[fossilpastprime]

I am unable to understand the recent go to market approach for Volkswagen India as regards its India 2.0 offerings. Till a few years back, the general perception was that the brand positioning of the VW product is higher than that of their Skoda counterpart. Of course there could be difference of opinion as regards the Superb which is still around, unlike the Passat which is not available any more or the Octavia specially in the RS avatar which did not have a competition in the Indian market.

But when it comes to Taigun or the new Virtus, I am somewhat confused. And I would like to point towards the 1.5MT as a specific case. The Taigun 1.5MT came with a lot of bells and whistles missing as compared to the Kushaq 1.5MT. This meant that the stick shift enthusiast already has restricted options.

Now coming to the Virtus which I somehow tend to love more than the Slavia and true to VW designs, while not radical, this would age gracefully as compared to the Skoda offering. But the 1.5MT is missing altogether, which to even my mind is an absolute ridiculous decision given that the engine and transmission are both available.

In India with Skoda and VW being the same company and not two distinct identities under the VW group, the true gainer of these myopic marketing or brand promotion ideas is Skoda and maybe competition.

I hope this is just an error or exclusion in the brochure and would be offered when the car is available in the market. If not God save...

[Pequod]

Originally Posted by sunikkat

For me the sore point in City is not the touchscreen but the high speed drive. City is a good ‘city car’ but out on highways > 100 it feels very unsettled and does not give confidence. Neither it is involving to drive.

My observations were all regarding the look and feel of the car – exterior and interior.

The Slavia is of course more composed and involving to drive. Given the generally better dynamics and properly sized tyres of VAG cars, I assume the Virtus will be no different in this respect. But the Honda City does hold its line and composure till up to 100 km/h – the likely speed limit for the average driver who also wants a bit of fun, and IMHO, a sensible speed limit for our highways.

I consider myself something of a layman enthusiast, if there’s something like that! To me, sacrificing that extra bit of driving fun on the VAG cars is worth it for the plush feeling of the Honda City interiors, along with that raspy, no-slouch i-VTEC. Just my opinion.

And yes, not talking about the 1.5 TSi at all!

[rkv_2401]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

This is a good car but certainly nowhere near the Jetta.

People said the same about the Slavia cannibalizing the Octavia but after the reveal, it's pretty clear that while it may be almost as big, the Octy is miles ahead in terms of quality and engineering. It'll be the same with the Virtus and Jetta.

Agreed, but people like me looking to replace a D1 sedan and who don't quite have a need for a Superb + don't find the Octavia VFM (what is it now, 30L ex-showroom for the L&K?) now have a choice that isn't the diminutive Vento/Rapid (which had good build quality even if not directly comparable to a D1 sedan, I would say it's 85-90% there in the places that matter) and the City which comes with it's own set of glaring flaws, looks stunning and that sounds like it has more than enough performance to make highway runs fun!

I can only speak for myself, but if our Vento TSi had been slightly larger, come with proper brakes and a 60:40 split seat, it would have been pretty close to acceptable as a replacement for our Elantra. With an easily available remap to 126hp, upsize to high-quality 195/60 tyres and the build quality of the Vento (It has gone through terrible road conditions unscathed at speeds that I know would have damaged my Elantra), a larger Vento would have found a place in our garage as a replacement for the Elantra.
More than the actual exterior size difference, it LOOKS tiny with the sloping bonnet, the interior feels quite a bit smaller thanks to the packaging + smaller wheelbase and I never really could make my peace with either of these. So we just held on to the Elantra, knowing there wasn't really a use for it (it's covered less than 10k kms in the 5 years since buying the Vento).

Yes, a new Jetta would be the best replacement for another D1 car, and I don't expect the engineering or the build quality to hold a candle to the Jetta or even match my now-ancient Elantra. However, the Jetta was discontinued in 2018 due to low demand, and I don't see them bringing it back. :/ And as I also mentioned in my previous post, I would have seriously considered the 2016 Octavia had I known it existed! Guess D1 sedans are really hard to replace.

[RJ2285]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Seems like the 1.5 TSI manual will not be on offer.

There seems to be some confusion. The 1.5 TSi manual will be on offer, maybe at a later date.

Please read the below:

[FrAgile]

Originally Posted by shishir333

I was surpised too, because when you go to the VW page for pre booking, it only has three option (no 1.5 MT)

But when you look at the brochure, they have mentioned a manual transmission with 1.5 TSI too

Kind of confused but hope the brochure is right

Yeah, that was from where I though that they are not offering a manual. There could be a mistake from VW end on either side. During the launch of Taigun, they did not mention that the Highline AT gets cruise control, which left buyers confused as the display cars did have cruise control. But later, it was corrected in the brochure.

Let's wait and see, where do they make a correction

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by rkv_2401

Agreed, but people like me looking to replace a D1 sedan and who don't quite have a need for a Superb + don't find the Octavia VFM (what is it now, 30L ex-showroom for the L&K?) now have a choice that isn't the diminutive Vento/Rapid (which had good build quality even if not directly comparable to a D1 sedan, I would say it's 85-90% there in the places that matter) and the City which comes with it's own set of glaring flaws, looks stunning and that sounds like it has more than enough performance to make highway runs fun!

