The Polo Legend Edition is offered with the 1.0L TSI engine paired with a 6-speed automatic gearbox.

Volkswagen is celebrating 12 years of the Polo in India with the launch of a new special edition of the hatchback. It is called the Polo Legend Edition.

The Legend Edition is based on the Polo GT TSI. It gets "Legend" badges on the fender and boot, side body graphics, black roof foil and black trim on the boot lid. Some of the notable features include a touchscreen infotainment system, cruise control and rain sensing wipers.

Powering the Polo Legend Edition is VW's 1.0-litre 3-cylinder turbo-petrol engine that produces 108 BHP and 175 Nm. The engine is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission.

The hill hold assist is such a good feature to have. Not even once did the car roll down or struggled to climb.

BHPian sinharishi recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

First road trip post tyre upgrade and repairs.

Enjoyed every bit of the drive. The climb from Mussoorie to Landour was done with ease with 4 onboard. Switched to Manual mode for uphill and downhill. Hill hold is such a good feature to have, not even once the car rolled down or struggled to climb. AC was a bit of a downer and it took some time to cool the cabin in peak afternoon.

Covered 600 KMS total. Greater Noida-Dehradun-Landour and back!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I currently drive a 2012 Diesel Ertiga and the car is months away from losing its roadworthiness here in Delhi.

BHPian derick recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

This is my first post here at team BHP so apologies in advance if I make any mistakes. I currently drive a 2012 Diesel Ertiga and the car is months away from losing its roadworthiness here in Delhi. The car was bought by my father but was driven mostly by me. It has been my primary car especially after completing my studies and joining the work force. The car will be completing 10 years in our family and has served us really well. We have had some amazing road trips and since father was in defence, the car has touched some notable milestones like Nathula Pass, Majuli, Dawki, Wagha Border, etc. and will be heading back soon to Assam spending its retirement days with my parents.

This is my parents enjoying a drive to the Bangladesh border near Siliguri, West Bengal

I remember Ertiga’s concept launching in an auto show, my father had immediately made his mind that Ertiga will be our next car. Both my mother and I tried persuading him to go with the XUV 500 or the Verna or the Fiesta.

I had even forcibly made him test drive the Verna, yet he was set on the Ertiga. The extra seats in the back was his golden argument to buy the car, that we could carry extra people if they need a lift, which was exactly the reason I didn’t want him to go for the Ertiga. The test drive of the Ertiga wasn’t impressive and still he went ahead and booked the car. We had booked the top model Diesel in dark grey and had a waiting period of three months. Within a week our SA said a White mid variant car had come and was waiting in the stock yard. We went to see the car and I noticed the centre console was different, it was ugly. But I didn’t pay much attention and we were too excited that we were getting the car so early and confirmed to take the delivery.

This is Nathula Pass in Sikkim

Here’s a pointer for people shopping for new cars, don’t get too excited. We got a mid variant car in a different colour than the one we booked. I hope the reader can sense how much I am disliking the car initially. But that changed very soon.

My father had an Innova as his official car back then and that was the car we were comparing the Ertiga with. The Ertiga was more compact, a plus in Shillong, had controlled body roll in mountain roads and the suspension felt better than the Innova. This was also when I learnt that test drive vehicles can sometimes be an incorrect representation of a car. Our car performed a lot better than the test drive vehicle. A big plus driving an MPV in 2012 was it drove like a small car. I think in 2022 it’s the opposite, people like the big car feel, everybody wants to be higher from the ground.

This is the red tapping I did

Interiors look just as new, and a shot of the head unit.

Now that my beloved 7 seater is about to leave for Guwahati. A huge task is before me, buying my first car! I always wanted to buy my own car just thinking about it made me feel all excited but now that I really have to, in a way I kept delaying it and avoiding it. I still sometimes think a two wheeler might be a wiser choice financially (although I’m not going that route). But my love for driving, Delhi’s heat, Delhi’s winter, road trips, and the fact that this is the age I will be able to enjoy driving the most I have to get a car and I need one pretty quick. My father still tells me how much he loved to drive when he was young and joined the armed forces, and by the time he was able to afford good cars he wasn’t able to drive long hours and neither does he like driving in traffic aided by the fact that he always had a driver with him during his service.

Lets get a new car for me already!

Requirements:

Daily office commute is 20kms

Weekend commute is 20kms

Hopefully will have 1 road trip in every three months near Delhi over long weekends. I live alone and the car will be driven by me only. (why does this sentence sound sad) So I want a small car but since I’m coming from an Ertiga its needs to feel spacious on the inside. Call me vain, but looks matter a lot both inside and outside especially since I’ll keep the car as long as the law lets me. I also don’t care about the shape, I consider a car as a whole package. I tend to lean towards the top variants in every car. Since I use the car for commuting to work the car needs to be relaxing to drive after a long day.

My Budget is 10 lakhs on road and I feel if I’m spending 10 lakhs the following features should be there:

Alloy Wheels, slick touch screen with built in nav, fancy drls, auto AC, leather interiors and a good audio system. Other cool features which would be a plus are, cruise control, sunroof, vented seats, and wireless android auto.

Over the past months I have taken test drives of the following cars and like them in ascending order please take my comments with a pinch of salt and there’s some sarcasm mixed too:

Tiago (CNG & Petrol)

The CNG was launched recently and I was considering CNG cars as well. I first drove the petrol, there was way too much of vibration, engine noise. The seat, gear nob and steering were giving me an unwanted three-way massage. I was so disappointed I turned the car back in the first u turn.

The CNG drove similar to the petrol, I liked how seamlessly it switched between modes. Also since the cng is available in all variants the car doesn’t feel cheap like MS’s mid variant cng options. I was disappointed to note that the much expensive nexon was using interior plastics from tiago?

Punch

I’m not a fan of the looks it’s too boxy inside and out, reminds me of a tempo (I’m really sorry). The AC vents keep staring at me! The drive however was pleasant, suspension was good, engine felt stronger than the Altroz and yet less noisy. However, I feel the Altroz is a better offering it feels more upmarket and definitely looks better. BTW anybody cares for the 90 degree doors? Isn’t it increasing the chances of denting a parked car.

Celerio

Yes I liked it more than the above Tata’s because the package is better. The engine is adequate for the size, refined, suspension is fine to and I think the more you look at it the cuter it looks. Plus the CNG is the most economical. I know people are not going to agree with this placement. On the other hand my present car is a maruti, my sister bought a beautiful red Baleno in 2019 and every other car on the road is a maruti, which is also the reason I’m not going for the new Baleno, and I’m not sure if my mind fully supports going for a “copied” product, upcoming Glanza.

