[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

12 and 11 kmpl...interesting.
My 1.8 TSi Laura easily manages those figures even with careless driving. I am getting my Polo TSi this week. I will then get to see for myself why the 1.2 TSi FE figures are so dismal. The 1.2 has to be more efficient than 1.8 and the DSG should easily beat the MT. I suspect it's all about driving style(?)

Maybe it's the higher torque + bigger turbo combination in our 1.8 TSIs?

If you see VAG diesels also, the smaller 1.2 TDi engine does not enjoy any significant advantage over the bigger 1.6 and 2.0 TDi engines in terms of fuel efficiency.

Though DSGs are far more fuel efficient than regular torque converters, I doubt if they can beat the MT counterparts in the mileage battle, esp in stop and go city conditions.

[jha.shailesh]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Please make sure that the dealer exchange price is close to what you are getting offered outside. Otherwise the trade in benefit will have no meaning. I was quoted a ridiculously low price for my SX4 and was able to sell it individually for 1 lakh + more than what they quoted.

I am trying the same but not getting any buyers for my 2009 Fiesta SXI Petrol, 43K kms. Its been on sale from the last 2 weeks. From the dealer, the best I've been able to squeeze is 2.6 L + 20K trade-in. How do you feel about it? I was thinking close to 3.5 -3.8 L. Guess, that's the difference b/w Maruti and Ford in our country.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by jha.shailesh

I am trying the same but not getting any buyers for my 2009 Fiesta SXI Petrol, 43K kms. Its been on sale from the last 2 weeks. From the dealer, the best I've been able to squeeze is 2.6 L + 20K trade-in. How do you feel about it? I was thinking close to 3.5 -3.8 L. Guess, that's the difference b/w Maruti and Ford in our country.

Going slight OT: My car specs were almost same as yours- 2009 Dec, 44K KM. VW dealers were offering between 2.6 and 3 because I was 2nd Owner. One dealer said I would have got 3.5 if I was first owner. Eventually I was lucky enough to get a buyer who appreciated the way it was maintained and the availability of full history of the vehicle. He was also not very familiar with the transfer process and what needs to be done etc... I volunteered to help get all that done for him. So guess he was ok to pay a small premium for all this.

3.5 at least looks like a fair deal. Have you checked with the Ford Dealers? They should be able to offer a better price as compared to a VW dealer.

[raghu_blr]

I have been meaning to post this for a while now, here goes. The post is long winded, so please indulge me. These are my personal impressions. This is our (wife and I) first car buy after coming back to India 10 years ago. Until now were managing with my dad’s Maruti 800 (our family workhorse) and a driver. I have never driven in India. I do not even know where my license is, so had to apply and obtain a duplicate DL.

Decision process
The must haves in the car we were looking for were:

1. Petrol Engine with Auto Transmission
2. Dual Airbags, ABS and any other safety features
3. Acceptable fuel economy (around 9-12 kmpl in city)
4. 9-11 lakh OTR price (Bangalore)
5. 4+1 seating including driver

The above criteria narrowed the choices to very few make/models

• Hyundai i20 Sportz AT
• Hyundai Verna 1.6 AT
• Honda Amaze VX AT
• Honda City (3rd Gen) V AT
• VW Polo TSI
• VW Vento TSI
• Maruti Swift Dzire VXi AT (looks did not appeal to us)
• Nissan Sunny AT (looks did not appeal to us)
• Renault Scala AT (looks did not appeal to us)
• Ford Fiesta AT (personally I am not a big fan of Ford)
• Ford Ecosport AT (personally I am not a big fan of Ford + long wait time)
• Skoda Rapid AT (some negative feedback on ownership experience)

So, we started considering Honda/Hyundai/VW offerings. Kept a weekend free and started calling for test drives from respective dealers.

Honda Amaze was our first choice. We were reasonably impressed by the road behavior and trim of the car. Honda has done a good job of packaging a lot of features into a small car with a reliable engine and transmission. Honda City AT was out of our budget at the time. Honda City AT is a nice car, but price and imminent 4th gen discouraged us; did not want to end up buying a model that is being phased out. The sales team’s attitude hit us when we walked into the showroom after a test drive. The guys at Magnum Honda (Kanakapura Rd) were really not interested in selling us a car. They would not give us a delivery schedule (2-4 months wait time). We were asked to give a choice of 3 colors (almost like playing lucky draw). No negotiation on price (even cheap accessories). Pre-sales attitude was a deal breaker.

