| VW Polo - The mint with a hole :)
My name is Anubhav. I’m a major car and bike enthusiast. I can rank my self with the term "major" enthusiast proudly and mainly because only I know how many years I have spent almost all the time thinking about these creations and marvels of engineering just because I had a curious bone for automobiles in me. I have tried to know as much as I can about cars and bikes but never have I come to a point where I can say I know it all, never.
In my journey of automotive craze, I have come across rich brats buying cars for their flash, and enthusiasts building their very own motorcycles and for the first time cars as I have seen on this amazing forum. From where I come from they have not heard of ECU maps and down force. It is a small town called Silvassa. I have never been across people with so much knowledge and so much passion about cars and bikes until I went to Pune where I learned most of what I know today. I left Pune to come back here in Silvassa and thought that most of my car and bike talk would be best left to reading magazines, the ones I used to write for when I was in Pune.
But that is a story better left unsaid. I had the same feeling until I came across Team BHP. Which was a car and bike forum but I was surprised by one particular thing. The amount of knowledge and same minded people you come across is huge! I am not technically gifted about engines and mechanics but the more I read here the more I learn.
Personal experiences apart
After a long research and constant brain khichdi about buying a hatch I finally bought a VW Polo TDi in bright red. It is my honor to reveal the car in its true form to everyone here. I would love to tell you that it’s been only a week and I’m still happy but to tell you the truth I’m not.
It’s not the car, but my front grill VW emblem got stolen from my very parking on the 11th of this month. I got the car from the showroom on the 8th. The feeling when I saw the empty grill is unexplainable. And I will not try to explain it as well.
But ALL of this aside.
I would like to give my take on the lovely Polo.
Initial Overlook:
I had never driven a Polo before and never thought what it would be like on the inside. I’m an owner of a Swift VDi and thought that this is how it is supposed to be in hatchbacks. Simple and without any panache. I have driven BMW's and Audi's for that matter and I could never imagine such a feeling of a car to be incorporated in a hatch back. Until now.
The Pseudo Indian Buyer:
The thing about a hatch back is, believe it or not it’s the latest trend. People prefer hatch backs to small cars and even sedans now. People prefer hatch backs to small cars or rather sedans (saving the Dzire. God please don’t ever make me buy it). Actually people just buy the Dzire because it looks big. Say what you want but the lay man wants a bigger car at a cheaper price. There is nothing wrong with such a behavior but I’m not that guy and I don’t want a car like that.
Why am I saying something that can be counter argued? Because I have heard and seen people talk and drive hatchbacks like they are the latest trends in investing money. 2 years ago no one was ready to sell his or her Swifts. That’s because people had an idea that it was the brightest freshest start to spend money on something that actually does everything. You got a diesel, a spacious interior, cheap spares and actually if you paid more you get safety. I’m not talking about ALL the population in the entire country. See that’s not possible, I’m talking about the general public that does not think like an enthusiast rather an uncommon sight to a lot but a usual sight for a guy who lives in a U.T. A guy like me! Remember an individual review is based on the views of the individual and not a general outlined review that everyone wants to read. If someone disagrees fine, these are in fact just my views.
Interior & Switchgear
“Sahab is ka reverse gear aage dalta hai” the first thing I heard from the guy who demonstrated the car for me. I asked him if he knew what daytime running lights are and we shared a blank stare for 5 seconds. Sales people love to boast anything; they consider this gearshift a luxury. Not that I know everything about the car but seriously I’m used to the Skoda shifter so I know how the switchgear inside work. Honestly I don’t see anything wrong with the headlight control on the left and the wipers on the right because I’m used to it. In fact here is proof that I don’t know everything about the car as one of my friends stuck his hand on the window while closing it. The glass automatically came down, this is a safety feature which I didn’t know about. So here I am back to the point. I got the same feeling as I got in the Audi A4. The red buttons, the chrome outlines, the stiff feeling in the steering like it was actually giving response. The switch gear, the stupid and useless daytime running lights feature. All very similar except for one thing. This car made you feel nice. Actually made you feel you are driving something close as the big boys. I have got so many firings from people who have no idea what I’m talking about saying that an Audi is an Audi and what not. But one of my friends just happens to have an Audi A4 and he just happened to buy the exact same model of Polo as I did and the first thing he said is “Sitting in this car is amazing, its like my Audi just smaller!”
The bucket seats are very comfortable and adjustable. The telescopic steering is a boon for perfect driving posture. There is sufficient arm space all around although I could use an armrest. Noise in the cabin is high considering all the other “quiet” hatches. But I like the noise, reminds me of my old Accent crdi that I was madly in love with. But personally four pots make noise, three pots make music! The lack of mirrors in the sun blockers is questionable but bearing in mind they are not a necessity. And what on earth were they thinking by giving a MP3 disc player. I mean who plays MP3 discs anymore? They charge you extra for putting the one with the AUX/USB input. This is simply rubbish considering how great a car this could be.
