[84.monsoon]

Thanks guys, for your comments and congratulations!

Originally Posted by donarun

@84.monsoon - Great car and beautiful pictures. What was the on road price in chennai ? Any idea on the waiting period for polo diesel's ?

Congrats on your new Polo! I too want this one but cant spent 6.6 ! My budget is only under 6 and I want diesel :(

Actually the on-road price was not far from your target price - It is 6.11 Lakhs on-road Chennai.

I noticed that the blackened part of the B Pillar does not open with the door. So what actually holds those window glasses when the doors are open

The B Pillar is just like a normal one, it is simply Black in color for aesthetic reasons. Functionally, it is he same as in any other hatch.

Nice looking car but can you share your buying experience? What are the service intervals, OTR price etc?

Overall the buying experience with Dealer was quite positive. The delays on account of delivery from VW is another matter. I had to wait nearly 3 months end-to-end from booking to delivery.

Service interval is 15,000 KM which is great news for owners. On the door side, there is a sticky that says first service due according to indicated kms but no later than 2 years. Some it is 15K km or 2 years whichever is later. There is a count-down display in the instrument cluster which shows how many KMs are left before next service.

Any idea on the waiting period for polo diesel's ?

I have visited the Chennai dealership a few times now in the last month. Yesterday, I was there to get floor mats and mud-guards fixed. Normally I see only 2-3 Polos parked in the dealership if at all, ready for delivery. Yesterday, for the first time, I saw approximately 20 Polos of various trims and colors gettign readied for delivery. They were everywhere, and the entire team was working hectically to get the cars ready for delivery. They even seemed to have hired temporary drivers to take the cars to their new owners!

Had a short conversation with one of the managers. The production facility in Chakkan is "state of the art" according to him and capable of rolling out a car every four minutes. Only the company was having trouble training the Indian workforce and suppliers on the stringent quality system and standards. The Germans will not compromise on this. (this is versus the reports of shortages of engines etc that I heard in other forums here on team-BHP) Accoring to him, the training issues were getting fixed now.

So I think the volumes should really surge now - the waiting periods projected now (4-6 months) may only be worst case projections and deliveries will scale up very quickly now (my opinion)

Most of the cars I saw were Petrol TL/CL models (70%) There were a couple of highlines and about 3 Diesels. Besides Red the other color that looks good IMO is Black. I saw a Black Highline Disel and it was really impressive lookign and classy.

[gemithomas]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

T
The B Pillar is just like a normal one, it is simply Black in color for aesthetic reasons. Functionally, it is he same as in any other hatch.

I mean on other cars the B pillar is covered by the door and that part opens with the door. On the polo it seems that black part does not open with the door. It is the actual B pillar that you see.

[nkrishnap]

Congrats on the Polo Diesel. Is the turbo lag annoying in the city drive?

The Red Polo looks very nice. By the way what is that orange thingy on the boot in the 4th pic?

[pawan_pullarwar]

Congratulations.. Your's is the first diesel Polo in Team-BHP. Please do post your day by day experience.

How was the engine sound when you drove her to 120 KMPH?

[arnabchak]

The very best colour for a very good hatch.

the review is well written. Awaiting the review once the beauty shows its prowess on the highway!!

Congrats on the buy...

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Besides Red the other color that looks good IMO is Black. I saw a Black Highline Disel and it was really impressive lookign and classy.

Congratulations 84.monsoon!!

Was late to see this thread. Felt very nice reading your review. nice to know that Black Polo looks classy. i have not seen one myself.

[driverace]

Congratulations to 84.monsoon!
Good choice of car and color!
Looks nice and mean!

Waiting for even more detailed review.
What upgrades you looking at?

Take good care of the Polo! (that you will, I am sure!!)

Ace.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Very nice looking car; congratulations

Another specific question for you: how do you feel about the ground clearance? whilst it is obviously fine for proper roads, and maybe a pothole or two, some of the roads near my house are tracks with no tarmac or concrete.

[joe1980]

The build quality looks superior. I guess this could be because of the 80% non localization. Did you try doing long drives sitting in the rear seat?

Can you also post the FE figures?

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by joe1980

The build quality looks superior. I guess this could be because of the 80% non localization. Did you try doing long drives sitting in the rear seat?

Can you also post the FE figures?

IMO 80% non localization is in terms of Cost. Body parts will be locally manufactured.

Build quality is the main Bait!

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

IMO 80% non localization is in terms of Cost. Body parts will be locally manufactured.

Build quality is the main Bait!

Chetan, you are spot on. I have been checking the various parts under the bonnet and almost every one of them is made in Germany, including simple looking things like cables, pipes and tank caps. The body parts like the window glass is definitley made in India. Even for Indian made parts, the quality seems very good, and attention to detail is awesome. I saw a Figo discussion where the owner talks about the fabric on the inner roof not being stuck to the roof properly and hanging loose like a tent...I don't think we will have any such issues with the Polo.

