[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by nik_kapur

So glad to to hear people call it daylight robbery as thats what it really is. 20.5 for a Comfortline when you can buy a Superb at 18+

Hey the Superb at 18+ was with Uttarakhand registration where the Road tax is 2.5%. You can't compare that with the Jetta registered in Bangalore where the road tax is around 17-18% if I am not wrong. Thats a huge difference. I am sure the superb Petrol will be much more costlier in Bangalore. Also the Superb was offered at a very good discount due to the Petrol factor whereas no such discounts are being offered on the Jetta or anyother diesel sedan for that matter. So lets be realistic in comparisons.

Originally Posted by shivasuma

The price increase for the jetta is close to 1L min(in BLR) across all variants. It was overpriced to begin with and now it seems even more so. And the presales experience hasn't been that good, so just feeling a little jittery.

+1. The Pre-sales experience has to get better and soon. A customer looking to put 20L on a car comes with some expectations which have to be met. Price wise the Jetta does look slightly overpriced although the last time I checked it was costlier by only 40-50k over the Laura, variant to variant. Has the gap increased further now?

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

+1. The Pre-sales experience has to get better and soon. A customer looking to put 20L on a car comes with some expectations which have to be met. Price wise the Jetta does look slightly overpriced although the last time I checked it was costlier by only 40-50k over the Laura, variant to variant. Has the gap increased further now?

Yes, the gap has slightly increased due to the % increase in excise duty and the ridiculous road tax we pay, but not by much. But, Laura also has some pretty good discounts. You can easily (without any negotiation) get 1L off. Also I think the Laura is better equipped (dont know for sure). Never looked at Laura since its getting pretty long in the tooth and feels cramped compared to the Jetta. I will decide on which car to buy in a month or so. Right now its between Jetta & Cruze.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by shivasuma

Yes, the gap has slightly increased due to the % increase in excise duty and the ridiculous road tax we pay, but not by much. But, Laura also has some pretty good discounts. You can easily (without any negotiation) get 1L off. Also I think the Laura is better equipped (dont know for sure). Never looked at Laura since its getting pretty long in the tooth and feels cramped compared to the Jetta. I will decide on which car to buy in a month or so. Right now its between Jetta & Cruze.

You are getting 1L off on the diesel Laura too? I am surprised to hear that. May be the effect of Skoda horror stories finally showing itself!

Well even I agree that Laura has become too old/common now. Between the Cruze and the Jetta, I would surely pick the Jetta for its new looks, German lineage and more upmarket feel than the Cruze.

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

You are getting 1L off on the diesel Laura too? I am surprised to hear that. May be the effect of Skoda horror stories finally showing itself!

Well even I agree that Laura has become too old/common now. Between the Cruze and the Jetta, I would surely pick the Jetta for its new looks, German lineage and more upmarket feel than the Cruze.

I could probably haggle a little more. I have known the sales consultant for a while now. Also have told him about Skoda horror stories in team-bhp.

The Jetta looks more upmarket and has better quality than the cruze and has better space. I am 6'1 and my dad is 6'2, so backseat in cruze might be an issue, but not a deal breaker. Cruze has all the gizmos and a bomb of an engine, but comes with turbo-lag. I have been promised a straight 50K off on the Jetta (corporate discount) and I am sure I can pull of another 20K or so on the insurance. Let me see how much I can squeeze (thats why I am hoping the jetta sales to taper off). Will get to TD the jetta this week and then will do a TD of the cruze again to see which one suits best.

[nik_kapur]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Hey the Superb at 18+ was with Uttarakhand registration where the Road tax is 2.5%. You can't compare that with the Jetta registered in Bangalore where the road tax is around 17-18% if I am not wrong. Thats a huge difference. I am sure the superb Petrol will be much more costlier in Bangalore. Also the Superb was offered at a very good discount due to the Petrol factor whereas no such discounts are being offered on the Jetta or anyother diesel sedan for that matter. So lets be realistic in comparisons.