Kiger

Here’s the good stuff. The real contenders. This car offers a lot for its price, the feature list is long and it looks handsome. I drove the turbo version couldn’t get the non turbo test drive. I liked the turbo engine’s pull in fact in sport mode the torque feels a little too much. In all of these test drives I had my old friend with me sitting in the back checking the passenger comfort and helping me criticise the cars. He was not impressed with the plastics and apparently felt a lot of engine whine. And also the fact that the car reminded him of a much cheaper kwid. His suggestion was that if i spent a little more I’d get much better plastics.

Altroz

The friend I referred to bought an Altroz for himself last year, on my very strong recommendation and a lot of persuasion. I wanted him to get the Altroz so much I even convinced his mom that this was the best car. So yeah I do like the Altroz a lot, I have driven his car a lot and have had a road trip too. The car feels very strong, inspires confidence, spacious, feature loaded and is priced good. The downside is, similar to its siblings it faces the same three cylinder engine problems, noise, vibrations, a tiny bit underpowered, I’m not a fan of the rear end and the touch screen is from 2009!. Another reason I’m not getting this car is the fact that my friend has it and I can drive it anytime I want. It’s almost as if the car is already in the family so I’m not going to buy the same car. The iturbo in the new blue is a very appealing though but i can’t test drive it so I’m not a 100% sure.

i20

I disliked the design when this car was launched, I thought it was overpriced and wasn’t feeling the interior. All that changed when I casually went for a test drive, I drove the turbo imt first and was surprised how easy it was to drive coupled with the turbo it was fun too. I then arranged a home test drive of the manual, and was pleasantly delighted by the light clutch, engine refinement, easy shift and the suspension was to my liking. This is the most feature rich, it only misses the vented seats. And I felt the most relaxed driving the car, I could picture myself enjoy the daily commute with the smooth driving, bose sound system on a raining day watching the rain drops fall on the sunroof. Did I say it has a sunroof? I know it’s expensive but vanity does have its price.

They brought the manual petrol home for test drive

The slick touch screen, digital cockpit, and ac unit look cool, they could have been put together a little better but what's with the fabric seats? which we cant even cover because because of the airbag, apparently fabric seats cause static and hit you with a current every time you get out. The new Baleno keeps hitting you with current too.

Other cars

In this price range having no objection with shape I have a lot of other options and here’s why I don’t like them. Starting with Compact SUVs/tall hatchbacks except for the kiger I don’t get a range topping variant in my budget. I drove the nexon and disliked the body roll and lumpy ride because of the raised height. The venue is too ugly, the kia people won’t give a test drive of the sonnet and seem to be disinterested in showing/selling the car plus the upper variants are very expensive and the car feels cramped on the inside. All the craze behind the polo made me drive that too, but here I say the engine felt too overpowered? The creep in automatic is way too fast, especially while reversing. I’m surprised I don’t see botched polos on the road but then again who is buying a 20 year old car?.

I realise I have criticised a lot about the cars, I guess I went with an elimination process so please don’t get offended if you are a proud owner of any of the cars above. Having said that, test driving these cars real world impression of the market is very different from what social media has to say for the cars, at least for me. I honestly had a lot of hope from TATA but was mostly disappointed with its offerings. I’d love to hear suggestions and if anyone wants to make a case for their choice of car.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

The writing is on the wall = Altroz turbo petrol or turbo diesel. I prefer the diesel, but maybe you don't want the same situation as with your Ertiga where you are letting go of a low mileage well-maintained car at the 10 year mark. Other options I would check out if I were you = Kia Carens (if you guys miss the Ertiga), Sonet (if you don't need a 3rd row of seats) - it drives beautifully, i20 (a truly premium hatchback with great engines) and XUV300 (might go a bit over budget, but wonderful crossover).

Drive all of these, then pick the one that tugs the strings to your heart the most. The one that makes you smile the most.

Here's what BHPian gt3t0uring had to say on the matter:

If I were you, I'd go for the VW Polo HL+ MT, it is really well built, especially that door thud is so satisfying. Here are some Pros and cons:

Pros:

• Solid build
• Fantastic engine
• Feels like a much bigger car
• 6 speed MT
• Beautiful and understated looks (looks much more
  expensive when seen from afar)
• Really good audio system.

Cons:

• No DRLs, LED Headlights
• Dated interior (yet classy imo)
• Will be discontinued
• VW after sales and network
• Not-so-refined engine
• Average Equipment list (no parking camera etc.)
• Rear seat space

All above mentioned things I have personally experienced as we have one in our family, and have tried to be as unbiased as possible. Good luck!

Regards.

Here's what BHPian PrasannaDhana had to say on the matter:

I own 2 of the cars from your options list - 2021 Altroz 1.5 diesel as well as 2021 Celerio 1.0

For your usage the altroz petrol fits well, but the engine is poor when it comes to performance and the NVH is below average too. Do test drive the iturbo and see how you feel.

New celerio is a good package, though a bit overpriced. The looks grow on you and the space management is excellent. It also rides well. The engine is very efficient, more refined than the previous k10B and there is a good improvement in driveability too. But it has a vague steering like all other marutis and feels boring to drive. I don't think that would be a concern as your daily usage(driving time) is very low.

Do give triber another shot. The turbo is great to drive in sports mode, with clearly better throttle response as well as steering weighing up considerably. The space and ride are great too. With 4star crash rating, it's a safe car to be in. Only gripe is the manual gearbox, which is very notchy and below average to use.

i20 is too expensive for what it offers, and so is the iturbo altroz IMHO. I would not recommend diesel altroz as DPF issues will definitely crop up with such low usage, that too within city limits.

You can wait for the launch of Citroën c3 too.

At the end of the day, there is no car in the 10 lakhs budget without a compromise or two.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Well, I feel it sure is a good quality bulb, which delivers a fairly crisp light which is compliant to the Polo's Halogen housing.

BHPian fluidicjoy recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

This is actually quite an old update to the car and it marked the first headlight upgrade I tried with the stock Dual Barrel Halogen Headlights.

Headlights and Exterior Lighting Upgrade

Since we’ve only had sunny days for the most part ever since I got this car, I haven’t had too many complaints about the headlights in general. However, I have been exploring ways to improve the lighting from the stock lights, but one thing is for sure, even in the stock configuration, I have found the Low Beam to be a lot more useful than the high beam. Here is a quick GIF featuring the Low and High Beam on the parking wall.

The most straightforward upgrade to the headlight bulbs on a Polo with a Dual H7 Halogen Headlight, is a better bulb. The stock bulb should have a good 4-5 year life, but it isn’t the brightest nor the best bulb available in the market. H7 bulbs by Osram and Philips sold in India are only marginally better than the stock bulb.