Apart from that I’m just surprised how the car feels so low and yet has such high ground clearance. I tested it, and it certainly passes with flying colours. At high speeds the car tends to jump even if faced by a small inclination or bumps on the road it really makes you nervous. Nothing like the swift with balloon tires which aquaplanes the car almost every time in the rains. Love to blame the tires here in the Polo but will have to wait and watch.
I have read so many times that people simply hate the word German here. It’s like a taboo. I would like to clarify something here. People mistake the word German for smug. It has been said that the best cars in the world are rolled out of Germany. I don’t like buying cars for their background; in fact I can’t make sense of the people who do. Some people consider the Ford Figo an American option. It’s not. The Polo was surely born in Germany around 35 years back but the car is really nice. But this one is born in Chakan, Pune. I can’t help it if it’s ‘something’ everyone hates. See when a person with a Polo will tell you that his car really truly feels German, he or she is not trying rub it in your faces. Some useless people who have no work maybe, but not all. They are simply trying to tell you they feel something in this car that they don’t feel in a Figo or Swift or even a Punto, which was my choice of research until the last moment. Sharing a feeling with the likes of BMWs is something that we always wanted. The fit and finish of this car is fantastic. I would love to go for the Punto, the looks are enough to lure anyone to buy it, but it gives you more with the interiors and then some with the driving pleasure. But the ownership reports and actual car owners let me down. Actually to be honest I fell in love with the Punto, and I hated myself for not buying it. But in the end there can be only one. Don’t be sad Punto, its not you its me.
Exterior, Lights and Colour
The rear taillights are a face-lift from the MK4 Polo. Refreshing lines all around the body structure. The front end is the most exciting as the entire front portion being inspired by the brilliant VW Scirocco which happens to be my favorite hot hatch. The bonnet along with the grill is pushed in the front while the headlights sit in a neat straight curve cut to resemble the Scirocco and ending up looking really awesome. The car has a small lip spoiler that is amazing, as I haven’t seen this in any other hatch. They could have given us the headlights from the European Polo but they said this one is optimized for Indian roads. Yeah right, I can hardly see anything in the night. It’s either too low or too high. One can always upgrade that but if the company is so passionate about making their cars specific for our country why not include better headlamps and better front grill logos. The logo is a clip on; a 7th grader can steal it. Are you listening VW?
The paint glows and looks fantastic on a car like this. Overall the car is shaped like a hot hatch. The stance is extremely aggressive. It commands attention even when I see its reflections on the car in front of me.
Final Verdict:
And this is where my buck stopped and I just had to have a Polo. I have no showrooms in my vicinity. So my dad worked out a way to get it from the nearest one. We inquired in Nashik and Mumbai. But both of them responded in a neutral sometimes-bad manner. So I inquired in Surat and they actually quoted more than three months waiting along with a slightly higher price tag. So one of my dad’s friends suggested a broker who offered to get the car from Thane as the car was not getting sold. Obviously he wanted to make a buck so my dad checked if he was genuine and then went on with the deal. Bear in mind this did not mean I would get the car immediately but I had to wait for a month to get all the paper work in place as dealing with the broker was a pain and my dad even considered going to Mumbai and booking there. Reading all the reviews here I didn’t want much hassle and dealing with showroom people and their rough attitudes. Besides I’m more concerned about the car than anything else. The deal looked like a million years and finally some of my dad’s friends went and took the car and finally when I saw it I was so happy I couldn’t understand what emotion should I be feeling. The feeling never went away after that. It’s still in my gut and comes out every time I flip the key and put it in the ignition.
The car is expensive than the other hatchbacks at offer. The car has some features that other people might not like. People would rub the price tag in my face all the time asking me why I didn’t go for a Swift dzire or a Ford Figo or a Skoda Fabia. They would make me regret on spending so much on a small car. As soon as I sat inside the car just then I realized something. I didn’t feel any regret that I thought I would feel. I felt life is too short to buy something that will save you a couple of thousand. Or that has a bigger boot or should I say not big enough in the rear seats. I don’t want any of this. I love driving cars. I especially enjoy driving fast cars. I want a car that made me feel something every time I sat in it. I want a car that has the substance from the more expensive cars in a size of a small car. I want a car with that looks like a serpent when you gaze at it. I want a car that is solidly built.
I want a red Volkswagen Polo TDi. | 
15th October 2010, 21:55
(1)
Thanks
Great choice of color and variant. And awesome photographs!
