[megazoid]

Hello folks,

This red VW Polo GTI came to me in April 2018 with 800km on the odo and now with two years and 30K kms behind us, I must admit it has punched well above its weight. During the course of this thread, I shall put together how this purchase has worked out for me and the the experiences with the car.

The GTI was on sale from 2016-2019 and was offered in four colours Reflex Silver, Pure White, Black and Flash Red. A total of 198 cars were sold in all.

I had the good fortune of owning a polo 1.6 GT TDI and a Laura 1.8 TSI petrol before and the GTI got the good bits of both these cars into one package. A small footprint with good power.

The car I was driving in 2018 was a Duster AWD. It was nearly a lakh on the odo and even though it was mechanically sound and a very competent allrounder, I had decided to lookout for a buyer.

Sometime in March 2018, I met with an accident and while on the hospital bed, had the intense urge to get a quick small petrol car, preferably a two door. Probably life looked different from the hospital bed for me to arrive at such a decision. Since I love travelling, I wanted to convert these into opportunities and having a drivers car at your disposal would make these journeys fun. Having a partner who understood the interests and shared the enthusiasm is a great boon too.

Wait!

I had sold the Laura TSI and picked the duster AWD a few years back for exactly the same reason. To be able to go places that I would otherwsie not be able to go. Now, I was using a similar logic to get rid of the duster in the name of driver appeal and what not. The mind is indeed devious!

I had already made up my mind to sell the Duster if a good deal came by. A small sized hatch was ok with me as we were just two in the family and did not need too much of space but it needed to be a quick car that gave copious amounts of driving joy.

A hatch with horsepower was what I wanted, but the choice was imited to the VW GTI and the Mini cooper S from a desireability point of view. The Mini was well over my budget, so was the GTI. I had previously owned a polo 1.6 GT TDI and a swift turbo petrol and enjoyed these cars during their time. To own a hatch with good power looked an impossibility with the sky high prices. That is when the news of VW giving away the GTI on discounts were doing the rounds. By the time I got around to checking with the dealers about available stock, it was getting too late. No one had anything left and cars had disappeared rapidly from dealerships. It was clear that if the GTI plan did not work out, the only other option I had was a Mini Cooper S, used or otherwise. Found a dealer in Calicut who claimed he had a white GTI available with a few thousand kms on the odo but the car had to be shipped to the said dealership from Pune and had MH plates. I promptly paid an advance and booked it. Since I am from Bangalore, I also looked around in Bangalore dealerships and found nothing, until a close friend called to inform about a relatively new GTI someone wanted to sell. I was still recovering from the accident but quickly paid the person a visit and saw a "GTI" for the second time in life. Why second?

I had test driven the GTI a year earlier in 2017 while window shopping for one at a VW dealership and was blown away at the time by the eagerness of the engine, but the price kept me hesitating. Well, it was now a year later that I was looking at another GTI with a price tag that I could look at favourably without guilt and one that needed an owner. The car had 800kms on the odo, had 205/55R16 Michelin PS4's and a black wrap on it with the original colour being flashy red. It was registered towards end of January 2018 and was in the market for sale by March 2018 with 800km on the odo. Checked the car out and was extremely satisfied. It was pretty much a brand new car. My condition was so bad that I could not test drive the car properly but still managed to somehow sit inside it for a few kms before saying an emphatic "YES". I said I wanted the car as quickly as I could and promised to work on the finance asap. Exactly a week later, the GTI was in my basement parking. I could not even drive the car home myself on account of my condition. A friend had to do that for me while I sat in the passenger seat.

So,you read about a car, search for ownership reviews, look at pictures on forums and salivate looking at the car parked in your basement, but cannot drive it anywhere. These few weeks were a most trying time for me and I would go look at the car daily for hours, sit in all the seats and read the owners manual sitting in the car. The closest I got to driving was reversing it a few paces. Aleast I got a chance to go through the owners manual well enough for lack of a better thing to do. Some moments with the car in a short video.

https://youtu.be/tr6V7KXga8w

[megazoid]

Previously owned fun cars

A laura 1.8 TSI Petrol


A VW Polo 1.6 GT TDI


The Laura with that silky smooth engine and 6 speed manual was a brilliant mile muncher and a fast car. I would not say it was a great handler in stock trim even though the straight line stability was very good. The highlight was certainly the 1.8 TSI engine and it opened a new avenue for reliable fast motoring. Reason for saying reliable fast motoring is because of a swift turbopetrol that I had earlier owned which had an aftermarket turbo and made good power. But the car wasnt engineered to take the power well and while it made copious amounts of horsepower, it had visible shortcomings in the driving department with inadequate brakes and handling.

