[issigonis]

Lads,

I and family did the Bombay-Trimbakeshwar-Nasik-Shirdi-Bombay trip on 23rd-24th January. This had been in the works for some time as my mater wanted to visit Shirdi for a long time. Since she has difficulty climbing stairs, I had planned an overnight stay in Ginger at Nasik, the plan being to drive down from Bombay to Trimbakeshwar, thence to Nasik for the overnight stay and then proceed to Shirdi for the darshan next morning, finally returning that evening to Bombay.

The trip was a mixed bag ( as is life!), wherein we managed to do the darshan at Trimbakeshwar ( one of the twelve jyotirlingas, and the source of the venerated river Godavari, but we could not do the darshan at Shirdi.

As I prefer crisp, concise text, I have a log which I will upload here, to provide factual details of our trip.

We managed to take a few snaps, which I am uploading here.

I must mention that the car behaved impeccably and was as solid, reliable, fast, stable and confidence inspiring as I had expected. Thanks to it, I had a pleasurable time driving it and was fresh after my trip. In fact I was thinking of doing a quick Bombay to Virar run at midnight, just for the heck of it, but my brain reminded me of the work piling up in the office for Monday 25th ( 26th being a holiday), prompting me to back off.

We will be travelling to Udaipur and its surroundings in early February; that time round I will ensure that I shoot more snaps.

Till then.

Regards

[sbraj]

Nice pics.

Any pics of the car itself on the trip? Get some, as I think, it will look wonderful with these surroundings.

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by issigonis

As I prefer crisp, concise text, I have a log which I will upload here, to provide factual details of our trip.

Your trip log reflects the same. It is crisp, concise, clear and unambiguous. How did you manage the noting down the time to the last minute?

Does your Jetta have GPS integrated with Odo? Which brand? Does it support a printed summary after the trip?

[issigonis]

sbraj,

Thank you for your comments.

I couldn't take any pics as i was the only driver, and since quite a few pics of the car have already been taken in trips earlier, my wife was not exactly very enthusiastic either!

But I will certainly take pics of the car in its surroundings on my next trip.

My daughter and wife were writing down on a hard copy of an excel, based on my observations from the dashboard. They were the navigators- sort off. That's all.

I don't have a GPS. Correct me if I am wrong, but I have this feeling that GPS might not be a very good option in India, especially outside of major cities.

The idea was, if I could note down accurately the directions that I took, it might help others who are doing the trip. Just as HVK's logs are an immense help, especially in places which don't have mobile coverage or proper signage. Of course in my case here, Shirdi is a very well travelled road and you can't go wrong. Still, my experience on the Sinnar-Ghoti route was to avoid it next time, as the bad sections were really bad and bone jarring.

Regards and happy driving.

[shankar.balan]

wonderful crisp, no-nonsense narrative. nice pics too. Didnt realize they took wind power so seriously in Upstate MH!
and the VW Jetta looks really really nice. Lovely colour too!

[nbr]

nice pics and good looking car.Jetta has solid road presence too.

[sbraj]

issigonis, apologize if I am asking too many questions. How does the rear trunk door of Jetta open? I searched in all the reviews here in this forum, but could not get a clear answer.

Does it open like normal sedans - boot alone?
Or does it open like Accent viva - boot + rear windshield?
Or does it open in both of the above fashion like Superb?

Somewhat confused here, as VW brochure talks of Jetta as a notchback model.

Appreciate the help in advance.

[Vid6639]

sbraj, it opens like in normal sedans i.e. boot alone. It is not a notchback like the Laura.

Also IIRC there is no remote boot release. It is only the key that opens the boot.

[issigonis]

Originally Posted by sbraj

issigonis, apologize if I am asking too many questions. How does the rear trunk door of Jetta open? I searched in all the reviews here in this forum, but could not get a clear answer.

Does it open like normal sedans - boot alone?
Or does it open like Accent viva - boot + rear windshield?
Or does it open in both of the above fashion like Superb?

Somewhat confused here, as VW brochure talks of Jetta as a notchback model.

Appreciate the help in advance.

sbraj,

vid6639 is correct : the boot opens individually. You use the key to 1. either open all doors and the boot ( in which case you pull on the lever under the VW logo and the spring loaded rod pushes the boot up, or 2. push the switch for the boot to open by itself.

Regards

[issigonis]

Posted twice over- please delete.

Regards

[issigonis]

Lads,

We ( I and the family) returned home after a ten day Bombay- Udvada - Udaipur -Mount Abu- Bombay trip.

