[VW2010]

Here is a thread which I wanted to post before deciding on the car that I have already booked. I never had the patience to answer the two questions to become a member while I had enough threads to make a decision on what I didn’t want. The day when I put a little effort to register, I was already looking for accessories for the car. Yet I would like to share this small write up and get myself introduced to team BHP. And its only me who drives so I wanted a drivers car rather than chauffeur





Disclaimer – Cannot explain things technically. So forgive me for my ignorance.



It all started sometime in December when me and my wife decided to get a second car. Currently we own a Swift VDI(Close to 2.5 years). The first draft was very straight forward and it was between Scorpio and Safari. Little did we know that after exactly two days the draft stood as Safari, Scorpio, Ford Endy, Toyota Fortuner and Yeti (We wanted to get a Yeti the day it was announced)


Note – I am 6’1 and I drive with lots of space between my knee and the dashboard. So the driver seat is quite backwards and that’s how I test the rear space for my needs.


We test drove all the cars from the above list. And a short review on each one of them is below.


Safari – This was our favorite for its size, seating and the commanding driving position. The vehicle felt so safe and test driving the same both in the high way as well as around kathipara bumped up Safari to No 1 in the list straight away.



Cons – Clutch and Gear shifts. Not a technical guy, but I feel the gear ratios are set awkwardly. The Second gear in particular feels like forever and there is no rush from the engine the way you want your second gear to be. At least for someone who has been driving a Swift for over two years it felt awkward


Scorpio – My family members own a Scorpio(so was always against it) and I never liked sitting in the rear seats. Driver’s seat was a different story. Yet safari scored over Scorpio personally for me. I liked the ride quality even over speed breakers, better in safari compared to Scorpio. Never was in favor for Scorpio and the test drive never helped my case to buy a Scorpio. Personal choice rather.


Ford Endy – Best among the rest with respect to space. I liked the third row seat which was not as bad as either Scorpio or Safari. Definitely the third row seats are positioned in a way that it atleast doesn’t put too much strain for short trips unlike Safari or Scorpio.



Cons – Stiff ride. Cost was atleast 50% higher than Scorpio or Safari.


Toyota Fortuner – Fantastic piece of machinery and the only put off being the wait time and the break issue that every owner has discussed in this forum.


Yeti – Personally could not picture this in the same class as any of the above. I and my wife hated the rear seat space. Overpriced for what it offers and definitely felt like getting a size 10 Fabia instead of normal size 9 Fabia.



Cons – Rear space is cramped (personal feeling), very less equipment for the price we pay and didn’t feel the factor I was looking for in my second car.


This is when we saw the Maroon(Rosso brunello??) Superb and we started getting awed by the car. The first hint from wife on why not a Superb while we are ready to spend as much as 20L for an Endy or 22-24L for the Fortuner.



Test drove superb. One word to describe the car – SUPERB. The same day met my friend who had a Jetta who gave us a typical “Enjoy the car” ride in the Jetta. His Jetta was Black with Beige and the moment I stepped inside the car, it felt like I was being surrounded by some heavily protected walls. Never felt the cocoon’ish feeling before in any other car. He showed what the engine can do and walked us through most of the features.



We returned home around 11 and the list now changed completely.
Safari, Skoda(Laura or Superb), Jetta and Civic.


Remember we saw the superb first. So Civic felt too simple from the dashboard to the features. The price was steep as we were comparing the civic with Superb and Jetta. So the Civic was pushed to the bottom.


After quite a few hours of discussion we were down to Safari, Jetta and Laura. Superb was taken of the list for the 26L price tag of the diesel engine. Way over our budget. The first thing we test drove was the Jetta. Then we test drove Laura the same day just after Jetta. There has been no good review about Gurudev motors - Chennai and the service stories about Skoda played a part in our decision to go ahead with Jetta. Also the features offered at 18L on road for Jetta was too good compared to the DSG based Laura AT.


Jetta felt far more comfortable, the ride quality was definitely better within the city compared to Laura and overall Jetta felt more like a home than Laura. And then the ultimate factor, when wifey just pointed towards Jetta (Vanity mirrors off course played a part).