The polo 1.6 GT TDI was a quick, reliable and low maintanence car to own and drive and had everything going for it. This one also was setup for comfort and got improved agility once the B14s came on them. I had a long association with this one and really enjoyed the car.

So when the GTI came, it had the good bits of both these cars in one package. The size of the polo and the power of the Laura.

[megazoid]

Let me quickly summarize the nice and not so nice things about the GTI from my point of view.

Nice bits

- Engine and gearbox (peppy and quick)
- The DSG and paddles
- Handling
- Seats
- Safety
- Three doors
- Discreet looks

Could be better bits

- Steering feel could have been better
- Headlights can be better in both throw and illumination
- 17 inch wheels as stock was better
- Could have sat lower (another 20mm atleast)
- The low speed damping could have been better.

[megazoid]

Driving Impressions

After few weeks of mandatory rest due to the accident and when I had sufficiently recovered to drive the car properly, it was an overflow of bottled up enthusiasm. Felt absolutely comfortable with the seating position and the steering instantly. The steering is an EPS unit and is decent. The car had an eagerness that was just addictive. The agility was even more of a surprise. Direction changes were easy and one could dart into gaps and do overtakes safely without breaking sweat thanks to the quick shifting DSG and power on tap. The horsepower makes one feel safe from the dangers of our highways.

Before I forget to mention, I removed the black wrap as it was gathering dust all the time and I found it quite hard to keep it clean. It was a well executed wrap job and I felt a little sad tearing everything apart. But it also brought out the flashy red of the GTI.


The car was wrapped black when I got it first. This was on stock suspension


The flashy red colour out in the open now. Sitting on B12 coilovers

The flat bottomed steering is really nice to hold and gives a sporty feel. The steering rack is not the fastest and even though the steering could do with more feel, it is precise. I felt instantly at ease driving the car. The steering induces confidence in high speed corners where the car holds line beautifully.

On the highways, the most reassuring thing is the braking. It is devoid of drama and very effective.The polo 1.6 GT TDI had its biggest weakness in its braking along with excessive fade. The GTI on the other hand has really good braking obviously helped by the all disc setup. Have had multiple situations to thank the brakes. Prolonged hard usage can induce slight fade especially if one is on a tight twisty section for long periods with lots of hard braking and acceleration. This is true for any car and can easily be set right with performance pads, rotors and upgraded fluids if the need arises. The stock braking is adequate to deal with normal usecases and spirited runs very well. My rotors at both ends are on their way out at 30k. Will need a replacement soon. The brake pads lasted me close to 20000kms and is the most I have managed in any car till date.

The 1.6 GT TDI i was used to had a softer setup and I had gone in for Bilstein B14 coilovers for better dynamics. The suspension of the GTI is much better and even though the ride is a bit harsh at low speeds, it gives the car good dynamic ability overall. It is slightly skittish over mid corner imperfections, owing to the short wheelbase and stiffer springs. The only grouse I have is that it could have sat lower than 155mm (stock GC). Would have elevated the handling and made better photographs.

The electronic differential is a wonderful aid and helps with grip when the inner wheels lack bite around a turn. Helps with much better turn in and cuts understeer. Couple that with the well bolstered seats and you have the right ingredients to tackle a twisty road.

The rear seats are comfortable for passengers but the entry and exit is a little hard for the not so flexible folks and should be discounted for practical usage. Boot space is precious little and one needs to pack light for journeys. If on the other hand, there are only two in the car, the rear seats can be folded up to generate more space. I prefer to pack light and just use the luggage space alone.

The build quality is really good and the car feels built to last with good quality parts. All the knobs and switches feel good quality. The doors are massive and needs quite a lot of space to open. I have struggled with the door at many a parking lot and had to literally squiggle out of the car to avoid scratching the door. Tight parking spaces without width can be very difficult for the door opening ritual. Overall, the build quality lives up to the CBU tag.

