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-   -   Got my VW Jetta. EDIT: Now sold (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/65289-got-my-vw-jetta-edit-now-sold.html)

Hi, for the sake of reference I had sent a letter to an auto magazine in May 2009 on which car to purchase :

I am looking for a new car with the following requirements :

1. My driving is about 30 kms per day in Mumbai and its suburbs. Additionally I plan to take the car for long trips ( 500-2000 km journeys) once every three months, for my family of four with luggage.
2. Ability to seat four - five people in comfort ( leg, shoulder and head room) over long distances, over India's bad roads.
2. Power more than 150 bhp; Torque at least 250 Nm.
3. Easy on maintenance & fuel consumption ( at least 10-12 kmpl at 40 kmph over Mumbai's pot holed roads).
4. Budget - from 10 lacs to 18 lacs
5. Should not depreciate disastrously- plan to keep it for about 10 years and then sell it. So availability of spares & reliable service will be important.

Please advise and let me know how to go about it. I am willing to wait for about 3-6 months for a new car/engine to be launched.

The magazine responded and asked me to consider the Fortuner or the new Laura.

I was unsure about the launch date of the Fortuner( and didn't like its overly butch looks) and didn't fancy the Laura either. By that time I had done some comparisons between the Laura and the Jetta and plumped for the latter.

Note that I had no preferences on petrol or diesel engines; only that there was no RS at that time. Since the petrol Jetta seemed underpowered and did not have adequate creature comforts, I had no option but to choose the 1.9TDI.

However, till date, I have had no regrets ( the car bought in early June 2009 has done 2500+kms, including trips to Igatpuri, Alibaug and Dahanu). The power delivery is near seamless, with terrific torque. Fuel consumption varies between 10 kmpl in the Bombay suburbs to 14 kmpl on the highway.

The greatest plus point is the sense of security and comfort that I feel, especially facing atrocious driving by Sumo-Tavera-Honda City-Maruti Swift drivers as they weave in and out like latter day Dhyan Chands on wheels!

The Jetta sure makes me smile.

At the end of the day, this is all that counts. Congratulations on the Jetta! It meets your requirements to the T. How about some pictures & additional details on your new car (detailed driving impression, what you liked / didn't etc.).

Actually, your statement is a paradox. If you are going to retain the car for 10 years, resale should be the lowest priority.

Hope you got yourself their 3 year maintenance package and 4 year warranty.

I've moved your post out of CLS' Jetta review into a new thread.

wow, first things first i.e. congratulations,
its the awesome German Build quality and enginering (forces) working to give you this feeling of safety and satisfaction.

Hi GTO,

Thank you.
As you can see, the resale value criterion is the least important in my list!
Choosing a VW was easy as I had driven a Polo sedan earlier, and this was far superior to the Corolla (Altis in India; although the Corolla that I used had a displacement of, I think 1.6 litres).
To come to my decision making process:
1. I considered five marques/models - the Honda Accord, the Honda Civic, the Toyota Altis, The VW Jetta and the Skoda Laura in April-May 2009. In fact I had read effusive reports about the Octavia RS Turbo and was greatly interested in checking that out, courtesy rave reviews in AutoCar India, a couple of years ago.
2. I rejected the Accord as i. I had to stretch my already stretched budget( the V6 was what I was initially interested in), and ii. it seemed a bit 'loud'
3. As the RS had been phased out and as my driving on a daily basis wasn't much, my preference initially was solidly for a petrol engine. I was forced to consider diesels as I was checking out both Skoda and VW.
4. The Skoda went out next as I discovered that (although the two models shared the engine, the gearbox and possibly the chassis) the VW being the mainstream brand had slightly higher quality benchmarks; I didn't know about any issues with Skoda's after sales service then.
5. I test drove the Altis, ensuring that my mother and my wife were there to check out the space and comfort levels at the back. I took one hour driving through the route that I normally take on a daily basis to check the road manners, brakes, my comfort feel and so on. I didn't race as there was no clear length of road to take the car past 60 kmph!
6. Then, I test drove the Jetta TDI Comfortline as I did for the Altis (Presidential Cars Mumbai were not very professional about arranging the drive and the manager was expecting me to finish the drive in about half-an-hour.)
7. The Honda dealer (s) goofed up a bit because they didn't have the AT version for a test drive( I was considering the auto only, to drive in Bombay's maddening traffic) and they lacked co-ordination between them.

