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VW Polo GT TSI with several DIY improvements & modifications

17th June 2021, 17:27 by Rahul Nagaraj

Truth is, considering my no Japanese car rule, the choice was made simply by elimination; I was going to get myself a Polo GT TSI

BHPian Viraat13 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I started writing this in the 2020 lockdown, but finishing in the lockdown of 2021, so some figures (km, usage) have changed since then.

Picture credits: @RoadGlide

Ownership:

DIYs (in no particular order):

Prologue: My previous car and the need to change

It was 2018 and all was well with my garage. I had a 1996 W124 E220 for fun times, my dad was happy with his 1988 W124 300E, and I was enjoying my daily driver, a pre-owned 2006 Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI AT, and happily puttering around the city despite the threat of NGT looming large on diesels over 10 years old. At that point, out of state cars weren’t affected and I had a non-NCR car, I figured, no worries. I was fully prepared to spend a pretty penny to spruce up my Octy (including a full new suspension, additional sound deadening, respraying a couple of panels, etc.) which faced rough use on a daily basis (bumper to bumper, or pedal to the metal).

All that changed in August, when I was pulled over and informed that out of state cars came under the purview of the disastrous/unfair/idiotic/uninformed/heavyhanded NGT ruling on old cars. I paid the “fine” and moved on, but was troubled by the ordeal. In the initial days, the enforcement was only in and around Lutyens Delhi, but as I had a Business Development role at the time, it meant going for meetings to various parts of the city at least every other day. This meant it was time for a new car. But what would replace my beloved Octy?

My Octavia, with the car it replaced, a 2003 Opel Corsa Swing 1.6

Even though it was 12 years old, it served my purpose. It was quick (top end, not 0 to 100), reliable (relative term for an old German ), fuel economical considering the kind of driving, safe, well insulated from the outside world, respectable enough, large enough boot to carry sundry items and a subwoofer, and also had a lovely sound system that I had put together. Oh, and of course, it also had the intangible "connection" that non-car people (or maybe even some car people, don't get)

Side note: In 2017 I tried replacing the Octy with another forum favourite, the Honda Civic. I bought a 2008 Civic V AT from a family friend. It was in pretty good nick. I kept it for 4 months, while (not really) trying to sell the Octy. It checked all the boxes, plus was quick, came with a 5 speed AT, and flappy paddles, not to mention the other good stuff about it. Ultimately, I never felt a connection with the Civic and sold it some 8K kms/4 months later, and I switched back to the Octy. TWO key lessons learnt: Japanese cars are not my thing; connecting with the car is really important to me.

Despite my overall disappointment with the Civic, the interior was a nice place to be in.

Choices

Considering my usage pattern, budget constraints, and various other considerations, I drew up a a small list of cars I'd like to try.

To get a better understanding of the choices, the summary of my usage pattern is:

Self-driven
Daily driver (home-office commute, plus at least 1 day on the weekend)
Almost always in heavy traffic (Delhi-Gurgaon-Delhi)
Almost always with a heavy foot
20,000 km per year, with no more than 500-1,000 km in highway usage (usually used the W124 for this)

After driving the Octavia for many years, I figured I’ll look for a like for like replacement. So I started hunting for diesel AT saloons like the Jetta, Laura, Cruze, and even the Verna (for the sake of it). Before I knew it, I was heading way out of budget, and those that were within budget, either didn’t have enough years left for NCR, or were just not worthy. I even considered the hopelessly ugly Ameo TDI DSG.

The contenders.

Disappointed with the search so far, I decided to look within the Skoda family, and figured that the Rapid TDI DSG was a good, sensible option as well. I went for a TD, and was fairly impressed - I would have to stretch my budget a bit, but a new one was affordable because of the absolutely brilliant deal I had managed to get from Jai Auto, Mathura Road, Delhi.

From what I remember, the model I was interested in was 13.xx OTR, with a 1L loyalty discount, 1.5L valuation of my Octavia, plus a cash discount, and further some free accessories etc. This wasn't even the final deal, I could have squeezed a little more from them probably. Sometimes I feel it would have been a better overall buy considering that Skoda is now in the driving seat w.r.t VAG in India, plus they have far better customer support than VW (reasons detailed ahead).

Then I realised, for someone who is driving themselves, and alone 99% of the time, a large car did not make sense. That’s when it hit me: Till the time I am driving myself, I wanted something that is nippy in traffic, easy to park, and yet safe. I wasn’t willing to compromise on the transmission either, it had to be an AT.

At the time, the options available were Jazz, Baleno, i20, and Polo.

Basis my experience with the Civic, I was slightly skeptical of trying another Japanese car, but still made a list of good and bad points of each option:

Maruti Suzuki Baleno

For: Cheap to maintain, reliable, spacious
Against: Cheap fit and finish, not safe enough, I hate Maruti as a brand
Result: No TD

Hyundai i20

For: Loaded with features, spacious, reliable (?)
Against: Ugly, underpowered
Result: No TD

Honda Jazz

For: A fairly complete package
Against: CVT, previous Honda experience, generally unexciting
Result: Test drove a family friend's AT and thought "Hmm, nice car, extremely boring; I could never live with it"

The rejects.

Truth is, considering the no Japanese car rule (basis the Civic experience), the choice was made simply by elimination; I was going to get myself a Polo GT TSI!

Then arrived the next problem: new or used? I had managed to get a good deal for a new car from a friend of mine, and in hindsight should have gone the new car route considering my usage, however all said and done, no regrets with the used purchase either!

Short Story: The GT TSI is a car that I have always liked a lot. A dear friend owns a VW showroom in his hometown, and often he would leave a GT TSI/TDI at my disposal; yet I never actually thought about owning one till this time.

Honourable mention for the Punto Abarth, but sketchy availability, awkward ergonomics, manual transmission, horrid stickers, and the fact that my dad hates Fiat as a brand meant that this was a non-starter.

However, once I ventured into hatchback territory, there was only one car for me right from the start.

Parting shots of my beloved Octavia. Clockwise (from top left): Freshly detailed and shining (approx 2016), one of the last odo shots (sold the car at 124,xxx), last photo ever (when I was going to pick up the Polo), freshly washed (1 day before I sold it).

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