[megazoid]

Power and Torque

192 PS@5400-6200 rpm
250 Nm@1250-5300 rpm



The engine is a sweet 1798cc, 4 Cylinders Inline, TSI motor. While these figures are not spectacular considering todays cars, the compact proportions and weight of the car (1273 kgs) make it a pretty quick one to pilot. Power to weight ratio of 151PS/tonne weighs favourably compared to a lot of other fast cars. The peak torque is available for a healthy rpm range(1250-5300) and starts early. The acceleration is brisk and speed builds up effortlessly. Slow speed cruising is as easy to do as much as a frantic scramble for higher speeds. I usually dont launch the car much, but the acceleration is intense if given the boot. The car does really well in the 0 to 160km range and has extremely good useable power. The top end could have been better but the 0-160km range takes care of the driving pleasure part adequately.

Looks




This is quite a subjective topic but the polo has a timeless appeal and with the right stance can be great to look at. It is not an attention seeker and while discreet enough, i also have had folks asking about the lack of the rear doors and how I got them taken off etc . Many pull alongside to check the doors to verify whether it is a modified Polo, as many tastefully modded Polos also exist on our roads that look a lot like the GTI.

[megazoid]

Ride and Handling

The ride at low speeds on the stock suspension is firm and on broken stretches will result in slight discomfort. The expansion joints on flyovers always result in a thud and the harshness can be felt inside the car. The handling on the other hand is just fabulous especially on smooth highway tarmac or undulating roads. Straight line stability is also very very good. The flip side is when one takes the car on broken patches, no not the pothole riddden roads that are plenty, but tarmac with slight broken surfaces and imperfections. This causes the car to get a bit unsetled and the passengers to also get thrown around a bit. This tradeoff is quite understandable and is in line with the character of the car.

The electronic differential along with the ESP work in tandem to get the best grip out of the front wheels and perceptibly cuts understeer and aids turn in. The beefier anti-roll bars also help with a more planted front end around corners. The car is not nervous at all on sweeping turns at higher speeds even with that short wheelbase.

This car runs a Bilstein B12 coilover (B8 shocks + Eibach springs) that makes it sit lower by 30mm and gives it slightly better agility around bends. Not by much mind you as the stock itself is fairly competent. If anything, it has made the steering feel better. The Bilsteins handle prolonged hard usage with more consistency than the stock dampers that goes a tad soft with heavy usage. Again, this is on long and hard usage especially on undulating tarmac. I moved to the bilsteins after clocking close to 18000km. I must state here that the stock suspension is quite good and is more than adequate for most usecases. For folks who want a bit of visual appeal and the benefits of a lower center of gravity, the combination I opted for is reasonably good. One other thing to mention is that the B12s are more comfortable than the stock suspension over broken patches but the tradeoff is the difficulty negotiating badly designed speed humps especially considering that extended lip of the GTI. The stock car has no such GC issues and can go pretty much anywhere.

[megazoid]

RON and gas mileage

The manufacturer recommends 95RON in the 45litre tank and I fill 99RON as much as I can except while on outstation trips where I really dont have a choice. Bangalore has HP power99 available near where I stay, so that makes it easy. I also carry a 10 litre jerry can of 99 RON fuel in that miniscule boot all the time. Pottering around town gives you 10 to 12kmpl easily. I dont drive in the city much and for highway drives, the fuel efficiency hovers between 12kmpl and 16kmpl under practical usecases. Have never used any octane boosters till date and it runs on regular 91RON on outstation duties. The fuel effeciency nosedives if given the beans on a twisty road with lots of braking and acceleration and can show 9kmpl too. But this is when driven very hard.

Service, Parts and Warranty

I get the car serviced at the VW service at Mahadevpura and do a 10K service interval instead of the 15k recommended one. Service costs are reasonable but the parts need to be ordered in advance keeping the service in mind. I order all the parts well before service and then drop the car, saving time and trouble., Have been through three service cycles and while not exactly stellar, the work has been good so far. The VW service guys have been accomodating enough to treat my requirements well and I have had a fairly satisfactory experience there. Needless to say, I personally take the car for every service and remain with the car till all the work is done. All that pranoia may be unwanted but I genuinely like being around the car while its ts being worked on. A routine service comes to around Rs 15-18k average.

The car comes with 2 years warranty. Have extended it to 5 years to have some peace of mind. One can renew the warranty yearly too.