6. My impressions after the drives, were :

Altis - Ok but flimsy. Not very assured over potholes at 20 kmph. A little lightweight for me. Not very comfortable for my mother (with arthritis), at the back.
Jetta - Solid. Very assured over potholes and road joints. Good space. Good torque pulling to about 60 kmph, as above.

Civic AT - Stylish looking. Good pickup. Not as assured over potholes and road joints. Low seating at the back a negative for elderly people. No ac vent at the back.

So you have it. It was a no-brainer for me.

I have taken the car to Uran, Igatpuri, Alibaug and Dahanu on weekends and it does the regular office commute five days a week.
I use Indian Oil's Extra Mile and its been fill it shut it and forget it so far.
I must add that I have been very careful and have rarely gone beyond 2000 revs ( even when doing 100+kmph) and have accelerated gradually.
I was actually waiting for news about the VW Golf GTi from VW India and when I understood that there was no way that they would introduce it in India soon, I knew there wasn't any point waiting any longer.
In a nutshell I bought it to commute and drive safely over long distances and bad road conditions.
Including a few snaps taken on day 1, just before the registration no. was to be pasted. Will post detailed pics once I take them!

Regards.

First time seeing a red jetta. Must say the car looks magnificent. And having driven one already, it's a very good buy! :thumbs up

Awesome man ! And yeah, she looks lovely in red

Having driven my uncle's I can say that piloting her is a wonderful experience, courtesy the perfectly weighted steering, though i dint like that ear splitting booming when you take her to the redline. But you're not intending on driving her enthusiastically often are you?

Cheers anyway

nice color.Congrats. Please post some more pictures particularly , the Interiors. What about the Fuel Efficiency you are getting ?

Congratulations

car looks great, solid build, spacious.

What was the On road price (if you can disclose)
What standard accessories were provided by the dealer
what additional accessories you bought / plan to buy
post some pictures of the interiors, dashboard, leg room etc if possible

drive same, have fun

Wow, that colour looks really "rich". Congrats again.

Please don't waste your money on these so-called premium diesels. Not only are you paying extra $$$ for zero benefit, some of these additives can actually destroy the diesel engine. Many German car owners have found out the wrong way (search the forum).

Best to use pure regular diesel. It's the purity that counts the most. Stick to COCO (company owned company operated) pumps.

Did you buy the manual or DSG? Lovely car! I love VW's! Congrats!

Congrats on the car. Looks wonderful in red.

With red do they give the black dash or the beige one?

Ps: Man, Jettas seem to be getting popular on team-bhp.

i think the jetta is a class above the civic and carolla!! no offense to owners of these cars obviously.

but you get side and curtain airbags. solid body!! 16" Toronto alloys!! those LED lamps!! great interior fit and finish and understated class appeal!! in comfortline the DSG gear box and 8 airbags as standard!!

you could have gone out and bought the accord but i guess you prefer class and quality over big car feel!!. not that jetta is small :D its perfect!!

congratulations!!

Hi GTO,

I tried searching for threads on quality of fuel available in Mumbai petrol pumps...but found nothing. Will appreciate if COCO pumps are listed ( if anyone has such a list) for Mumbai. I generally go to the Indian Oil pump at the domestic airport - my reasoning being that that pump might not like to supply inferior fuel as it is right in the eye of the public, especially VIPs who use the airport!

Congrats. The interiors look very plush in the Jetta.

I expected the Jetta to have more space in the rear though.

Its black (see pix)

Hey congrats on the really nice colored jetta. Do post some more pics especially of the interiors. Heres wishing you many fun filled miles ahead :)

Shyam