Luckily found a VW Polo Legend Edition & bought it as my first car

I almost gave up on my dream of owning a Volkswagen car & was considering other options like the Tata Harrier & MG Astor.

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I learnt to ride a bike and drive a car at around the same time in 2009 (I was turning 15). Though I enjoy both riding and driving, I have always preferred bikes just for the sheer thrill. But I have to admit that I've had some insane fun with our 2014 Skoda Rapid TDI, it also made me decide that if I ever buy a car, it would be either a VW Polo GT TDI or Skoda Octavia TDI.

In 2017, my first bike Pulsar 220F broke down (Engine seized) and it took me 6 months to convince my parents to buy me another bike instead of a car.

Fast forward to mid-2021, the 2 years of laziness due to lockdowns and ever-growing Bangalore traffic and potholes made me decide on buying a car and like I mentioned earlier, it was going to be either a VW POLO diesel or Skoda Octavia Diesel, but since the VW diesel engines have been stopped since 2019, I began searching the used car market despite my parents being against buying used cars.

I had 2 conditions to satisfy, sub 50k kms on the odo and 2016 or newer. I and my friends searched for so long, either the cars didn't satisfy my conditions or we visited the used car showroom after "good cars" were sold.

This went on for a few months, and in December 2021 I got a new job offer which allowed me to travel a lot and get paid for doing it (full expenses included). Before December 2021, my dad never gave me a car for my own use, but since I had to have a car for travelling my dad reluctantly used to let me take his Rapid for a few days at a time.

It was high time and I gave up my search for used diesel Polo/Octavia and decided to go for the Polo GT TSI, but my timing is the most unfortunate. I visited the VW dealership, Hosa Road, BLR to book the Limited Edition Matt Grey Polo GT TSI and I got one answer, the bookings have been stopped for Polo and they weren't sure when they would resume.

I test drove the Kushaq but the build quality, the very poor condition (underwhelming brakes and shot front left suspension) of the test drive car with just 7k kms on the odo, left me disappointed & the new Octavia TSI is way out of my budget. Few suggested going for the I20 N Line but I despise Hyundai cars with passion (no offense to Hyundai owners). I almost gave up the dream of owning another VW car while narrowing my choices to either Tata Harrier or MG Astor Turbo. I was leaning more towards MG Astor but the low FE of the turbo engine was making me think again.

Monday, 4th April 2022

I woke up at around 9 AM, with half-asleep eyes I opened Instagram and saw the Powerdrift's post about POLO GT Legend, the final iteration of Polo GT. My hope was renewed and I waited till 10 AM and called the Hosa Road VW dealership to enquire about the Polo GT legend edition, they just said all POLOs are booked and even advised against booking online as the website was still accepting bookings for POLO GT Legend. I called a few other dealerships in Bangalore, even the VW customer care number but got the same reply. I was dejected and frustrated. I was even ready to pay 50k to 1 Lakh extra. Later that evening I was talking to my gym owner and he asked me to enquire at Ramani Cars, Hosur. He was courteous enough to call the dealership and ask them, alas he gave me some good news, only one Polo GT is available for booking, they weren't sure if it was the regular Polo GT or the Legend Edition. That's it, I made up my mind I was going to buy that last POLO GT at any cost.

I couldn't visit the dealership on Tuesday due to mandatory company meetings and I was sure that the last one would be booked as well. I called the dealership myself on Wednesday, Mr. Senthil picked up the call and told me the car was still available but not sure for how long because their dealerships are spread across multiple cities in Tamil Nadu and the same car is available for booking at every other Ramani Volkswagen Dealership.

I called them multiple times that day to make sure the car was still available before going to the dealership. I visited the dealership at around 4 PM and the first thing I asked them was, is the car still available? They said yes and I was gleaming with joy. I should also mention that I had never driven any other Polo to date except the confidence that it would be as fun as the Rapid if not better in city traffic.

Mr. Muthukumar was assigned as my SA as he could speak Kannada. He is such a wonderful soul and soft-spoken person, he has been wonderful each step of the way while answering my millions of questions.

I paid the booking amount of 50k, finished the documentation and selected the only color available FLASH RED Polo GT, I never thought I would buy a red car as I always preferred Black (white if black is unavailable). They put me in touch with their financial advisor, Mr. Umashankar in Salem for a loan but I told them that I would try at KVB first as I had a good relationship with the staff. I wasted a few days trying to get the loan but it didn't happen due to insufficient documents. I got back in touch with Mr. Umashankar, long story short the loan got approved, 10.25L at 7.25% PA from HDFC with an option of converting insurance to EMI as well (which I did).

My birthday was on April 15th but the loan didn't get disbursed till the 18th, they also asked me to make the full down payment within 10 days of booking as the car was in very high demand, which I promptly did on the 14th April. I said no to the Equitas Fastag provided by the dealership, as I preferred only Paytm Fastags, so in the end, I was given Rs. 600 deduction of the Fastag cost and Rs. 4 discount on the 12.8L on-road price, BLR. I had to pay another 25k for the registration number of my preference. The registration was done on 27th April, and I always take deliveries on Friday as it was an auspicious day of the week for me. My mom suggested taking delivery in the first week of may instead of 29th April, so I agreed with hesitation.