I found that the best H7 bulbs you can buy for your car are available on a site called Powerbulbs UK and it is here that I found quite a lot of good options like the Philips XtremeVision 150 and RacingVision 200. Both of these are Road Legal and quite better compared to the stock bulb. The pros of both of these options is an ever so slightly whiter light and improved visibility.

These are way better models than the XtremeVision Philips sells here. They however have two major cons in my opinion. The rated lifetime of both of these bulbs would only be 2 to 3 years at best assuming a mere 30 minutes of night driving daily. And the other aspect is naturally the price. So replacing bulbs every 2-3 years is something not most users would be happy about considering the expense of these as well as they’d end up at about 40-45GBP a pair. So considering all of these factors, I decided to explore another not so popular option amongst the purists as a small experiment to see the result for myself.

Trying LED bulbs in a halogen housing

I know this response can have immediate polarising responses. True to that, I have seen cheap LED bulbs fitted incorrectly and causing a mayhem in a reflector housing. I’ve sworn at people with low beams which cause a glare when I’ve been walking or driving across such cars and I knew I did not want to be such a driver.

However, I respect an automotive brand like Philips for continuing to engineer and explore LED retrofit bulbs which they advertise so strongly to gel well with reflector housing and I really wanted to try their supposedly finest engineered LED bulb available in the market and see for myself, if I could attain a good lighting pattern and so I decided to purchase the Philips Ultinon Pro 9000 LED, by Philips LumiLEDs.

I have made an attempt to simulate quite a lot of lighting and glare tests on this headlight before continuing to use these, and the end result beam pattern wise has been flawless.

Purchase Experience

I purchased these bulbs and a few other interior LEDs from PowerBulbs and I found a few coupons with a 40% off which I applied on my purchase. The site itself is always giving out fair discounts, so do keep an eye on that if you’re looking for an upgrade. The shipping on most orders about 50GBP should be free, but we do need to account for the custom duty since this is coming all the way from UK, and it naturally is not going to be undervalued.

I had to pay 6000 rupees worth of duty for the entire package, which translated to 45% of the invoice value. This nearly made me cry, since I was scrambling for paper money in what has been a digital lockdown.

Bulb Design and Characteristics

Now there’s a lot of good things about this Ultinon Pro 9000 LED Bulb. Firstly, it has a top contact LED chip. It features an integrated fan and an aluminium body for good thermal dissipation, and all of this in an assembly which doesn’t stick out or need modification of the headlight weather boot. It has a rated colour temperature of 5800K but I honestly found it to be practically white light. Philips claims a 5000 hours life and is also offering a 2+3 year warranty. However, I must share that in the Europe, these are not classified as Road Legal Bulbs, since LED Bulbs continue to be illegal when placed in Reflector housings and they’re only recommended at best for Off-Road use.

Another USP of the Ultinon Pro 9000 is the in-built CANBUS compliance, but this isn't a concern for the India spec Polo, since headlights are not BCM controlled and only the Fog-lights are BCM driven.

First Attempt To Install

I took the headlights out and was expecting them to be a straight fit, but it was then that I realised I'd need a small ring connector to get it to perfectly fit and align it along the stock halogen filament.

Philips India had listed a few ring connectors on their site, but as per Philips UK, I’d have needed a P Type Connector, which even they had no clue about. Since then, I raised multiple queries with local and international Philips

Retrofit LED teams for procuring the LED Connector Rings.

Roadblocks

The H7 Ultinon Pro 9000 documentation said it would not need any LED Headlight adapters for working on the Polo H7 housing, but on taking the headlight out, I realised this was far from true. In fact, Philips was right about not needing any external fixtures, but only for European Polo 6Rs with a European Halogen Bulb fixture.

Volkswagen India is using a modified adapter for their H7 Bulbs, which is not the case for its other H7 offerings globally. The stock Halogen Connector ring will not let the Headlight Bulb pass through, even after unscrewing So, I started looking for what Philips was advertising as an LED Ring Connector. They offer a Type B and a Type C and the European Philips LumiLED Customer Care executive told me to procure one of those for installing it in the vehicle.

Philips India had also listed these ring connectors, and I tried procuring them, but to no avail. I raised a query with LumiLED India and got in touch with two senior executives where I voiced my concerns about installing my bulb, but they too could not source an adapter for me.

They were firstly curious about the very bulb I was using, since it was not yet available in India. And secondly, they were wondering how their other customers had been installing the Philips LED Headlights since they admitted it was highly improbable to achieve their engineered beam pattern without a proper headlight connector which allowed alignment inside the Bulb Holder. They tried to help me with a pair of Headlight connectors and said they had assigned teams in China and Europe to expedite a pair. After a month, I heard that they had no luck from their international teams about these headlight connectors. Now we come to the irony.

I independently managed to source 4 headlight ring connectors from China within a week. So moving ahead, the rings were finally here and I hit another bump. The rings that were supposed to work with these bulbs, were specifically not compatible with the Ultinon Pro 9000.

Now, this made me really angry since there was no reference on Philips Europe, Philips UK or anywhere that this ring is just not made for the Ultinon Pro 9000. For someone paying over 120GBP on a pair of bulbs, I expected a more reliable installation and product knowhow.

I was back to square one when it came to the installation of these bulbs, and finally, I took the decision to salvage a pair of my connector rings and convert them to a workable Retrofit ring and it finally worked out!

List of Instructions To Install Them The Right Way

1. Take the headlight assembly out of the car by unscrewing 2 T30 screws.

2. Release the T10 Headlight Connector.

3. Take the dust cap off.

4. Slightly loosen the Headlight Connector ring held by Torx Screws.

5. Pull the old bulb out and then release the headlight connector ring.

6. Prepare the Ultinon Pro 9000 by aligning it to an LED adapter ring, and mount the bulb.

7. Reconnect the LED power adapter to the headlight connector. (2 Wire terminal goes to Negative).

8. Put everything back.

9. Check headlight cut-off and alignment, by following markings and tutorials, from about 25 feet (as per a few references.)

Most of these installation steps have been covered in my video linked below, but I'll add a few pictures along with the key points.

Getting The Best Beam Pattern Possible

To get the sharpest beam pattern possible in a reflector, the LED bulb to be used should have a filament orientation and design which sits along the original orientation of the best.

As you can see, there is a small stem at the bottom of both rings. This stem should match during the final fitment and tightening. If there is some play, or if this is installed inverted, you will get a glare and a scattered beam, which is neither useful to you nor pleasing to pedestrians. The stem should be aligned along the natural direction of the reflector bowl, marking with this small line. This feedback was received from executives at Philips and from a few popular Automotive channels who specialise in Automotive bulbs and I'll like them below.

