Today I went for a TD of the GT TSI variant. I also had an opportunity to check out the Highline AT in flesh as well. There were only GT TSI available for the test drive and I assume the drive on the Highline AT shall also be the same.
Features.
- Both Highline AT and GT TSI have Traction Control & Hill Hold Assist.
- GT TSI do not have the handrest and rear AC vent.
- Highline AT have both handrest and rear AC vent.
- Highline AT's seat fabric is the very same as the Highline Plus Manual version.(Photo attached)
- Whereas GT TSI has the typical tartan type fabric.
- I felt GT TSI's seats are more comfortable compared to Highline AT. GT TSI's seats offer more grip and perhaps provides slightly better under-thigh support and a marginally better front seat contour. That probably because of the fabric used though.
- The headlight switch on the GT looks CHEAP as it lacks any silver/brushed aluminium feel as of Highline AT. Again personal preference.
- With the absence of the armrest, I always felt something is missing in between the seats. It is always better to have an armrest.
- GT TSI gets a rear spoiler. The same can be purchased for INR 9500 as an accessory. As far as I understood, that will be affixed on the tailgate and no drilling involved. (As told by VW dealer)
- I have also been informed that they are selling a GT line pack as accessories that will include the basic accessories like carpets, seat covers, spoilers etc. Which will cost around 20K. I am not a fan of seat covers anyway.
The Drive
This is no DSG and I never expected it to behave like one.
But I must stress this TC mated with this 1.0 TSI is definitely BETTER than most auto transmissions in India as per my liking. You may disagree though. The gear changes happens around 2000 rpm while you are in D mode. In Sport mode, it will easily hold the revs for longer. And you always feels that you have enough power on tap.
Whether you are in D or S mode, the car always feels on the power band. I have never felt any turbo lag, which was evident on the manual version . But there is a slight judder when the lower gears are changing, or when are on the higher gear and the car shifts to a much lower gear upon reduction of speed. Well, that was expected from a TC as it won't have the feel of DSG. But that is not a big deal like in AMT's.
The Tiptronic feature is good and as expected. You can easily upshift or downshift as per your liking. In D mode I was going around 60kmph at D4 and I shifted to manual mode and upshifted to 6th gear. No complaints at all. Very smooth and not much power loss.
The gear lever felt SOLID as in any other VW car and it worked as expected.
The ride is stiff and I was able to feel most of the expansion joints, but not very bad though. I had driven Vento TDI through the very same roads recently and that absorbed those imperfections on the road very well. It seems that is not the case with the POLO GT TSI.
I drove a car that had only 116kms on the ODO, and the onboard mileage figures show 11.xx kmpl.
Do I like it? I certainly did like it. But instead of opting for the GT TSI, I will be asking them to change my booking to a Highline Plus AT.
GT is a lower variant compared to the Highline Plus AT in all senses except for the Seats.
GT shall be priced around 25-30K cheaper than the Highline Plus AT. Someone at VW India needs a lesson to learn about price strategies.
Do I miss a DSG, Definitely NOT. I have owned a 2011 MK6 Golf 1.4 TSI with DSG for a good 5 years while I was abroad. So I am well aware of how a DSG works and how mad it can be when you have to pay repair bills from your pocket.
Considering this is India, where the traffic conditions and roads are not very superior, unlike on other countries where they have A LOT of OPEN ROADS. I really would like to have a reliable machine than short term fun.
I honestly feel this car is one of the best automatic cars in India under 1.1 Million INR. It still is. You shall check it out prior coming to a conclusion saying it doesn't have DSG so it is no good. Again, every individual is different so as their likings. So you may tend to disagree.
One thing I can confirm, no other cars in this 1 Million INR price bracket have such a good build, solid feel and drivability but you'll lose out the gimmicks. I don't like Altorz much and if you like it, then it is also a very good car minus the fun on the 1.0 TSI engine. I am not counting the Skoda Rider variants as I still feel they lack the features on the lower variants and their higher-end variants are expensive.
Sorry for the bad photos, as I am not very good at taking photos and the lighting conditions at the showroom were not very good either.