kicked in at 1700-1800
Price:
Base -$26.735
Taxes - $2,523
Other fees - $1400
---------------------
Total - $30,658 ( ie, Rs 16.24 Lakhs with current USD exchange rate)
The dealer offered me a 0.9% interest on the loan. I got a quote for 60 months finance with $2000 down payment. My EMI will be $500 (not bad...)
Now, calling up the Subaru dealer :)
Good to see another fan of the Golf. It's hard not to appreciate the classy interiors and the way it drives like a much larger car!
I considered the Golf and the GTI too, but eventually decided on the GLI (which has the same 2.0T engine). The 2013 GLI fixes some of the flaws of the 2012 version that I have (adds a button to turn off stability control, xenon headlights and powered seats) -- you might want to check it out.