About the Jetta:-

Looks –From the front the car Looks simple and will take a few seconds to see it as a VW Jetta. The first look will always remind you of Tata Indica/Indigo [FONT=Wingdings]J[/FONT]. It’s a boon in a way to not get noticed too much. A simple look at the boot and you know it’s definitely something huge. The tail light was one of the attractive sights for us.



Interiors – You have to sit inside to feel the difference if you are coming from a Maruti stable. When the reviewers here in Team BHP say cheap plastics you realize what they mean seeing the build quality of this beauty. Fantastic leg space in the front. The rear seats are short distance 3 seater and anytime 2 seater. This is mainly due to the raised floor for the transmission at the back.



Ride Quality – Superb(oooops). Yes its fantastic both in City and Highway. Feels like a tank but glides like a feather.


Snob value – Big time!!!!. In the middle of so many Skoda’s , civic and city, VW does stands out. Wife always said she wanted a Civic. One day with Jetta and she ditched Civic.


I have booked the vehicle and am waiting for delivery. I am taking delivery on Jan 19th being very auspicious and giving enough time for myself to drown in anxiety and excitement. Color will be revealed with pictures after Jan 19th. And I will definitely post a detail review of the car soon.



The least I could do in my Introduction!!!


VW2010


RE Bullet, Swift VDI and expecting the new addition VW Jetta !!!!

[getsriram]

That is quite an upgrade buddy.. from Swift Vdi to VW Jetta. Excellent car choice.

By the way, is it the 1.6L petrol of 2.0L diesel (Trend / comfort) ???

[vcx]

I can't agree more on your views about Jetta, its just built like a tank and offers best in class safety , stability and quality.

But on the other note I felt Jetta 1.6 L petrol is low on features and on this note I felt Civic makes better choice with 1.8 L

Would like to hear if yours was a pertol or diesel and the ORT prices , lastly any discounts?

I feel going fwd this year Jetta could offer more discounts, etc considering the new 2011 is arriving!

[Klub Class]

Congratulation VW2010 on your VW Jetta.

Almost all the T-BHPians, including me, hate cakes with no icing! Yes, you need to click your car from all possible angles and update the thread with those pics, once you get the keys in your hand! A highly detailed review is also welcome.


PS: In my humble opinion, you should have opted the VW2011 as your username. Got the drift, eh?

[VW2010]

Initial ownership @ 287Kms...I will be posting in parts due to the time constraint.

Exterior -

Front:- The car looks very simple from the front. The chrome fittings add a classy look to the car. The side profile is far better where the chrome fittings improve the look. Walk to the rear and it feels fantastic. The LED tail lights and the boot design can never be ignored.

Underbody:- The underbody of the car is covered at various points with aluminum plates(Which I felt was more functional for faster heat removal). The underbody almost feels like completely covered, which translates to very little noise getting filtered into the cabin. The only time you heard "Thudddss" is when you ride a little faster over speed breakers.

OVRM/GC:- The OVRMs are rigid. The simple design in cars like swift where the mirrors fold backwards on impact is missing. Use of force may help close the mirrors but I wonder how many will try that . The ground clearance is good(Yes you heard it..its good). More on this later. The OVRM's have option to be heated and can be completely adjusted with a flick of stick(Joy). The left side rear view mirror slightly points towards the ground while engaging the reverse gear. Not perfect but definitely helps.

Interiors - The interiors cannot be explained but needs to be experienced.

Doors:- The doors open @ 90 deg in three stages and getting inside the car will not be a problem to many. The door closes with a distinctive thud. Primary feeling is unanimous with all my family members viz "Snuggly". The car almost feels like an armor and gives an extreme sense of protection. Build quality is very good. The car is definitely sealed better.

Seats:- The car comes with sporty seats which sit low. The sitting posture can be adjusted for height as well as distance from the dash board. The electrically adjustable lumbar support should help in the long drives. The distribution of different switches/buttons are well thought of.

Steering column:- It’s a functional unit which hosts an airbag, controls for audio system as well as system set up and display information, Indicator knob as well as wiper knobs. The steering can be adjusted for reach and height which will be of great use while driving long. The steering is leather wrapped and feels fantastic. The steering is not small and fits into our hands perfectly. Buttons are well placed while the horn is awkwardly placed. Honking requires some practice and it’s not the best feature of this car.