The bulb connector connects to the 2 pin socket on the stock headlight. The pin with one wire joined to it is the positive terminal on the LED.

Testing And Glare Disclaimer

I’ve tested these bulbs thoroughly in quite a few scenarios, and during my testing I did not find these to cause a glare to other passengers and drivers, once they were perfectly aligned. Now sometimes on camera, even a proper genuine headlight assembly can appear to cause a glare from a particular set of angles, but once these were properly aligned, they exhibited a fairly sharp and controlled cut-off.

What’s The Performance Like?

It is my belief that a video is not really the best metric to judge a headlights performance since the camera and the image sensor and processing greatly alter the perceived brightness, but I’ve tried my best to downplay the camera settings to give you a fair idea of the lighting experience with these bulbs. The beam pattern is close to the Stock Halogen in crispness, but still not as perfect, but that's still pretty good for an assembly originally designed for a halogen bulb.

Coming to the luminous performance, I wasn’t able to run any Luminous Flux tests, but I feel there is a notable improvement in the visibility, compared to the Halogen Bulb in dry driving scenarios. The beam colour is rated around 5800K, but it is definitely on the cooler side, and as I was expecting, these did not do the best in moderate to heavy rains. Since I premeditated this, I kept the High Beam stock Halogens as a failsafe mechanism.

Philips makes a lot of bold claims about the performance and claims upto 250% more light. I would love to see how they try to make such claims, since it's definitely not that huge of an improvement.

After beam alignment, I noticed the headlights were not causing any glare to on-going cars and pedestrians. If you have a look at some of the driving sample footage or even experience this bulb yourself, you’ll notice the low beam cutting in below the window-line of most parked and on-coming vehicles. No pedestrian was reacting adversely to the incoming car since the light was cutting sharply below the waistlines of most average height pedestrians. Here's a picture in a dark parking lot to see the cut-off line.

I wanted to test this aspect thoroughly since I absolutely hate the LED Retrofit that my neighbour’s GT TSI has, and the beams cause a terrible glare that makes me swear. Wow that even rhymes!

Some Miscellaneous Pictures About These Headlights

The Indian headlight on the car is made by HELLA.

These are the set of screws you need to tweak if you have problems in your stock beam pattern. Be gentle with them, and be sure to make appropriate markings on a wall to get the best possible cut-off.

These headlight tabs may break down with age or abuse, and may need to be refurbished with a repair kit as the car and plastics start to age.

Is It Worth It?

Well, I feel it sure is a good quality bulb, which delivers a fairly crisp light which is compliant to the Polo Halogen housing, but it still bears the same traits of an LED light which falters in extreme weather, making these a slight disappointment, and definitely not a permanent, all-round solution.

The high cost and availability of these bulbs also makes it a pain to recommend to everyone, but if I had the chance, I’d definitely have liked to try a few other Ultinon Philips LED bulbs which are sold in India. It is slightly sad that I did not keep this headlight bulb in my Low Beam assembly for long, but to summarise, I think with respect to the trouble I faced and the performance I expected and finally observed, I found them slightly disappointing.

I strongly believed they'd be the best pair of bulbs to buy, because of the brand name, the generous warranty and the promise of incredible light, but the best thing about the bulb has been the cut-off and near Halogen beam pattern.

Here's a detailed installation video with a few night-time driving samples. I wanted to test these bulbs a lot more, but due to the lockdowns in 2021, I simply couldn't drive out too much at night.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

We've had the Tata Nano & Safari, hence, would like to experience a car from a different manufacturer.

BHPian vigneshkumar31 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Primary Requirement

A small compact hatch that is feature-rich and offers modern creature comforts for city duties.

Primary Driver

Wife.

I would rate her as a good driver (even when she’s not listening). So she’s trustworthy behind the wheel. Has managed a Figo Titanium before in long term and is comfortable with hatchbacks. Has been ‘designated driver’ of choice for safe return, post many a blurry night. She’s however uncomfortable with clutchless cars and might need to get used to automatics. She did struggle with SPresso AMT we have at my parents’ home and avoided switching places when we went intercity on a Creta AT. She loves fresh, good interiors and premium appointments.

After the Figo sale, there has been a long hiatus with respect to the second car in the house as requirements and situations didn’t demand one.

This year we felt we do need a small car for the wife again, for some occasional work-related travel, school drops, market runs, etc. within the city. We didn’t think about it much and as a stop-gap, for the last 6 months, we have been managing with a pre-owned Swift. Basic and gets the job done. We have to let it go though due to unavoidable reasons.

Secondary Driver

Me.

I’m an SUV guy and have preferred large ladder frames over low slung sedans. I’ve been driving the first generation Storme since its launch and have not yet found a worthy replacement for it. But that’s a different thread altogether. Ergo, I’m not a hatch guy and have not been following hatches, especially the interesting launches recently.

Driving the Swift again, returning to hatches after long, I’m suddenly reminded of the pleasures of a small car. Meandering through small lanes and tiny parking slots give me a joy I seem to have missed with my burly Safari. I’m also guilty of the long-forgotten feeling that only zippy petrols give.

Family Requirement

As a family, we have started to feel the requirement of a new car. We would like to invest in the safety options available today which were unheard of in our previous cars. Nice features and well-appointed interiors are sorely missed.

In our pursuit for the next car, I stick with my SUV requirements and my wife's pro-small hatches as she finds big burly SUVs intimidating.

Cars have become obscenely expensive and I had been planning that the next car could be a one-car-do-all for the family and so I should go for a premium well-built SUV laden with features which probably both of us can drive, meeting each other in the middle. Maybe something like the Compass. But eyes watered after seeing what it costs on road today.

And with one car doing all, the advantage of having two independent cars at a time is lost and one of us would have to always compromise or suffer.

Two cars make sense. So we figured we go in for a new small hatch for her with all creature comforts while I continue to hunt for bare-bones SUVs when the time and option comes to replace Storme. Probably I could do even the preowned route also for the next large depreciating SUV since we would have a solid new small car in the family for primary duties. This also relegates my SUV to secondary status and I can compromise family and plush requirements, thus bringing the price down of the SUV when we get there and get away with a heart purchase. (see where I’m sneakily going with this?)

So the hatch it is now. I would request for user inputs and expert opinions from our Team-BHP community to help me wade through these unchartered A, B segment waters.