VW Polo TSI was our next choice. Two words to describe it “Hot Hatch”. But practicality kicked in; the car was small for our requirements. Rear seats space is very cramped. This is truly a driver’s car and not a people mover. 3-4 months wait time was also a negative factor especially with an election budget coming. Next came the Vento TSI; we did not know about this model until we called up the dealers enquiring for Polo TSI. Vento TSI has 1.2L TSI + 7-speed DSG with comfortable rear seat spacing and boot space. Almost won me over, but pricing was a bit of a stretch. The sales folk at VW Palace Cross were very helpful in explaining the details of the car, pricing and delivery schedules. Plus point for immediate availability.

Hyundai i20 AT was ruled out due to cabin space consideration and possibility of the model going in for a revamp. Verna AT was test driven; I liked the car from outside (wife did not; she felt it has too many lines). The interiors of Verna spoke to me 10 years younger. I felt there are too many flashy knick-knacks in the cabin (faux wood, etc). I am not very tall and hence did not like the driving position; felt lost and searching for the edges of the car. Another factor was the gear box; 4-speed is so 20th century on a 21st century sedan. Also for 2 airbags you need to go for the high end AT. 1 airbag or 6 airbags between EX and SX trims. We were not ready to compromise on this feature. Have to say this; the folks are Trident Hyundai (Cauvery Jn) were very responsive and hungry for business (Honda dealers please take note).

Came back home slept over it and the next day, both my wife and I decided that the Vento TSI spoke to us. This may be a biased decision, as I owned a Passat GLS AT while in the US 10 years ago; and the Vento made me feel like re-living the experience. Now the DSG conundrum; researched it, the pros/cons and I have taken a calculated risk. The car will not be my commute vehicle (thanks to BMTC Volvo) and hence the crawl traffic stress on DSG is somewhat mitigated.

Dealer and delivery experience
Once we decided on the VW Vento TSI, it was a matter of choosing which dealer to buy from and color. Wife and 9-year old boy had pre-decided on Shadow Blue. VW Palace Cross (where we test drove) had Shadow Blue color in stock, VW Whitefield had White color in stock. VW Bangalore did a song and dance over the phone (we can get you what you want by Jan 2014).

VW Palace Cross was the obvious choice. The SA we interacted with is Vinod; he does deserve credit for making the delivery a hassle free one.

Test Drive: Oct 27, 2013
Our Decision: Oct 28, 2013
Payment: Oct 29, 2013
Small price break on floor mats, mud flaps, cover; delivery promise on Nov 04, 2013 (I was impressed as Nov 1, 2, 3 were closed holidays for the dealer)

Pre-regn paperwork: Oct 31, 2013
The SA arranged for this at my wife’s office and mentioned that registration will not be possible before delivery as the make/model is not in RTO database. But he also clearly told us that the car would be delivered on promised with temp registration.

Delivery: Nov 04, 2013
We showed up at 10:30 am as agreed, completed the formalities at 11:30 am. Stopped by India Garage for a complimentary 15 liters of petrol (nice gesture) and were at “Gaadi Ganesha Temple” at 12:00 noon. For non-Bangalore folks, “Gaadi Ganesha Temple” on Kasturbha Road is a popular first stop for new car buyers. Legend goes that Kempegowda used to stop his chariot here before heading out to hunt. Note: Please check tire pressure at dealer (ours was at 42 psi all tires and got it down 33 psi at first fuel up)

Came home to my parents’ place for my mom’s pooja and my cousin & son immediately started pairing all smart devices to the car’s music system. Took my parents out for a round; they were impressed and enquired why we bought such a big car. On the way back to our apartment, at a crowded intersection as we were negotiating a right turn, another car hurriedly bumped into the right rear wheel and bumper. The other car sped away. I got down with my heart in my mouth and intestines knotted up; inspected for damage (surprise there was none, except an insignificant on the mud flap). Cursed the driver and went home.

RTO Regn: Nov 19, 2013
Had to take the car to the RTO to meet with the dealer representative and get the VIN etch on some form.