Door controls:- The driver side door has the usual controls for windows, OVRM's and locking. The fuel lid opener is placed in the door. The OVRM joy stick may get a little used to and one can adjust the mirrors either two at a time or one at a time. All doors can be locked from inside either automatically by setting(the same) in the system or by manually using the lock buttons. The doors will open even without pressing the unlock button by engaging the lever twice. This feature is a safety feature to enable easier opening of doors from inside. The doors if locked from inside cannot be opened from outside by using the door handle. The door has plenty of space to hold a 1L to 1.5 L bottle. All four doors can hold at least a 1L bottle.

Centre console :- The centre console has two concealed bottle holders below a slider, the gear knobs covered with leather , hand breaks wrapped in leather and some space for coins(ash tray) and a cigarette lighter. To the left of the driver’s seat the car has a arm rest which can be adjusted for height that also has the Midi slot in it. And all these are fitted in such a way the driver can comfortably access all the above points with ease. (except for the Midi which is inside the box).

Dash board :- Comes with the RCD 510 touch screen unit. The dash is similar to the one in Yeti. I will add more points by saying the music system is way more than what one needs inside the car. Comes with 10 speakers. Even FM sounds better inside the car. Reads well from SD cards and with a simple MDI cable I can use my Nokia N8 to play songs with fantastic clarity. Good that my N8 can read USB drives up to 300 GIG if I really need USB facility in the car. The finish is fantastic. The sound quality will satisfy atleast 95% of us. Has a very basic equalizer that serves our needs.

more to follow ........

[getsriram]

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[VW2010]

by the way what is this post full of font sizes??

Thanks sriram. I will post some pictures soon. Currently work is on for changing the gates at home and hence cannot find time.

And i have fixed the font size message. Will post more about the interiors, rides and whats hot and whats not tonight.

[sachinj12]

Congrats on the car man . BTW, a report without pics= incomplete!

[issigonis]

>>>

Welcome to the Jetta club. The Jetta is a dignified, quiet beast.
Do mention the specs - petrol or diesel, features etc.

Mine has done about 25k kms in about nineteen months, including three long distance drives, very comfortable, very secure and not a single rattle. I particularly like the ineffable DSG ( arguably one of the best automatics today) and the seamless surge of torque.

I did a 3877 km run from Bombay to Uttarakhand and back recently and it was just perfect.

Enjoy your drive.

Regards, drive safe

[camchennai]

Congratulation on your new Jetta and I was waiting for this ownership report for a long time.

Do update the thread with some nice pictures and tell us more about service interval, warranty and service experience.

[vb-saan]

Congratulations on your Jetta! Seeing the reference to the RCD touchscreen, I assume that you got the Comfortline trim. The car has got such an understated elegance - a classic indeed!

[VW2010]

Thanks all. Below are the specs:-

Variant -VW Jetta Comfortline
Fuel type - Diesel
Engine - 2.0 L TDI
Color - Heaven Blue.
Sun film - Vcool K-14 and Air-75 LLUMAR

Please forgive me for the delay. Here is the first picture.

[VW2010]

Centre Console- Dual zone climatic control, SD card slot, Touch screen, Heated seat controls and AC controls.


One of the best thing that had gone unnoticed in the last few days is that the car filters the smell from outside when the air circulation mode is set to fresh air. When auto climatic control is selected the air circulation mode is set to fresh air always.

Gear Knob- Fantastic to use the shot throw gear knob placed perfectly for the driver.
Long lean hands just makes it even more easier to rest them on the hand rest and operate the gear knobs.




Cruise, indicator and high beam


The lever can be used with soft touch for indicating changing lanes or hard press to indicate a left or right turn.

Rain sensing wiper operation:- Not used yet


Display unit - more pictures on different settings to be added.


The multi function steering


More on the steering later.

The front cabin



Backlit switches on the steering and car


more to follow....

[trumpcard]

VW2010
if its ok with you,Can you tell us how much the jetta costed you.

[camchennai]

Nice shots VW 2010 keep them coming in.

Some pics of rear bench and trunk please.