[noopster]

Congrats on the black beauty and wish you many million miles of happiness! Very nice review, I must say.

When I was in the market for the (then-yet-to-be-launched) Vento, we happened to stop by the VW showroom in Prabhadevi and the sales rep showed us the Jetta instead. It was the previous generation car and soon to be obsolete but my wife completely fell in love with it. The SR smelt a catch and did his job extra well. In the end the 5L+ was not worth it and we decided to wait for the Vento. But I can completely get why the Jetta is in a higher class than the Vento, especially after reviews like yours and Ajmat's.

Feel bad about the "rooftop" though. My (little) lady has made it amply clear that the next car we buy has to have one, so whenever that happens it will be a big factor Incidentally your wife is perfectly right about the Jetta rear resembling the A4. I loved the old circular lamps on the previous gen Jetta but there is no denying the A4-alikes add a degree of class.

Happy motoring and keep this thread updated, especially on the service front!

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by noopster

Congrats on the black beauty and wish you many million miles of happiness! Very nice review, I must say.

Feel bad about the "rooftop" though. My (little) lady has made it amply clear that the next car we buy has to have one, so whenever that happens it will be a big factor Incidentally your wife is perfectly right about the Jetta rear resembling the A4. I loved the old circular lamps on the previous gen Jetta but there is no denying the A4-alikes add a degree of class.

Happy motoring and keep this thread updated, especially on the service front!

Mucho gracias noopster, always nice to be appreciated! A friend of mine, much like you, went to Tornado Motors with his mind set on the Vento but fell hard for the Jetta instead. That he didn't go for it is another matter entirely but it was his off-the-cuff remarks that led me to wonder why I had knocked the Jetta off my shortlist in the first place.

I feel bad about the "rooftop" too, although the wifey has stopped cribbing about now. She likes the car thankfully but she too wants the next car to have it. She had already mentally prepared which photo she was going to take once the Octavia was delivered (standing through the sunroof, big smile on her face), but the thing is I like the current-gen 3 series a lot and that too doesn't have a sunroof except in the uppermost trims! That's a decision I'll have to look at much further down the road though.

I quite like the looks of the car too. I didn't like the Octavia's rear, but loved the front. It was the opposite for the lady. With the Jetta, I can't find a bad angle to look at, which is great!

I'll do my level best to keep this thread alive, donut the worries. Cheers!

[graaja]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Any word on when your Octavia will be rolling into the dealership? And perhaps more importantly, any news of price reductions with these new excise cuts?

Hope your Octavia is with you soon, and I look forward to its initial ownership thread

I spoke to the SA today and he confirmed that the excise duty cut will be passed on to the customer, but they have not worked out the exact amount yet. He told me it will be roughly 50K less on the ex-showroom price. Including the insurance and road tax this may translate to around 65K on the OTR.

Regarding delivery, he told me that I am second on the waiting list for 1.8TSI in Coimbatore (only 3 bookings for the petrol!!), and if Skoda keeps its promises of stepping up production and allocation, I may have the car by March, else it will be April. The waiting is the worst part of the car buying process!

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by graaja

I spoke to the SA today and he confirmed that the excise duty cut will be passed on to the customer, but they have not worked out the exact amount yet. Including the insurance and road tax this may translate to around 65K on the OTR.

Regarding delivery, he told me that if Skoda keeps its promises of stepping up production and allocation, I may have the car by March, else it will be April. The waiting is the worst part of the car buying process!

Well, at least waiting got you a nice little discount! Might have waited myself if I knew something like this was on the anvil!

The waiting process really is killer. It's gone on and on. Hopefully you'll get the car in March, hope you do. Skoda is just surprisingly slow with dispatches. Make sure you give us a nice, detailed review once you get hold of your beauty!

[graaja]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Make sure you give us a nice, detailed review once you get hold of your beauty!

You bet. Am looking forward to writing that ownership report

[miharbe]

Excellent description of the buying process of an excellent vehicle.