Plates: Nov 22, 2013
Collected the embossed metallic plates from dealer.

All said, I would recommend VW Palace Cross. Hopefully I don’t need to see them until one year or 15000 kms.

I will post the user experience in a separate post. Still discovering the car.

[stumpz]

Since my ownership thread is still very much work in progress, I thought I would keep posting some information here that may be of help to others.

I don't know if others are getting anything better than these numbers, not that it matters much, but would be good for comparision sake.

One highway trip from Bangalore to Coimbatore and back.

[ambadan]

Just now called VW palace cross, Bangalore to test drive Vento TSI. The sales person who talked to me told me that the waiting period is 6 months and they are not taking fresh bookings. She said that there is a delay in sending vehicles from factory. When I asked her that is there any problem in the vehicle, her reply was "no, since it is a fast moving vehicle". She could not answer when I asked her that if it is a fast moving vehicle, you should encourage booking.

When I visited VW whitefield, they told me that i will get the car in 1 month. However, they don't have a test drive vehicle.

My questions are.

1. Is VW is doing a delay tactics to see how Honda city is priced?
2. Is there any issues like not getting TSI engine, DSG etc. ( I read some where that these are imported)

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by ambadan

My questions are.

1. Is VW is doing a delay tactics to see how Honda city is priced?
2. Is there any issues like not getting TSI engine, DSG etc. ( I read some where that these are imported)

I do not think the delays in Vento are in anyway related to Honda City pricing. I mean VW knows that the Tsi is seeing decent amount of bookings and they should be looking into clearing their backlog before a rival announces a better pricing.

It might be possible that VW is checking the car again thoroughly so that they do not have to make a recall or something. All we can do is guess what actually is happening.

But I have generally observed all manufacturers being lazy in terms of delivering cars with Automatic variants.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by ambadan

Just now called VW palace cross, Bangalore to test drive Vento TSI. The sales person who talked to me told me that the waiting period is 6 months and they are not taking fresh bookings. She said that there is a delay in sending vehicles from factory. When I asked her that is there any problem in the vehicle, her reply was "no, since it is a fast moving vehicle". She could not answer when I asked her that if it is a fast moving vehicle, you should encourage booking.

When I visited VW whitefield, they told me that i will get the car in 1 month. However, they don't have a test drive vehicle.

My questions are.

1. Is VW is doing a delay tactics to see how Honda city is priced?
2. Is there any issues like not getting TSI engine, DSG etc. ( I read some where that these are imported)

I am a little skeptical of VW Whitefield's 1 month promise. They had made the same promise to me during Oct end . Towards Nov end close to the 1 month deadline when I went to enquire, I was told that I can expect the car only by Jan end or Feb at the earliest. Based on that I shifted to VW Palace Cross and bought one of the last cars available.

Based on your post I contacted my SA and he confirmed that they have been asked to stop taking bookings and the next set of cars is expected only in Feb (SO i don't think there is a 6 month wait). When I asked him the reason he just said VW is facing some production issues.

I personally feel that it is a delaying tactic to see where the Honda City AT's will slot in. I am pretty sure they will be priced higher and hence VW may increase prices. That was one reason I went ahead with the purchase without waiting for next year.

If you are interested, I can give you the contact of my SA and you can talk to him. He indicated that he can check if there is a car available etc..

Also, VW Whitefield had a white TSI available. has that been sold?

[prithwi-81]

Delays are due to the EOL on the 1.2TSI motor (EA111) which is being slowly replaced across the board by the EA211 motors, so obviously supplychain is stretched thin between the two motors as they share very little in common.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by prithwi-81

Delays are due to the EOL on the 1.2TSI motor (EA111) which is being slowly replaced across the board by the EA211 motors, so obviously supplychain is stretched thin between the two motors as they share very little in common.

You mean we all bought an outdated engine and those who will buy the GT TSi in 2014 will get the new engine?

[prithwi-81]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

You mean we all bought an outdated engine and those who will buy the GT TSi in 2014 will get the new engine?