A nice feature which I was not aware of being present in the Trendline model is "auto-down" driver side window. This is great help at toll booths etc.

The build quality looks superior. I guess this could be because of the 80% non localization. Did you try doing long drives sitting in the rear seat? Can you also post the FE figures?

I have not personally been on a long drive in the rear seat but my wife did. She complained about the leg space when sitting behind me, since I have push the seat back quite a bit. But other than that, the actual seating comfort in terms of back and leg support seems to be quite good.

I have not yet had a chance to go back to fuel the car to calculate a precise FE figure. I have driven 150 KMs sicen topping up th etank and the digital fuel gauge has still not gone down below 7/8th full.

Another specific question for you: how do you feel about the ground clearance? whilst it is obviously fine for proper roads, and maybe a pothole or two, some of the roads near my house are tracks with no tarmac or concrete.

I found the ground clearance very much adequate for the kind of roads and bumps in Chennai that I have encountered so far. I neven had bottom scraping problems. The wheelbase is shorter than sedans so that helps too...The suspension seems to be farily firm and the 168 mm clearance is reasinably high in my opinion.

What upgrades you looking at?

I wanted keyless entry, 15 inch alloy wheels, seat covers, floor mats and mud gaurds. Already got the last 2 (1800 fro rubber floor mats and 1100 for mud guards). The dealer says VW will not sell the alloy wheels for a few months sicen they want to retain some differentiaiton between the highline version and other versions at least initially. Even if and when they do come, he said it is expected to cost Rs.16K per wheel! That would be an expensive upgrade taking the price close to Highline...so I am looking at some aftermarket options for the wheel upgrade. Key less entry is alos not available expected to come in around July-August. I am not a fan of side sjirts etc. so not going in for any of those. The Chennai dealer seems a bit pricey - they quoted 7.6 K for an imitation leather seat cover. I have to decide if I want to do that or get it elsewhere this weekend.

[adi99]

How about going for an aftermarket keyless entry, say like Autocop or Nippon? Does VW have a problem with this?

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

I have not yet had a chance to go back to fuel the car to calculate a precise FE figure. I have driven 150 KMs sicen topping up th etank and the digital fuel gauge has still not gone down below 7/8th full.

I wanted keyless entry, 15 inch alloy wheels, seat covers, floor mats and mud gaurds. Already got the last 2 (1800 fro rubber floor mats and 1100 for mud guards). The dealer says VW will not sell the alloy wheels for a few months sicen they want to retain some differentiaiton between the highline version and other versions at least initially. Even if and when they do come, he said it is expected to cost Rs.16K per wheel! That would be an expensive upgrade taking the price close to Highline...so I am looking at some aftermarket options for the wheel upgrade. Key less entry is alos not available expected to come in around July-August. I am not a fan of side sjirts etc. so not going in for any of those. The Chennai dealer seems a bit pricey - they quoted 7.6 K for an imitation leather seat cover. I have to decide if I want to do that or get it elsewhere this weekend.

you will have to wait for a very long time for the guage to come down! happy motoring!! Other way of checking FE is by filling the tank once again NOW and finding out how many liters it takes to fill. This can give you approximate FE.

You can buy alloys any where. But make sure that the alloys weigh the same as your Steel wheels (in total - with tyres fitted). This will ensure that the mechanical parts such as bearings will not feel any difference.

For Electrical accessories, IMHO wait for a couple of months. You will get lot of choice and also the mechanic will not gain experience by working on your car!

What do you think of 3M Scotch Guard? I would prefer that to a imitation leather seat cover. Covers spoil the look of the seat and also gets very hot in summer.

By the way, I am getting my car tomorrow evening!!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

I found the ground clearance very much adequate for the kind of roads and bumps in Chennai that I have encountered so far. I neven had bottom scraping problems. The wheelbase is shorter than sedans so that helps too...The suspension seems to be farily firm and the 168 mm clearance is reasinably high in my opinion.

Thanks for the measurement, which I hadn't spotted. Now I can compare with my Swift when it comes back from repair and service on Saturday.

You can buy alloys any where. But make sure that the alloys weigh the same as your Steel wheels

We buy alloys these days for appearance, but wasn't the practical reasoning behind them that they should be lighter than steel?

[Mpower]

If you can get hold of a SwiftD and do a back to back comparison of the turbo lag, that would be awesome.

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

I have not yet had a chance to go back to fuel the car to calculate a precise FE figure. I have driven 150 KMs sicen topping up th etank and the digital fuel gauge has still not gone down below 7/8th full.

Just FYI, you can fill up the tank and calculate 150/X-liters. You dont have to wait till you hit E to calc the FE.