A few months back around the time of the launch of the Octavia I had driven the DSG Jetta and 1.4TSI Octavia back to back. I must say that the difference in suspension was definitely felt.

The car does look smashing in black and the new headlights definitely add a lot of character and premiumness to it. How I wish it came with the rooftop and was priced a little better atleast on the right side of 20 lacs!

Wish you many a mile with this beauty! Enjoy and have fun!

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by miharbe

Excellent description of the buying process of an excellent vehicle.



A few months back I had driven the DSG Jetta and 1.4TSI Octavia back to back. I must say that the difference in suspension was definitely

Thanks miharbe! That difference is quite notable, especially when you're not exposed to its benefits. It really can surprise you in a good way.

Originally Posted by miharbe

How I wish it came with the rooftop and was priced a little better atleast on the right side of 20 lacs!

You and I both brother! If it were priced at 19.99 lakhs, it would mop up the segment. All we can do is wish. It broke the bank for me, but it is a joy to drive, and I can't put a price on that!

Cheers, and thanks for dropping by.

[Joe M]

Awesome narration! Enjoyed each sentence of it. Best choice of car, and what a nice write-up to read on! Thanks for sharing..., and looking forward to reading the 'honeymoon' travelogue!

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by Joe M

Awesome narration! Enjoyed each sentence of it. Best choice of car, and what a nice write-up to read on! Thanks for sharing..., and looking forward to reading the 'honeymoon' travelogue!

Thanks a ton Joe, really pleased you enjoyed my random ramblings! The idea is to do a few short-ish road trips as well, time permitting, and I'll most definitely put those up if and when I set off on those drives.

First order of business is to add more interior pics though, and that'll be up this weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

[Drivethru]

Hi, congrats on the black Jetta. The Jetta is a pleasure to drive. I drive a 2012 Jetta and have done about 22000 kms till now.

Try driving the car in sports mode. The growl is music to ears.

Play some good music. Go for a long drive.

Drive safe

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by Drivethru

Hi, congrats on the black Jetta. The Jetta is a pleasure to drive. I drive a 2012 Jetta and have done about 22000 kms till now.

Try driving the car in sports mode. The growl is music to ears. Play some good music. Go for a long drive.

Thanks drivethru, I'm loving the Jetta so far. It truly is a pleasure to drive, which makes me wonder just how much joy a BMW will pack in!

I'll be giving it the beans and putting it in sports mode post 2000 kms, once I run the car in. I'm just babying it right now, which is a bit difficult to do since I am tempted to let her rip! Waiting to complete those first 2000 Kms in a hurry

[GTO]

Man, you're the reason I overshot my lunch break by 15 minutes! Started reading with lunch and couldn't stop until I was done.

Congrats on the gleaming black beast. Your experience is a testament to the "all's well that ends well" phrase. The Octavia delay meant you ended up with a superior car; yes, the Jetta TDI is in my books a better choice than the Octavia, petrol or diesel. Diesels are just far more practical in India and the Jetta diesel is no slouch either.

What I don't agree with is your selling a perfectly fine Honda City within 2 years of ownership and taking a massive depreciation hit. Not something I would do, but what the heck. You only live once. Won't argue with you on the slick 6-speed MT as you're clearly a slushbox convert.

Drive safe, buddy and head out on the Nasik highway at the first available opportunity.

P.S. Tell the missus to keep her fingers crossed on Webasto opening shop in Mumbai. They've resumed operations in India, but have limited locations currently. She might just get that elusive rooftop!

[rahul4321]

I've had so much fun reading through the entire write up!! Too good! A fine car and a darn fine write up!!! I didnt cheat to the end; read the whole thing word for word (Scout's oath). Just one question and I dont know if i missed this somewhere but did you get your booking money back from JMD without any troubles or was it a lot of haggling and hassling you had to go through.

Enjoy your car!! The black colour looks 'finger lickin good'!!!