No, the EA211 unfortunately doesnt fit under the hood of the Polo, so the polo, Vento, and all other similar size cars continue with the EA111 till they move to MQB like the Seat Leon. BUT in cars like Yeti, Superb, Jetta, Passat, Golf etc, which are either MQB or have the engine bay flexibility to fit the EA211 are getting the new motor. In Europe, Yeti's are already coming with the EA211 motor. I hear Jetta's are also in line for the move to EA211 (albeit the 1.4TSI). Octy is MQB so is already EA211 compatible.

Since these engines share little in common, VW supply chain is split between two engine assemblies and components where as earlier all were focused on the EA111 motor.

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Maybe it's the higher torque + bigger turbo combination in our 1.8 TSIs?

If you see VAG diesels also, the smaller 1.2 TDi engine does not enjoy any significant advantage over the bigger 1.6 and 2.0 TDi engines in terms of fuel efficiency.

Though DSGs are far more fuel efficient than regular torque converters, I doubt if they can beat the MT counterparts in the mileage battle, esp in stop and go city conditions.

I am averaging 13.5-14.1 Kmpl in Delhi Gurgaon rush hour traffic with 1.2TSI+DSG. Same route in 1.8TSI Laura 6MT - 10.5-11kmph. Honda Brio was surprisingly the worst in the same traffic, avging around 9.5-10.5kmph.

The trick is that the DSG isnt as lazy as us humans and will always shift to a higher gear. When i used to be driving in 3rd @ 30-40kmph in the Laura TSI in the same traffci, the DSG was always in 4th/5th in the Polo.

Note from Support - Posts merged. Please use the Multi-Quote option to reply to multiple posts, instead of submitting back to back posts.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Though DSGs are far more fuel efficient than regular torque converters, I doubt if they can beat the MT counterparts in the mileage battle, esp in stop and go city conditions.

I started using my Polo GT since last 3 days and it seems more efficient than the Laura. I will track this over a month and then provide detailed reports.

Originally Posted by prithwi-81

The trick is that the DSG isnt as lazy as us humans and will always shift to a higher gear. When i used to be driving in 3rd @ 30-40kmph in the Laura TSI in the same traffci, the DSG was always in 4th/5th in the Polo.

Yes, on my way to office, I am noticing the same. BTW, lovely gearbox and the ratios seem to be well chosen too. of course, a long term usage should help understand the facts better.

[raghu_blr]

Update on first tank full to full FE measurement.
Distance = 330 kms
Fuel = 29.63 lts (SHELL regular)
FE average = 11.1 kmpl

Traffic conditions
30% in crawl traffic (morning commute between Banashankari 3rd stage to Outer Ring Road between 8:00 am and 9:00 am)
50% in normal traffic (late afternoon reverse commute and Central Business District conditions)
20% on NICE road (in S-mode)

Driving style
Lazy footed (except when using S-mode) and no AC

Seems OK at first glance, as my morning route is horrible. If I work around the morning commute timings and do not indulge in S-mode very often, I hope to get 1 kmpl extra which could compensate for AC use.

[aadilnaik]

Is anyone else facing a problem with their Bluetooth connectivity on the stock edu/infotainment system? The audio randomnly stops when connected via Bluetooth (even though display on both phone as well as car show its playing)... Yet no sound... This happens at random, and I've tried it with various phones (iPhone, htc, Sony, blackbery)... Turning off and turning on doesnt solve it, yet it randomnly starts audio by itself...
VW were kind enough to replace it, but the exact same issue is happening with the new one too... Now the chance of me recieving a replacement system that was defective is really rare.. But I'm 100% sure it isn't a problem with the phone, as I've tried with alot of phones...
Suggestions/ solutions?

Mod Note : Please avoid typing with excessive dots.........like................this.

Thanks

[NevGin]

My TSi odo is 3500 kms. I did some very specific measurements for fuel efficiency. Did a 120 km stretch at 120 km/hr. Maybe 2 or 3 bursts of acceleration to overtake etc. And then there were a couple of stops for toll. The car returned a healthy 18.5 km/l. We had 3 passengers on board and a packed hatch with suitcases., laptop bags etc. Overall with the 40 km in city traffic, the car returned an average of 16.2 km/l. A major observation is that the average become exponentially better or worse depending on driving conditions. It does not sort of balance but has extremes. The car is becoming more drivable in D. I used to like the manual option before but it now has started doing an excellent job in the auto mode. The more you drive the better this engine will get. Gem of a little engine.