I can only speak for myself, but if our Vento TSi had been slightly larger, come with proper brakes and a 60:40 split seat, it would have been pretty close to acceptable as a replacement for our Elantra. With an easily available remap to 126hp, upsize to high-quality 195/60 tyres and the build quality of the Vento (It has gone through terrible road conditions unscathed at speeds that I know would have damaged my Elantra), a larger Vento would have found a place in our garage as a replacement for the Elantra.
More than the actual exterior size difference, it LOOKS tiny with the sloping bonnet, the interior feels quite a bit smaller thanks to the packaging + smaller wheelbase and I never really could make my peace with either of these. So we just held on to the Elantra, knowing there wasn't really a use for it (it's covered less than 10k kms in the 5 years since buying the Vento).

Yes, a new Jetta would be the best replacement for another D1 car, and I don't expect the engineering or the build quality to hold a candle to the Jetta or even match my now-ancient Elantra. However, the Jetta was discontinued in 2018 due to low demand, and I don't see them bringing it back. :/ And as I also mentioned in my previous post, I would have seriously considered the 2016 Octavia had I known it existed! Guess D1 sedans are really hard to replace.

Being a fellow Vento TSI owner, I agree with you about most of the comments related to design and space/size. However, related to brakes, though the Vento brakes could have been better, do you think the Virtus will have better brakes? I highly doubt that as it comes with a similar setup (no rear discs).

Also, as you mentioned above, the build quality of the Vento is what stands out apart from the excellent engine gearbox. So, in the Virtus (1.5), you do get a bigger car with fresh design and better performance but might lose out the solid quality build, which made the VW cars stand out. I am curious to know your view once you do a test drive of the Virtus.

[Newtown]

Originally Posted by adimicra

However, related to brakes, though the Vento brakes could have been better, do you think the Virtus will have better brakes? I highly doubt that as it comes with a similar setup (no rear discs).

The same setup works very well on the Taigun 1.5. I expect them to perform better on the Virtus since it will be lighter than the Taigun.

[ruhtam]

Originally Posted by tsi_niks1989

I was looking to prebook Virtus from the website but don't see an option to select 1.5 TSI manual, only 1.5 TSI with DSG is available to book. I hope this is a glitch as we have a 1.5 manual in the Slavia.

In the brochure as well they have mentioned 'mated to either a 6-speed manual transmission or a 7-speed DSG transmission'.

I'm a little bit worried too. In carwale, cardekho and other websites the manual is mentioned only in 1.0 models. They specifically say 1.5DSG and no mention of a manual. Too bad they'll lose many customers over it if this is true.

[Shebin14]

VW has clearly scored big time in the looks department here! The smoked effects in the lights should look really nice in the lighter shades. I am not a fan of the chrome bits, but it won't take much of an effort to blacken it out.

In the interior, I feel the centre AC vents look very ordinary in Virtus compared to Slavia. Otherwise all is well. Since the LED headlight is common across all variants, it remains to see what features they have skimmed in the middle variant when compared to Slavia mid variant which has halogen lamps. Hope there are no major niggles in the early batches and the car should really sell well.

[Venkatesh]

Ashish Gupta on the VW Virtus



- VW expects 20-25 percent of Virtus customers to choose the stronger 1.5-litre engine.

- I am looking at a 75:25, or an 80:20, split between the 1.0 TSI and 1.5 TSI for the sedan in the market.

- I’m expecting a 12-15 percent market share (or about 1,500-1,900 unit sales of the Virtus each month).

- We did a study which revealed that sedan buyers are generally in the 33-40 year age group, and that they want cars which are not only practical, but also stand out. So, those are the buyers whom we are targeting with this product. It suits that customer profile very aptly.

Source

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by RJ2285

There seems to be some confusion. The 1.5 TSi manual will be on offer, maybe at a later date.

Please read the below:--

Chaotic to the core, see VW's reply on the 1.5TSI variant!

[Turbo_anup]

Having owned a VW Vento 1.6 TDI (2012 Make), I was eagerly awaiting for a sporty sedan with understated styling and good performance similar to VE Vento. While I like the looks of the Virtus, I am looking closely at the overall increase in dimensions of the car, it's dynamics and ground clearance (Slavia's ground clearance is good, not sure about Virtus).

While both 1.0 TSI and 1.5 TSI have got good overall reviews from team bhp members, am more inclined to know the real world fuel efficiency figures from both these engines. The earlier 1.6 TDI was a gem of an engine in this regards which regularly gave me 20-21 kmpl on highways and 16+ kmpl in city driving.

[fossilpastprime]

Reiterates my point. VW India has either gone mad or else the Skoda team is now too strong and calls the shots in the go to market approach.

[volkman10]

Volkswagen Vitrtus undisguised – shows its road presence:







Link

[CARDEEP]

The Slavia & Virtus have impressive road presence. Appear much bigger than Honda City, Hyundai Verna & Suzuki Ciaz.
Both seem a class above, until you sit in.