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by GTO

Man, you're the reason I overshot my lunch break by 15 minutes! Started reading with lunch and couldn't stop until I was done.

That's an extra 15 minutes well spent, I'd say you have mighty fine taste in reading material

Originally Posted by GTO

Your experience is a testament to the "all's well that ends well" phrase. The Octavia delay meant you ended up with a superior car; yes, the Jetta TDI is in my books a better choice than the Octavia, petrol or diesel.

That's most certainly the way I'm looking at it now. I think Octavia is the better petrol, but the Jetta Diesel is by far and away a superior driving experience compared to the Diesel Octavia. No regrets buying it, save for my timing since I could have saved a few bucks with the excise cuts. No matter though!

Originally Posted by GTO

What I don't agree with is your selling a perfectly fine Honda City within 2 years of ownership and taking a massive depreciation hit. Not something I would do, but what the heck. You only live once.

Thing is, keeping the City would have meant having 3 cars at home. The i20 has not even completed 12000 Kms in the 3 years we've had it since mum uses it for her city runs only. The wife is sometimes here, sometimes not thanks to her job commitments. So the City really would have just seen very little running once the Jetta came, ergo it made sense to sell it off. It was bought used, so the depreciation hit was much more bearable

Originally Posted by GTO

Drive safe, buddy and head out on the Nasik highway at the first available opportunity.

P.S. Tell the missus to keep her fingers crossed on Webasto opening shop in Mumbai. She might just get that elusive rooftop!

You said it! Can't wait to take her for a spin, looking forward to tearing down the expressway in particular!

As part of all of my research, I even read up (on Team BHP and otherwise) all I could about after-market sunroofs, and of course Webasto would be my vendor of choice if I went down that road. But with so many Octavia owners complaining of early rattles and you yourself, if I remember right, saying that installing an after-market sunroof isn't recommended, I'm wondering if at all I should do it. I'm neutral on the 'rooftop', and the wife has since stopped chirping as much about its absence. Would you still recommend it at all?

Thanks for stopping by. You can thank me later for giving you a rock solid reason for an extended, slightly leisurely lunch!

Originally Posted by rahul4321

I've had so much fun reading through the entire write up!! Too good! A fine car and a darn fine write up!!! I didnt cheat to the end; read the whole thing word for word (Scout's oath). Just one question and I dont know if i missed this somewhere but did you get your booking money back from JMD without any troubles or was it a lot of haggling and hassling you had to go through.

Enjoy your car!! The black colour looks 'finger lickin good'!!!

I'm happy I could inject a bit of fun into your afternoon! I believe you completely when you say you read through till the inevitable, picturesque end.

My rep (Ranjeeta) was as helpful as she could be, although JMD was slow in releasing the funds. I put the request in on the 27th of Jan and the money only hit my account on 8th of Feb, that too because she was sitting on the account guys head to ensure his representative went and saw the RTGS transfer through. It was slow, it took longer than I had hoped for and I got the car later because of that, so there is that. I did get every last paisa though, so no worries on that front. There wasn't any haggling, just a little bit of hassling and haggling, is all.

The black is lovely indeed! And to carry on with the McDonald's theme, I'm loving it!!

[Santoshbhat]

Congratulations on your new Jetta DSG. Enjoyed reading your write up on the decision making and buying process. Even though all their cars look similar, I feel their family look comes out the best in the Jetta.

Agree with your choice on going for the Jetta. Its a tough call deciding between the VW and Skoda siblings. The Octavia looks like a compelling buy in the segment, but two factors really go against it. The torsion beam rear and Skodas poor reputation when it comes to after sales service. Also VW cars in general seem to be more reliable than Skoda's as the number of trouble stories with VW don't seem to crop up in the same frequency as they do with Skodas.

The honeymoon period with these Euro cars never ends. And in case you do get bored of it, you have a whole lot of modding options with remaps, suspension upgrades, wheel and alloy upgrades etc... Have fun!