My wife wrote the log and took the snaps. I could concentrate on the driving.
The trip was wonderful, the drives even more so. The climate was excellent and we got some good pics, which we will put along with the log (s) after we do some sifting through. Am currently neck deep in work and have had no time to work on the travelogue; hope to start by the end of this week in order to start my uploads here soon after.

The only rift in the lute was an accident that I suffered when a Mahindra Scorpio rear ended me some 30 odd kms north of Ahmedabad, en route from Mount Abu- Palanpur -Mehsana - Ahmedabad. What gets my goat was that this driver was almost tail gating me and could not stop in time and then he had the gall to tell me it was my fault.

However the owner ( the guilty party was the driver) has promised to foot the bill; I am keeping my fingers crossed as the amount is steep. Damage : A. replacement of rear bumper, rear right side tail light, rear bumper spoiler;b.services include painting and scanning of electronics.

Thankfully the car has a comprehensive insurance; so that option can be exercised.

The Jetta was the cynosure wherever it went; at the Maharana of Udaipur's vintage garage, the manager saw the car and asked a lot of questions, even going to the extent of asking me about its superiority as compared to a C Class and Bimmers, to which I gently told him that VW is a mainstream brand whereas the Merc and BMW are luxury brands, (albeit positioned for different owner types) and hence the latter have higher quality benchmarks- I don't think he quite got me.

Among other things, we did not have access to the latest news through newspapers but saw the horror of the German Bakery in Pune. Apart from the personal tragedies, the overwhelming thought is that the perpetrators are nothing but savages and criminals. Equally worrying is the thought that these atrocities will likely continue as long as state sponsored hatred continues.

Also missed out on Dale Steyn's destructive burst of fast bowling in the Nagpur Test- must have been thrilling to watch for cricket aficionados!

Will post the travelogue and pics as soon as I can put these into a reasonable shape.

Safe driving.

Regards

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by issigonis

What gets my goat was that this driver was almost tail gating me and could not stop in time and then he had the gall to tell me it was my fault.

It is always better to allow such guys to pass. Typically cab drivers/chauffeurs driving vehicles not owned by them. They don't care about damages.

Originally Posted by issigonis

The Jetta was the cynosure wherever it went; at the Maharana of Udaipur's vintage garage, the manager saw the car and asked a lot of questions

Jetta has some sort of classic, lazy elegance attached to it. It is not a dramatic eye catcher, but once it catches the eye, one keeps looking at it. It slowly grows on you.

[issigonis]

Lads,

I'll post the Bombay -Udvada-Udaipur-Mount Abu-Bombay travelogue next week after editing it to manageable proportions.

Based on my driving experience (excellent). re. road manners, safety, acceleration, braking, sustained safe but high speeds in my trip, I plan to do a Bombay -Corbett-Bombay trip in October, followed by a Bombay - Barmer-Jodhpur-Jaisalmer-Bombay trip next January.

Shorter trips ( Poona, Lavasa, Dahanu) will happen with far greater frequency.

Regards

[issigonis]

>>>

Today the engine oil lamp lit up (orange) indicating the need for engine oil top up. The odo read 19094 kms. I topped up with the Castrol Magnatec Professional B4 5W 40, conforming to VW 505.01 - about 400ml.

The car was serviced (first service) in early June 2010 at about 14500 kms.

I have two queries :

1. There was an engine oil top up ( 1 litre - 400 ml that I used up today) in January this year (can't remember the odo figure offhand but reckon it must have been about 6500 kms). Then the engine oil level was checked at the first service about 8000 kms later.

So, the engine oil consumption looks like this :

i. Top up at about 6500 kms - 600 ml
ii. Check at 14500kms - reckon the engine oil must've been filled, have to check and update here
iii. Top up at 19094 kms - 400 ml

Is this consumption pattern ok? The car is used for city driving nearly 75% of the time, with a long distance drive (> 300 kms up and down) once every six weeks.

2. Should I shift from the authorised VW workshop recommended Castrol to another engine brand, obviously conforming to VW 505.01? If so which one and what benefits should I hope to expect?

I drive carefully and enthusiastically occasionally ( don't think have taken the revs above 3500 ever)

Regards, drive safe, take care of your machinery

P.S. : This is the 1896 cc TDI pump duse diesel.

[issigonis]

>>>

I am driving to Uttarakhand (Kumaon) and to Delhi this December for thirteen days and will be doing close to 3900 kms over that period.

For details please see the link : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...red-baron.html

I will take the Jetta through a comprehensive health check at the workshop prior to the drive; it has done about 19300 kms so far and I have driven it on many long distance trips over the last eighteen months.

It has been serviced once, at the end of one year.

I will compile a long term ownership report after the trip.

Regards, drive safe