I went down to Vinayak Auto on Saturday for a nice long TD. The senior salesperson Robin was more than glad to provide a TD even before the official launch which was on Saturday evening.
When we saw the car pull up to the parking lot, we were completely awestruck. This car looks huuuuge. It was like a limo pulling up. Design is subjective so will not go too much into details. Only part I did not like too much was the rear. Looks too plain jane. The car's length is 4.83m which is actually lesser than the Accord's 4.95m, but it looks bigger. This is because of the short bonnet and the short boot and the cabin i.e. A-pillar to C-pillar extended to the edge which gives it a very long roofline.
Now we come to my favourite part, the interiors. Another shock when we get into the car. The quality of the interiors is simply mindblowing. Forget the C-clas and the 3 series, the interior quality is right up there with the BMW 5 and the S class. Full Nappa leather and soft touch plastics all around. It just reeks of sheer class and quality. The wood finish is actual wood, the proper chrome surrounds for dials and AC vents. After you overcome the initial shock of the interior quality, you begin to realise the interior space in this car. It is massive. The 12 way electric seats with memory means you can achieve the perfect driving position. 12 way means the lumbar support can be adjusted not just horizontally but vertically as well. As is the ritual I set the drivers seat to my position i.e. full back. But there is a problem, me being 6 feet tall am unable to reach the pedals. Then I try to see the space at the rear. It is unbeliavable. My 6 foot friend can sit without his knees even close to touching the front seat. There is one foot of legroom with the front seat pulled to the rear. The Accord had tons of legroom but this does even better. Moreover the seat height is more than the Accord and getting in and out is easier, also thanks to the massive doors which are not curved. The rear view is a bit hampered as a result of the sloping rear windshield.
Now let's see how good the 1.8 TFSI engine is. Start up is super silent. No sound during idle whatsoever. A bit of info on the 1.8TFSI engine and the 7 speed DSG box. The 1.8 engine is turbocharged and unlike conventional engines uses fuel stratified injection to inject fuel directly into the combustion chamber. So air enters into the combustion chamber and fuel is then sprayed into the combustion chamber near the spark directly unlike conventional engines which let the air-fuel mix before entering the combustion chamber. This allows more control over the amount of fuel injection and thereby gives better efficiency and higher torque. It's like a CRDI petrol engine. 250Nm of torque is available from 1500rpm till 4500rpm. The new 7 speed DSG box is supposed to augment this engine. It is the second generation DSG box. The older one was the 6 speed found in the Jetta/Laura and Passat. The new box has a dry clutch system compared to the older one which had an oil bath. This increases the gearbox efficiency and is also supposed to be more reliable than the older one. Ths shift times are also lesser. To increase the life further the 1st gear is very short to prevent slipping of the clutch in traffic.
The car is very torquey, almost diesel like. Past 3000rpm when the turbo kicks in the pick up is relentless. It pushes you to the back of the seat. Even in AT the 1st gear needs getting used to. It's very short and the box is intelligent to use 1st only to start from standstill. It tries to pull from second most of the time at slow speeds. This was a minor irritant as second struggles sometimes to pull the car and as a result it vibrates a bit. In D mode the box is quick to upshift and even reaches 6th at 80kmph. the gearing is short so second will get you only to 80kmph if you puch the car in sports mode or manual mode. The gearbox is even better than the old 6 speed one with no jerks and very quick shifts. The engine for a 1.8 is very sprightly. I never felt for a second that the engine was lacking in grunt. It may not be as quick as the 2400cc Accord but it feels quicker as the power is in the low-mid band and not in the higher rpm's. We were doing 80kmph easily on small stretches and on one stretch of ring road she touched 150kph effortlessly.
The suspension is tuned for ride comfort but is still on the firm side. The firmness is felt at slow speeds where it transmits the sharp rough patches to the cabin. The suspension does not crash neither is it audible in the cabin but you feel the rough patches especially any sharp edge on the road. Once speeds pick up it's a magic carpet ride. The car doesn't pitch/bounce around as much as the Accord neither is it too hard. It just absorbs everything. Ground clearance is 158mm so speedbreakers are not that much of a problem.
The handling is not sporty but neither is it too soft. front and rear anti roll bars means the car does not roll even when pushed hard into the corner. I took the hebbal flyover loops at 90kmph and it just stuck to the road not rolling a bit so as to make the rear passengers uncomfy. The steering is one of the best I have experienced in any car. Its not as heavy as the 3 series neither is it like the C class. It gives perfect feedback and is easy to drive in traffic and weighs up beautifully as speeds build up. It's an electro mechanical unit. Compared to the Accord this car handles and rides way better. Braking was a bit weird. At slow speeds in traffic, the brakes were very strong and would stop at a small tap of the pedal. But as speeds build up the pedal needed a lot more force to brake. The braking was good but pedal feel varied.
I can go on and on about the features but that would be way too long. I'll mention a few unique ones.
-The park assist is fantastic on the 7" colour display and is a breeze to use. The display is a complete Alpine touch unit and is very easy to use.
-The HHC hill hold control applies the brake when teh car is at an incline automatically to prevent roll back. It deactivates the brakes when you press the gas pedal.
-The car has electronic differential lock, ESP, ASR, EBD, ABS, TCS and what not.
-The interior illumination is crazy. The door lock buttons and the door handle get illuminated as well as outside puddle lights and interior footwell lights for all doors.
-There's an umbrella in the rear left door with a drip dry system so you can slot it in even when it's wet.
-Bi xenons with automatic beam pattern adjust based on steering input, speed, rain and load.
-8 airbags.
-Twin door. You either open the full hatch or just the boot like a sedan. This can be done from the remote. Also there are electric motors which close the boot gently on their own.
-Full onboard computer.
- AC vents on the B-pillar.
There are many more but these are the uber cool ones.
Mileage was 7kmpl when I pushed the car hard. It was at 9kmpl when my friend drove it normally.
Verdict. This car is a steal for 22.8L onroad bangalore. It's sheer VFM. Forget the poor after sales of Skoda when you are getting such a fantastic product. The risk is worth it any day. Either buy a boring car with good after sales or a "superb" car with poor after sales.
I don't know who would want to pay almost the same amount (actually 40K lesser) for an Accord AT when they can have this.
PS: it may be parked in my garage in a month's time. |