Friday, 6th May 2022

I had asked Mr. Muthukumar to arrange the delivery at around 8:30 AM and he said yes promptly. My dad was already at the temple, and my mom and my sister would be buying a beautiful garland and other pooja items while I and my friend would go to take the delivery of the car.

The car was already parked outside garnished with garland, the documents were ready for me to sign. I signed the documents then we went outside and Mr. Muthukumar Performed the pooja of the car. After the showroom staff took a few pics, I got inside the car prayed to the lord and turned on the Ignition, put it into drive mode, lifted my foot off the brake gently it felt like the car was ready to leap ahead, I couldn't wipe the big grin off my face.

I always planned to buy a Polo GT TDI, but ended up buying the TSI, so it wouldn't wrong to say that this was my dream hatchback and a dream come true.

I thanked the lovely staff and left the showroom at around 9:10 AM. Now the time was running out as the Rahu Kaal would start at 10:30 AM on Friday and we had to get the pooja done before that. I drove the car at 80 to 90 kph. I reached the temple by 10:00 AM with a lot of time to spare to get the pooja done.

Here are some pics from the day.

Mr. Muthukumar performing the pooja

Blessing the 3 Cylinder 1 Liter TSI engine (with the cameo of my dad's 2014 Skoda Rapid on the left).

My first car in all its full glory.

Another one

Love the Legend Badging.

Initial Impressions

• The torque converter hasn't disappointed me, though it'll take some time to get used to the slight delay in power delivery when pressing the accelerator in D mode.
• S mode is a different story altogether, absolute fun to drive in this mode.
• The aggressive crawl will catch you off guard, but I had read about that a lot here, so I knew what to expect.
• The car is very nimble, in fact, the most nimble and agile car I've driven till date.
• The stop move traffic is peaceful and doesn't give me pain in the left thigh anymore (Rapid TDI has a heavy clutch).
• Though I miss dropping two gears to overtake shenanigans, there is a lot of power on demand to make quick overtakes especially on two-way roads.
• My left hand and left leg are now unemployed during driving and are planning to apply for the unemployment benefits, though I still have to use the left hand for using turn signals.
• The steering feels lighter than that of Skoda Rapid, it's also a few mm thinner, planning to get a thin leather wrapping on the steering wheel when I go to get seat covers.
• The engine sound when you press the accelerator pedal a bit is beautiful, asking to be driven hard but holding myself to not going past 100 kph till the first checkup.
• The horn is a joke, no one moves out of the way with this feeble horn.
• I wish they gave armrest as stock on the GT, I have asked the dealership to place the order but I'm not sure when it will be available as none of the POLO accessories were available at the time of delivery (not even floor mats).

My Mom's initial impressions of Polo GT

• The car is a frog (due to its small stature).
• Horn is a joke.
• Rear seat is a joke.
• Fuel economy is a joke, as the dad's car returns 19 to 21 kpl despite driving hard.
• She feels the car is naughty and ready to leap over other vehicles instead of going around to overtake (I'm not driving hard, and she is used fast driving as well).

My dad's verdict

• I'm stupid and out of my mind to buy an end of the production car, especially a VW car.

I'm thoroughly enjoying the car, did 100 kms on the first day, another 50 kms on the second day. Took my mom and sister on a 200 kms drive on the third day.

I saw only 9.5 kmpl on MID on the first two days, 13 kmpl during the long drive. I got a full tank of Shell V power on the delivery day, (38 litres, the car was delivered with 1/4th tank of fuel). I got another full tank of regular Shell petrol today with 2 points left on the fuel gauge, quick calculation hints at a FE of 10.3 kmpl with 50% of driving in BLR traffic, and 50% in moderately free roads.

Car after the 200 kms drive in rain.

I had initially planned to get a ceramic coating done right after delivery, I contacted the ceramic pro, Indiranagar through WhatsApp twice from two different numbers but didn't get a reply despite my message being read.
I enquired at 3M but they suggested going for PPF as realistically the ceramic coating would only last for 1.5 years or 2 years at best due to our weather conditions.

I got the regular PPF (non-self healing) done at 3M, with a quoted price of around 90k (1.5 lakhs for self-healing) for the entire car minus the roof as it comes with black vinyl from the factory and doesn't need PPF. I also got the noodle mats from 3M as well, have to say they are so comfortable to drive barefoot (yes, I like to drive barefoot).

I also had the black decals on doors removed as it was not installed properly on the right side. The car looks a lot cleaner now, it took them 3 days to finish installing the PPF and asked me to come back after 15 days for inspection and rectification of bubbles in the PPF.

Picking up the car from 3M after PPF installation.

I got the 80 and 120 kph warnings removed today via remote coding from DrCodemyVW.

To-do list

• Buy a good body cover with UV protection and water resistance (not even a body cover is in stock at the dealership).
• Source an armrest ASAP.
• Get proper leather seats (most likely from Stanley).
• Upgrade the stock headlamps to LED bulbs.
• Source the VW two-tone horn.

I have absolutely no regrets about buying this car, I will enjoy and cherish every moment with her.

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