Checklist

Classified as Vital - Essential - Desirable

Vital

• Safe car - Good safety track record. While absolute perfect 5 GNCAP stars may not be vital, we would like to steer away from zero star tin cans with known crumple tendencies.
• Good build - This segment no more belongs exclusively to budget players. Some good solid cars have entered the ring making it exciting.
• Premium interiors - We want the car to feel like a luxury barge (relative to the segment) This is key to keep the car fresh and make us feel like a worthy upgrade.
• Features - We hold cars for a long. Future proof features which would help us hold the car longer and not go out of date in 3 years are vital.
• Driver seat adjust and ergonomics - I’m tall and my wife is short. So height adjust and a possibility to work the ergos for both of us is vital. She should be able to see all around in her highest and closest driving position and I should be able to manage to slide the seat back and sit low. I can manage without complaints (as always) if it’s tight for me but the car should be biased towards helping a shorter driver get the best driving position.

Essential

• Size - As compact as possible to park and putter around effortlessly. Don’t unnecessarily want to move up to a compact sedan with a tiny boot as we don’t need it and the price should be kept in check. Hence hatch will do. Also, let’s not go the hatch on stilts/pretend SUV way and splurge money on altitude, please.
• Transmission - It would be nice to have an automatic which looks precisely advantageous for this particular use case. But since my wife is comfortable with manual, and it would help keep the price in check, I’m open to stick shift also.
• Features - those good to have features that cost a bomb in a large car have trickled down to hatches and can be experienced at an affordable price bracket. That’s what we’re gunning for. So pump up the feature list, please. Are there sunroof hatches I wonder?
• Engine - Not particular about diesel/petrol. A good motor married to the gearbox is all we need. If petrol keeps the overall purchase cost in check then would prefer petrol as the other large car would be diesel. Break-even despite costlier petrol cost/litre is not valid as running would be low.
• Wife is a sedate driver and doesn’t corner carve. She was very happy when she got a speeding ticket on the expressway once and counts it as a lifetime adventure experience.
• As I’m the secondary driver, an FTD hatch would be an added bonus for occasional grins.
• Fuss-free ownership - I want one car in the family to be fuss-free and not popping surprises now and then, or requiring constant visits to the service center to fix a faulty bulb here or a failed sensor there. Sorted, niggle free experience, please.

Desirable

• Body exterior - Has to tick the ‘chick hatch’ box in terms of style and colour. So good looks from the ladies’ perspective will win brownie points. Doesn’t matter if I will have to cover my face driving a pista green hatch. Should also enjoy bragging rights amongst the lady friends gang meeting up on weekday afternoons which seems to be a new thing I can’t comprehend (and wisely I keep shut).
• New car - Let’s not go the preowned route because at the budget and considering we would like to keep the car long and also need this to be fuss-free ownership (all headaches are reserved for my next SUV probably).
• Pedigree - Can we sneak in a European experience at this budget? I’m a Skoda type guy when it comes to interiors and clever features. And it would be nice to have that German feel in our garage. Again since it’s a smaller car I can afford to maintain it rather than say, a larger Kodiaq perhaps.
• Manufacturer - We've had the Nano and the Safari so Tata’s been there, done that. Would desire a new better A.S.S experience from other makers but if the winner of this battle is Tata, then not averse to the idea of going again to Tata either. I’m open to any Indian, Korean, European worth its salt.
• Budget - 10lacs Ex-showroom. Ambitious and greedy? Maybe. But I trust the community to find me a diamond in the rough.

Here's what BHPian abhishek46 had to say about the matter:

You may consider the Altroz iTurbo XZ+. It is a good combination of Snazzy Styling, Solid 5-Star Build & Adequate Power. It is adequately loaded too, with respect to features.

Here's what BHPian smileline had to say about the matter:

Considering your requirements you can check Polo GT TSI automatic. It will age well, it has a good safety rating and will be easy to manoeuvre.

Let her test drive all the cars.

Here's what BHPian DogNDamsel12 had to say about the matter:

Sorry for my inability to write an unbiased review!

I drive a Polo 1.2 MPI - and in the category of hatchbacks could not have asked for more. The Polo 1.0 MT TSI may be worth a shot subject to your test driving it - I have not test driven it to know.

The Polo ticks off most of the stuff on your checklist, except maybe the long-term ownership part. My individual experience is that my 1.2 MPI is extremely fuss-free - just an annual run to the workshop, that's all. Though I have seen reviews of some injector failures etc., which personally I have never experienced.

A comprehensive B2B insurance and the extended warranty for sure are mandatory. Parts are way more expensive in comparison to most Indian or Japanese brands.

In terms of driving experience, handles well on curves, bad roads, aquaplanes etc. without any of the tyres lifting off that easily - extremely planted. Easy to manoeuvre in crowded marketplaces and very easy to park. Personally, I am a fan of smart, no-nonsense design. Good boot-space. And cannot say enough - safe, safe, very safe!

Have owned a Polo previously (2013 model) - that car had a great low end. Have been in an accident in that one that could have been fatal in most of the other cars, but managed to come out on the other side almost without a scratch. When I tried to replace the car, fresh out of a traumatic experience, I could not make myself like anything else apart from another VW and that too a Polo primarily for my usage of taking it to work every day as well as pick up groceries etc.

The top-end on this one is good, low-end feels different in that I have to step on the gas much sooner after leaving the clutch on an incline - I will leave it up to the pundits to explain why, but this one has a better fuel economy (seen 15 on city roads).

In terms of service, the Kolkata service center (one of them that I have used so far) is as bad as how great the Delhi one was. They don't have parts and they have no respect for timelines to finish a job - but the experience might be totally different wherever you are.

Good luck with your hunt - and hope she has fun driving!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The car achieves speeds of 80-90 km/h with ease. It takes a great deal of self-control to drive it at a slower pace.

BHPian Praneeth recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello Bhpians,

Just got my Polo TSI Comfortline MT delivered two days ago.

Being a dieselhead and having lived with Swift diesel, my initial consideration was Altroz diesel due to higher running requirements, but the Polo was available for immediate delivery and a single test drive sealed the deal for me.

After driving it 250kms in two days, I'm happy with my decision to go with the Polo.

The 1.0 TSI is a gem. It achieves speeds of 80-90km with ease and on the highways, the engine is barely awake at 1.5 - 2k rpm and knowing that there is still 4000 rpm of usable power is amazing.

It takes a great deal of self-control and mindfulness to drive this car at a slower pace.

However, the alternate thread about the poor quality of suspension and steering column of the current VW products is giving me heartburn since the purchase.

I'm following the recommended methods regarding the run-in period, but I would like to get a few pointers from my fellow Polo owners regarding the run-in period and are there any reliability issues with the current TSI engines?

Here's what BHPian TeaYesEye had to say about the matter:

Congratulations, Praneeth, on your new ride. Welcome to the TSI family.

