Decision making
Car is one of the major investment decision one makes in his/her life. For some it is a means to travel from A to B. For some it is a status symbol. I am not sure where I belong. But one thing I had decided. I will buy a second car only if something excites me. That was my commitment to my old Zen. I was so happy with her all these years of ownership. But she was ageing rapidly and badly needed some rest at least from highway duties. I don't remember when Polo crossed my mind. But I think it was some eight months back when I saw the picture of an International Polo in T'Bhp. Lot of people has said that Polo has some resemblances to the good old Zen. So may be it was a natural impulse which made me fall for Polo in the first sight itself. So I was quite excited when VW announced the decision to launch Polo in Indian markets. I was quite pleased by the seriousness and commitment shown by VW towards Indian market by launching an international car with out rehashing or refurbishing some EOL products like other manufacturers were doing. I go mad if some one treats us like a third world market. So I placed my bets on Polo.
The Car was launched in Jan auto show in Delhi. I was again impressed by the reports of VW not resorting to too much cost cutting. The pricing was also well with in my reach. But I decided to check out few other cars for the sake of it. Test drove i20 and Fiesta1.6. I20 immediately went out of the window with nothing in the car exciting me. Fiesta pulled some strings and my wife fell for it. I was also impressed by the engine and the comfort. But some adamant stand by Ford on corporate discounts failed the deal. So finally with nothing to hold back I booked Polo on Feb24 even with out a test drive and the delivery was promised in second week of May. But the delays in delivery made to check out Figo also. I was quite impressed by Figo TDCI test drive. But some how it did not click and I decided to stay put on Polo.
Finally I got the good news of getting the allotment of car in May last week after putting some good amount of pressure on the dealer. ..and here comes the Polo for which I have been waiting for more than 8 months now.
The ODO read 24Km. and the final OTR was Rs695417 after a corporate discount of Rs10000.
I was heartened by VW gesture of extending corporate discount to my company. Employees in our company are a little aggressive on this. We always want to prove we are not second to anyone.
So here are my initial impressions. Styling
Conventional Clean and Classy. No quirkiness, no abrupt changes in the flow from front to back. My favorite is the side profile and the three quarter profile from rear. The styling of some of the recent cars reminds me of a person joining a gym for a toned up body but developed muscles in the wrong places.
Paint quality is breath taking. You have to see it to believe it.
The Euro headlamps would have made the Polo near perfect in styling. So I have decided to get them at any cost when ever they are made available in India.
Interiors
Minimalist but fully functional. Feels like you are in a car of one class above. German quality control is evident every where. No panel gaps. No rough edges. Rock solid levers. This is treat to eyes of people like me who hate imperfections.
Comfort
Front Seats are extremely comfortable and support is good.
Back seat space not great but adequate.
Ride Quality
This is the best part of the car. Simply awesome..!! Simply swallows the potholes and uneven patches. My family members were in full praise of this quality of the car.
GC( Specially for Bangalore guys)
Again get full marks, I drove the car with 5 people and never felt in danger of getting bottomed out. Many of other cars like Fiesta and i20 which I test drove on the same route with 3 people had bottomed out on some of those mountains. This gives you confidence to take out the car on Bangalore roads.
Handling
Did not get a chance to test this in detail. Will update later. But felt rock solid on the small stretch I drove.
Gear Shift
Butter Smooth. Period.!
VW QC
Though I had mentioned about this before, I would like to make a special mention of the VW quality control. You are assured that any two cars of same variant reaching customer hands are of the same quality. Strict quality control is evident in handling of the cars during transport. I could not spot a single paint imperfection on any of the 5-6 cars ready for delivery yesterday.
Dealership Experience
I would rate 8/10 for VW downtown. I was dealing with SM, Mr. Vikas and he was cool, calm and composed. No running around on delivery day. Very well planned. The only problem is that they are under enormous customer pressure due to rationing of cars by VW.
.. and finally all that attention you attract.
The car was outside yesterday only for an hour or so. But the attention she is commanding is an owner's pride. No one has passed her without having a second look. 3-4 people made enquires on price and the experience. So go for it, if you love attention.
Some Cons of the car
High positioning of the clutch is a pain in city driving. I realized this only yesterday.
Engine is ordinary. Again I have no problem in saying, I prefer my old Zen for simple driving pleasure.
The parking of the car is a bit difficult in tight corners. The rear visibility is a bit problem. May be I am used to Zen.
Not so great refinement. The car rocks a little.
Now some pictures of the delivery day.
That is my beautiful little daughter who is also an ardent Polo fan.