Wheels and Tires

This GTI runs 205/55R!6 Michelin PS4's and is presently under tyred. The stock tires are 215/45R16. I got the car with Michelins on them at the time of purchase and they lasted 22000kms. I got the same Michelins back on again as PS4's aren't available in the stock size. The PS4's are quite good for the power this makes. Tire pressures as mentioned on the fuel lid are 39psi front and 35psi back. I keep these pressures and they have served me well.

[megazoid]

Interiors and Safety

The wide doors lead you into comfortable tartan seats with underseat storage that I discovered after a year of using the car. The doors can be a bit tricky to open in tight spaces and are heavy. Storage space is ok what with that underseat storage on the driver and passenger side. Passenger seat can also be adjusted for height.
I absolutely love the drivers seat. I sit very low and the under thigh support is quite good in this position. Since the steering wheel can be adjusted for rake and reach, the seat and the steering wheel together should allow almost everyone to arrive at a comfortable driving position. The seat movement forwards and backwards is old school wih the help of a lever. The seatbelts can't be adjusted for height That would have been a great convenience especially since the seat itself has good range of motion.


Cabin is a nice place to be in


Notice the very wide door


Cluster


MID and phone buttons on the right


Volume and Cruise control buttons to the left

The rear seats are comfortable but are difficult to access. One needs to fold the front seats forward using a lever on the backrest before getting in at the back and this might be an issue for some folks. While the seats themsleves are comfortable, the small non opening rear windows make one feel claustrophobic at the back. I found the back seat comfort more than my polo 1.6 TDI as far as under thigh support went. The legroom is less but the seats go deep and make it comfortable for most people. I am 5ft7 and it was quite alright for me. I have sat in the backseat on drives for an entire day without any discomfort. The front seats are very well bolstered as can be seen from the picture below and come handy during rapid direction changes..


The rear seats go deep and provide good thigh suport. Leg room is scarce.

The AC is effective except during the hot summer months where almost everything feels inadequate. Automatic climate control is also present. The touchscren infotainment is easy to use and displays a variety of driving data and settings. Quite intuitive and easy. What you also get is Bluetooth, full LED headlights with DRLs and cruise control.

Few features expected that are not on the equipment list are keyless entry, an engine start/stop button, rear camera, electronically folding external mirrors, automatic headlamps and wipers.


The back seat view of the world is a tad claustrophobic

Safety is well taken care off in the GTI. You get six airbags, ABS with EBD, and Isofix points in the rear.


Adequate safety features built in

The tiny boot can accomodate very little and one needs to pack light for trips. The boot bed also has the spare wheel neatly laid out with the essential tools.


Not much for luggage


space saver tire


Seen are the LED headlights with DRLs, fog lamps and the honeycomb grille with GTI badging,


The DRLs and the fogs

The headlights could have been a little better in illumination is what I felt. Not sure if the eyesight is going bad or the headlights are not strong enough.


The pedals are excellent for grip. There is a small dead pedal tucked away in the corner. The brakes in the initial days of ownership used to feel a touch grabby but over time I have gotten used to them. They are fuss free and effective and one of the biggest strengths of the car.

Miscellaneous notes

The audio for me is quite ok and I am not discerning enough to comment on the finer aspects of audio quality. I play my music from a USB drive. An AUX port and bluetooth can also act as audio sources. The storage bits in the car are varied. The water bottle recess on the doors can be troublesome in side to side movements of the car say when there are lots of direction changes. I have had bottles fall off into the footwell from both the doors while driving many many times. A bit of a nuisance perhaps. The storage area under the front seat can hold a few small things only. A wallet or cell phone can be stowed away neatly when one is away from the car. The sun visor on both sides have vanity mirrors and they switch on the driver or passenger side lights automatically as you slide open the mirror flap. A good convenience to have. The seats have back pockets that can be used to keep papers or a file or a magazine. But tthe seat fabric is delicate and it is better not to slide rough objects into the back pockets. The lever to make the seats bend forward is also delicate and needs careful handling. Cabin sound insulation is excellent and keeps the noisy exterior at bay quite well.

[megazoid]

Repairs and Issues

Since this is a two years and 30,000km review, one of the most important thngs playing on a car owner's mind would be the relaibility of such a car. Almost anyone who considered this car at some point in time earlier or even now for that matter as a used car option, would have given reliability and maintanence a fair bit of thought. I would be lying if I said these did not play on my mind at the time of purchase.