Do not lose your sleep on people's opinions. Polo is still one of the best-built cars. To share my experience, I have driven for about 12 hours straight through different terrains like smooth roads, no-roads, ghat sections, cruised at 120kmph, etc., and I still had enough energy to drive more!

I agree it's not what it was back then, but locally sourced does not mean cheap quality. Trust the process, enjoy your ride and live the moment.

Remember there was no and will be no "Perfect" car!

Here's what BHPian gt3t0uring had to say about the matter:

Congratulations on your new beauty! Comfortline sure is VFM given the performance it delivers plus those alloys!

By the way, what year your Polo is from?

Here's what BHPian Sahil00090 had to say about the matter:

Congratulations on your purchase.

I have completed almost 6k kms and broke some run-in period rules (only a few times for some kms) & the car doing really good so far.

Enjoy your ride, mate.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I've noticed that using Shell fuel improves the performance & fuel efficiency. My car has returned 19-20 km/l on the highways & 13+ km/l in the city.

BHPian TeaYesEye recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

6 Months - 7K km Update

I could name my ride "Aśva - The white horse." (Comfortline AT)

I updated my boring SW to MFSW with paddlers, and it is/will be the expensive retrofit by far! But it was a much-needed functional upgrade.

7K km includes mostly highway runs, a few ghats (Charmadi and Yercaud), and city beats (Bengaluru). So far, it has been an uneventful journey (touchwood), except for a few scratches and a dent (keeping it for self-reminder). I continue to take care of and maintain in whatever way I can.

I got the wheel alignment and balancing done from the best in Bangalore, Madhus Tyre Centre, Wilson Garden. No wonder it is the best rated! These folks are experts, and they handle all queries professionally. Thanks to Mr. Rocky, he was happy and patient enough to explain the process since I am a newbie.

Personal observations on fuel types:

• IOCL: XP95 and Regular fuel types returned an average of 14-16/liter on highways, 9-11 in the city.
• Shell: Wanted to experiment with both Regular and VPower. I could sense the engine performed better, and the VPower gave the extra edge on mileage. It consistently returned an unbelievable 19-20/liter on highways and around 13+ in the city.

Snapped en route to Yercaud from Palani:

Here's what BHPian Shreyas_H had to say about the matter:

Hey, could you share some more details of the installation process for the multi-functional steering wheel? Is it plug & play for the Comfortline AT variant?

Is there a requirement for any wire/connector splicing because of the on-wheel buttons or lights? Also, what's the cost for that? Would be great if you could share a few pictures as well!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The variant with the automatic transmission was a more practical option but certain things pushed me to buy the MT model.

BHPian KA19Rao shared this with other enthusiasts.

Ladies and Gentlemen I would like to introduce all of you to my first car dubbed Red Rascal. Born sometime in the last week of February 2021, Red Rascal is a Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI MT Highline+. It was delivered to me on the 1st of March 2021.

After a 4-month long car hunting ritual, I finally brought home Red Rascal.

As per the TeamBHP customs:

Pros

• The powerhouse of a 1.0 TSI and the smooth(ish) 6MT gearbox.
• The ability to give gapplebees in traffic.
• The build to last philosophy. (Got me eating my words so far)
• The sticky handling.
• The economy.

Cons

• The most annoying one is the exclusion of keyless entry.
• Brutal cost-cutting (Headlamp unit/headlight, horn, no padding on door cards, dismal lighting in-cabin and no lighting in boot).
• The MID is useless after 80 KMPH.
• I have already visited the service centre more than 5 times in less than 6 months. And I am still not done. (Though not always for mechanical issues)
• The economy.

The Buying decision

Circa 2nd week of November 2020, my parents decided that it is time that I get my own car for my 22nd Birthday. My father was well aware of my intention of buying a VW Polo 1.2 TSI as my first car after I begin earning. And as a surprise my father wanted to gift me said car for my 22nd Birthday, he had identified one such example which belonged to a friend who was also coincidentally looking to dispose of it. However, for various reasons, the deal fell through. After this, my father disclosed his plan of getting a car for me and then told me that I should look for a used car myself with a budget of 7 to 7.5L all in.

This being a lifelong dream I jumped into action and began browsing the classifieds. Shortly after shortlisting some decent examples, a good friend of mine introduced me to his latest acquisition a pre-worshipped Skoda Laura TDI DSG. It turned out to be a love at first drive sensation, taking into account all the aspects of ownership (or so I thought at the time) I decided that I would shift my focus and begin researching and hunting for a pre-worshipped Skoda Laura TDI DSG or the Volkswagen Jetta TDI DSG. This took up a considerable amount of time which in hindsight turned out to be fruitless. The lack of good examples in the KA market was astounding, to say the least. The Jetta had to be ruled out as there were very few examples on sale and those were in the realm of 10L and above. The Lauras on sale especially the TDIs generally had terrible histories or the asking was too high to even begin negotiations thus, delaying my purchase.

A month or so later the Laura friend of mine started facing some minor issues here and there and finally, a major issue of his radiator leaking plagued his car. I was aware of all such niggles being a part and parcel of the ownership experience despite which I was ready to take the plunge into what is essentially a 10-year-old German. However, what I had failed to consider is the amount of time it would require to fix any and all the issues I would inadvertently have faced if I were to own one. It was pointed out to me that as a 22-year-old who freshly graduated from Law, I would have very little time to rectify any niggles that would crop-up and will have an embarrassing time explaining to my employers why I was late or why I need some time off. Another aspect to consider is that I am essentially fresh into the Indian automotive scene and am yet to develop the necessary connections to maintain such cars, especially considering that FNGs are the only reliable sources to maintain the upkeep of such cars.

At this point, my parents and I took up the decision to go for something reliable (read NEW).

When the new car search began, I began my search for the available offerings and summarily dismissed one after the other after reading reviews and conducting my research. My list of wants from the car was topped by F-U-N T-O D-R-I-V-E out of the box followed by the potential to play around (also read as: modify it to behave like a hooligan).

Considering the options in my budget I had:

Tata Altroz

The iTurbo was just launched at the time. It is a well-rounded car with good safety ratings. Cannot comment on the driving nature of the car as I did not drive it.

This would have been one of the top contenders if I had no intentions of modifying the car down the line and being totally honest the history of the badge and the brand using their initial customers as guinea pigs was a turn-off as well.

(No offence towards TATA and its customers, they are showing commendable effort but they are not there yet.)

Hyundai Siblings i10 & i20

Being a Hyundai user I was interested in trying out some of the other options. However, the biggest turn-off was the latest Safety ratings that it received. Another thing to consider was also the fact that the i20 Turbo top end was pushing close to 14L on road Mangalore and the i10 Turbo was pushing close to 9.5L. (IMO overpriced by about 2L and 1L respectively.)

Maruti Suzuki Swift & Baleno

All brilliant packages especially in the service network but have been proven to have terrible safety ratings. I think these cars have been bashed enough on this forum. (Read: unsafe, lazy OEMs with respect to innovation and development, the non-self-centring steerings, etc.)

Ford Figo

No doubt the last Ol'Skool design diesel hatch in India, afraid Ford India might pull a Chevrolet here in India (what with their Mahindra deal falling through and all) so it was dropped from consideration.

Honda Jazz

Honestly while writing I just remembered about the Jazz whilst typing up this review. Says a lot about the offering if I may say so.

Skoda Rapid Rider+ (Only Sedan Considered)

The Rapid Rider+ was the only consideration as it was the only variant that made sense other than the top-spec variant IMO. The Rapid Rider+ is a brilliant offering for someone on a budget but some of the basic features that are in my books are quite essential such as height-adjustable seats, power window control switches for the rear, MFD with more than just trip information(I'll admit its a nice to have more than must-have), etc.

However, my requirements did not demand lots of rear legroom nor did it require massive boot space, and thus saw the VW Polo Highline+ as better value for the same money.

However, I shall mention here that I also TD the Rapid TSI in both MT and AT avatar with TAFE Access Mangaluru. At the time (Sometime end of November) they had a White Onyx TSI AT in stock and was offered the same at 13.5 and change with more room for negotiation. It was a good car and a good deal but it is twice the initial budget and it was dropped.

Volkswagen Polo

The heart wants what the heart wants.

P.S.: I will refrain from buying anything SUVish until my health permits. (Same philosophy applied during this purchase as well.)

Booking & buying experience

In the last weeks of December 2020, I applied on the online portal of VW for a TD of the Polo TSI, I was promptly called by VW Mangaluru the next day. A day and time were arranged and a sales rep showed up albeit a little late, and I was allowed to take a test drive for as long as I wished and was quite satisfied with the experience. I informed them that I was busy during the New Years' period and informed them that I will be booking the car once I was free.

During this period I was waiting to hear back from a wildcard entry of a pre-owned pristinely maintained FL Rapid Style TDI AT. After not hearing back from the seller I decided to drop the Rapid and go ahead with the Polo.

At the time of booking, we contacted our acquaintance at the dealership and informed them of our intentions of purchasing a Polo. At this time we were informed that their Test Drive Vento Highline+ MT with a mere 15xx Kms. was due for replacement at the time and was offered to us at a mouth-watering price, unfortunately, the dealership had also instructed their sales staff to disclose the same offer to its other "well-known" clients and when I tried to book the same I was informed that the other sales reps had simultaneously accepted 2 other bookings for the same car, I decided that there was no point in waiting to clear this conundrum and chase a car that was "used". And decided to go ahead with the purchase.

In hindsight, if I had not wasted my time with the wildcard Rapid and the wildcard TD Vento, I would have been able to put my booking in before the January price hike introduced by VW.

AT or MT - No doubt AT is the more practical option but certain things pushed me towards buying an MT car.

• AT was available only in GT guise.
• Price difference was 2L. (Stretching the budget way over)
• Not a DSG. (Yeah, yeah I know)
• My driving experience so far has been mostly with an AT.
• Most likely going to be my last MT car.
• I am young enough to bear the brunt of driving an MT in dense traffic.(IMO VW should have offered the Polo AT TC in the Highline+ guise and a Polo AT DSG in GT guises)

Anywho, coming to the actual booking experience we conveyed to the dealership that we are not interested in the Vento and would like to go ahead with a Polo, at this point they asked my colour preferences to which I replied Lapiz Blue, Flash Red, and White in that order. Lapiz Blue commanded a waiting period of 3 months, so that was eliminated. After checking available stock they informed me that White was available and could be delivered within the month. However, I was informed that if I was willing to wait till the end of February they could try arranging for a Lapiz Blue example if not they could definitely arrange for Flash Red. Due to other commitments, my schedule required me to stay in Mangaluru till the end of February and I was quite happy to wait for a Flash Red Polo.

P.S.: Please take my buying experience with a pinch of salt if you decide to purchase a VW as my purchase was made with a dealership where the top management was known to us.

That being said I would like to stress that all my interactions with the dealership until the booking stage were done unbeknownst to the top management and I was more than satisfied with the experience, right from applying for a test drive online till deciding to book the vehicle.

P.P.S.: I am in no way financially or otherwise related to Bharat Vehicle Works and to the Volkswagen Mangaluru group.

Delivery day

After an excruciatingly long wait of almost a month on the 1st of March 2021, I got my Polo delivered to me. The car arrived at Mangaluru on the 1st itself and I insisted that I receive the delivery on the 1st itself. I received the car at about 5 in the evening after the demo and a small cake cutting (which I had asked them not to do). I received all the necessary papers and the Paytm fastag on the same day. (Kudos to the VW Mangaluru team.)

Customary reveal procedure

That grin was plastered across my face all day

The team felt bad that they could not source a Lapiz Blue car for me so as a gesture they gifted me a Lapiz Blue Mug.

Post-delivery annoyances

I shall keep it brief. I got the car inspected on the 1st of March by the RTO in charge, who then uploaded the details to the Bengaluru RTO for approval 3 days after inspecting the car. After getting the details the Bengaluru RTO took another 6 days to approve the details and allot my number. One fine day, 9 days after delivery is when I received the SMS from VAAHAN. It took a further 4 days to obtain the HSRP from the Bengaluru RTO. The application has been made online requesting the RTO Smart Card on the 14th of March only time will tell how long it will take to obtain it.

Accessories & extra fittings

Pre-delivery purchases:

• Jopasu car duster (well, duh): There was a good deal on Amazon for the Duster, mini duster, and the rejuvenator, so it was purchased. INR 1400.
• 70Mai Pro Dashcam: This was purchased from NEXDIGITRON, the official distributor, as it was cheaper by 500 on their own website. I also purchased a 64GB SD from Amazon. INR 5999+720

I had asked the Service Centre to route the cable from the camera to the dash below and they did a fantastic job routing it from behind the infotainment system and down from a hole near the cupholders.

• Sensairy External TPMS: Again, purchased through the Tymtix website as it was cheaper by 500 than on Amazon. INR 5500

One year update: It has caused more troubles than it has saved. Would recommend going for the Internal system offered by them. (P.S. Ajay has been very helpful with my queries and they have also replaced the rear right sensor under warranty.)