But on hindsight, I am quite pleased with the ownership experience. The VW service is competent enough to handle the car well enough and more importantly the car itself has been reliable during this time. Service intervals are at 15K and regular consummables like filters, oil, pads, plugs don't cost the moon and are usually stocked at service without needing prior ordering. It alway helps to go over the required items for service in advance so that you can place your order just in case something is missing. My rotors need replacing and have to be ordered as they dont seem to be available in the parts bin. A bit of networking with the folks at service always helps and is recommended too.

I clock around 15000kms a year and mostly get to drive on reasonably good roads but have had my share of bad luck with potholes and stone hits etc. This is the time I feel the 16 inch wheels were savnig me a lot of trouble. We were a bunch of cars driving to Goa and I got a bad stone hit on the front glass from another car ahead, leading to a wide crack appearing. The wndshield repair was done under insurance and cost Rs 24000 or thereabouts. The glass itself was very expensive to start with. On the flip side, anyone tailing the GTI at decent speeds on a dirty road is in serious danger of damaging their windshield or headlight. The car has no rear mud flaps and keeps throwing muck and stones all around. Few underbelly scrapes due to my lowered ride height (approx 130mm) on some difficult roads have also happened but the wins are too many with the B12's for me to really feel bad about these.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[JojyKerala]

This car looks like a dashing beauty in red. I also liked the black wrap.

The way you acquired this car makes for an interesting read since you bought it during recovery and could only test its potential much later. Hope the owner had a solid reason to let go of this beauty so soon with only 800km on the ODO - his loss is your gain!

[iliketurtles]

Congrats on a lovely little car Megazoid! You had me hooked at red and lowered

I enjoy a good nap, and so it's no surprise I enjoy my car as sleepers. The GTI is one of the best examples of it as there's no evidence of it being a brute in the slightest until you know what you're looking for and give it a second glance. It's a handsome, understated thing too, and will surely be hot property on the pre-owned market whenever it pops up on the radar.

Tell me a bit more about the B12's. A friend of mine had it on his F30, and complained of its unbearable stiffness in the city. I'm a bit curious as to why you went for this over the B6s or even B14s.

In any case, I'm glad you've enjoyed driving the car as much as you have. Do keep posting pics of her as and when you get the chance. Happy motoring!

[megazoid]

Originally Posted by JojyKerala

This car looks like a dashing beauty in red. I also liked the black wrap.

Glad!
I also found the black wrap quite beautiful. But each drive made it look extremely dirty for some reason and when a chance presented itself, I took the plunge and disrobed it.

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Congrats on a lovely little car Megazoid! You had me hooked at red and lowered

Tell me a bit more about the B12's. A friend of mine had it on his F30, and complained of its unbearable stiffness in the city. I'm a bit curious as to why you went for this over the B6s or even B14s.

Thanks!

I am surprised your friend finds it uncomfortable. Perhaps he was used to something more comfortable prior to the change to feel that way.

Like I mentioned, I had some experience with a B14 kit on the Polo 1.6 TDI, and while it offered the ability to adjust height, reduced body roll substantially and mproved poise around turns, it was a bit too stiff and uncomfortable on bad roads. I ran the B14s when the car was 5000km young to when it clocked 60000km and actually never adjusted ride height ever. So a coilover that gave me a fixed lowering and a more comfortable feel was the answer.

The middle ground looked to be a lowering spring with a compatible shock and B12 fit the bill perfectly. There were other options like the KW street comforts and the ST coilovers etc. Many also run independent lowering springs like cobra with their choice of shocks. Since I had some prior experience using Bilsteins, I chose to go that route and more importantly the spring and shock came married from the factory and I didnt have to make them compatible .

[Viraat13]

Hey Megazoid,

Lovely thread! Rating it 5 stars.

GTI is a dream for many of us GT owners. I too have my sights on one, but wonder if/when I'll be able to realise this dream!

I wish you many happy miles.

Originally Posted by megazoid

I have had bottles fall off into the footwell from both the doors while driving many many times. A bit of a nuisance perhaps.

I just want to point out that this can be dangerous if the bottle manages to roll under the brake pedal. Please avoid keeping a water bottle in the door pocket if it doesn't stay in place.

I myself use the gap between the seat and the hand brake to store a slim water bottle (500/750 ml).

[WhiteKnight]

An incredible car to own. Congratulations. Appreciate your opinion on the following,

• Have you travelled with passengers at the rear? If so, how do they find/cope up the lack of doors?

• A comparison with Laura tsi and duster Awd, please?

Thank you