• Key covers: Key care Silicone Flip key, Red and Grey. INR 299. Bad decisions would not purchase it again. JVCV Carbon Silicone Flip Key case, Black. INR 425.

Post-delivery installation:

• Spigen Car Phone Holder- Perfectly fulfils my needs, although it requires a metal plate to be installed on the back of your phone, so it's not recommended for people who use wireless charging as it blocks the coils.

• Rearview camera- This was purchased directly from the dealership and was installed a couple of days after the delivery. It is of non-OEM make and the quality that can be expected from it is also non-OEM.
• Headlight Upgrade- Aozoom brand HID bulbs were replaced with the low beam bulbs of the double-barrel setup and I am more than satisfied with the output, however, it needs a little more alignment tweaking to set it just right. INR 8500
• Horn Upgrade- Hella Dual Tone Blackpearl was replaced with the OEM single-tone horn simultaneous to the headlight install. INR 1000. The OEM horn was meek and IMO useless as it does not do what is expected out of honking. I personally never use the horn unless absolutely necessary and for that purpose, a loud warning is what has been the most effective measure, the OEM horn used to fall on deaf ears to both Scooters and Trucks, Riders hogging the fast lane 99% of the time used to turn their head around to see that it was a car and then proceed to make way.

The purchase and installation of both the above were undertaken at VM Customs in Mangaluru.

Continue reading KA19Rao's ownership experience for BHPian comments, insights and more information.

Cars like the Type-2 City VTEC, Baleno, Lancer, Mk1 vRS, and Pajero SFX are already on the verge of becoming classics.

I was watching some videos on cars that have the potential to become future classics/collector cars and immediately thought of the cars in India that can be on that list.

It's 2022 and a lot has changed in the Indian automotive scene. There are a number of cars that have the potential to become future classics. Cars like the Type-2 City VTEC, Baleno, Lancer, Mk1 vRS, Pajero SFX are already on the verge of becoming classics. But I would like to see the modern cars that could become classics in the future, maybe 10-15 years down the line.

Here are some cars I can think of:

• 1st gen Suzuki Swift (especially the G13B) Suzuki Ritz (due to its quirky looks) and the S Cross 1.6
• Skoda Yeti, Laura vRS and the current gen Octavia vRS
• The 1st gen Mahindra Thar and the current Scorpio
• Tata Safari (Storme) and the Hexa
• Volkswagen Polo (definite choice ) and the Jetta
• Renault Duster (especially the AWD)
• Chevrolet Cruze
• 1st gen Innova and the Fortuner 3.0
• Isuzu V-Cross
• Almost all the Fords that were on sale

Which cars do you think can be future classics? What cars will make it to your list? Please, only include the cars that were on sale in India. You may also include cars from higher segments, CBU and CKD cars too.

Here's what BHPian akn1984 had to say about the matter:

My choices:

• Hyundai Santro Zip Drive - The Iconic tall boy! The product, that not only launched but also rocketed Hyundai to the top of the charts in India.
• Hyundai Accent- A well rounded quintessential sedan of its time.
• Maruti 800- Need I say anything about this one.

Here's what BHPian IshaanIan had to say about the matter:

The only car on that list that I would agree might become a future classic is a z/v/lxi G13B Swift. The rest are simply not as special nor as uniquely proportioned and styled. If I were forced to come up with another one it might be the Civic simply for how awesome it looks and how rare it has come to be since Honda quit bothering about it.

Here's what BHPian siedo had to say about the matter:

How can we forget the 800, it's already a classic in the Indian market, & the same can be said about Zen as well.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The replacement vehicle should have a good build quality & a peppy engine for spirited driving. I'm inclined towards the VW Polo.

BHPian tsk13 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello, BHPians!

My current ride is a 2013 EcoSport Diesel Titanium+ which has clocked 1.90 Lakh kms and is still young as ever.

Since I live in Delhi, the car only has another 18 months left to attain its 10th year and I’m looking for an appropriate replacement.

My daily drive is around 70 Kms with a mix of traffic, free-spirited driving and quick overtakes in the outer areas of the city.

I’m looking for good-built, coupled with a peppy engine, hence, NAs are absolutely out of question. Although I’m a fan of the Korean Twin Diesels (Seltos and Creta), they don’t live upto the build standards of the EcoSport.

Kushaq is still an option but going by the niggles and deletion of auto foldable ORVMs, I’m a bit off. Somehow, I find the Polo to be a worthy competitor as a replacement for my EcoSport. To some, it might appear as a downgrade but the situation for EcoSport owners is surely like Beggars can’t be Choosers.

Apart from the EcoSport, I have the new i20 Asta and XL6 but both aren’t meant for spirited driving.

My core interest revolves around build and drive, hence, Polo, as they say, the last of the Germans (in this price bracket) is what I’m leaning towards in the Highline Plus trim.

Looking forward to your input.

PS - I’m open to options till 16L OTR but a bit inclined towards Polo, hence, request you to please be forthcoming with all the help you can. It’s not about Diesel or Petrol, my dilemma is all about Build and Spirited Driving.

Thanks!

Here's what BHPian headbanger had to say about the matter:

My first instinct to your query was 3 cars - Nexon Diesel, XUV3OO and base variant of XUV7OO.

If we omit Maruti, Honda and Hyundai twins, the only manufacturers to put together a build quality and hence safety is Mahindra and Tata apart from the Germans.

Unless you need a boot, XUV3OO is a hoot to drive and is solidly built too. My recommendation will be XUV3OO.

Here's what BHPian sunikkat had to say about the matter:

If you like Polo, go for it, you can’t go wrong with it. Else wait for Slavia as it’s around the corner.

But hands down, Polo meets your requirements.

Here's what BHPian MadRasTan4986 had to say about the matter:

For your EcoSport, please check Spinny for offers. I recently sold my 65k run 2015 Figo diesel for a good amount.

Regarding your upgrades, I'd say Kushaq you avoid because those interiors were a huge letdown. I recently test drove one and although the chassis and engine are good, the interiors really left me disappointed.

Taigun is a good option. They seem to have sorted out the interiors there to a good extent. And the 1 lit is a hoot to drive esp. with the paddle shifters, it's even more fun. But the manual is fun too. The 1.5 is a blast though you will have to stretch your budget for the same.

Nexon is another option. We own one and after getting spoilt with Ford dynamics and build quality; and since you are used to Ecosport and Ford that comes close and tops in build quality and the ride even though a tad stiff feels great to throw around corners and the diesel engine has ample torque. Good fun when you throw it around and very well settled over long journeys.

If Polo is your secondary car, I'd say pick it up. I'm in the process of getting one myself too. Can't beat that little hatch in terms of driving dynamics and fun.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.