+1. The Pre-sales experience has to get better and soon. A customer looking to put 20L on a car comes with some expectations which have to be met. Price wise the Jetta does look slightly overpriced although the last time I checked it was costlier by only 40-50k over the Laura, variant to variant. Has the gap increased further now?

Agreed that the Superb would cost more than 18+ in other cities. But lets not forget that the Superb belongs to a segment above the Jetta and hence even if its priced at Jetta levels, its a good buy.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by nik_kapur

Agreed that the Superb would cost more than 18+ in other cities. But lets not forget that the Superb belongs to a segment above the Jetta and hence even if its priced at Jetta levels, its a good buy.

But going by that logic, this kind of thing is present in all segments right from the A segment. The top end Nano goes into entry level Alto territory, top end Verna/City/Vento go into entry level Altis/Cruze and Top end Superb/Passat go into entry level big Germans and so on.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by nik_kapur

Agreed that the Superb would cost more than 18+ in other cities. But lets not forget that the Superb belongs to a segment above the Jetta and hence even if its priced at Jetta levels, its a good buy.

If you buy it from a Delhi dealer (e.g. Jai Auto), he could easily offer you the Superb Petrol for around 19L with Haryana registration. It is at least 1 to 2 steps above the Jetta in all respects at a lower cost.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

I would surely pick the Jetta for its new looks, German lineage and more upmarket feel

Did you know that the Jetta (and for that matter Audi) share their manufacturing plants with Skoda products and vice versa in India. In fact the first car to roll out of the VW's Chakan plant was the Skoda Fabia! Almost all parts are shared or are from the same bin. So I am a bit skeptical about the "German" lineage you are referring too. If anything, it's not exclusive to VW products but shared equally amongst all 3 sister companies. VW's service network is also quite similar to that of Skoda, at least in India, in terms of 'quality' (or lack of it) of workmanship offered.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by dkaile

Did you know that the Jetta (and for that matter Audi) share their manufacturing plants with Skoda products and vice versa in India. In fact the first car to roll out of the VW's Chakan plant was the Skoda Fabia! Almost all parts are shared or are from the same bin. So I am a bit skeptical about the "German" lineage you are referring too. If anything, it's not exclusive to VW products but shared equally amongst all 3 sister companies. VW's service network is also quite similar to that of Skoda, at least in India, in terms of 'quality' (or lack of it) of workmanship offered.

Sir the problem lies with Skoda's attitude towards customer problems. Ofcourse I do not own a Skoda but from what I have gathered from friends and people on Forum who own the car has made me very apprehensive. VW servicing may be costly ( although I think its cheaper than Skoda) but they tend to the customer in a better way. They may not pamper you as experienced my many members including myself during our pre-sales and post-sales experiences but they do the job in the end.

Anyways this just may be my own Illusion. The Superb Petrol at 19L OTR is surely a better buy than Jetta HL AT provided one is comfortable with the low FE and the larger size of the car.

[nik_kapur]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

But going by that logic, this kind of thing is present in all segments right from the A segment. The top end Nano goes into entry level Alto territory, top end Verna/City/Vento go into entry level Altis/Cruze and Top end Superb/Passat go into entry level big Germans and so on.

Yes you are right in that aspect. Our discussion started off with the question that is it worth buying a Jetta at 22L or is it better to buy a Superb at a lower price with more features, higher quality interior, and pretty much a lot of VW group mechanicals. The Money saved on a Petrol Superb will easily pay for the Petrol it will consume and you have a car from a segment higher not only in terms of positioning but also in terms of what the car offers. The Jetta is overpriced and theres no debating that.

[Vid6639]

Guys let's not compare a Superb Petrol with a Jetta diesel. The cars may be priced close to each other but that was with the Superb petrol running big discounts pre budget. Post budget difference is larger.

Also if you go through the review from GTO and Rudra you will see that the Jetta is a driver's delight. Next to the 3 series, the Jetta is the best in driving dynamics. In comparison to that the Superb is massive and not for the spirited driver.

If I were looking for a self drive diesel car with good dynamics my only option would be the Jetta. The Laura manual has the 110bhp engine compared to the Jetta's 140bhp.

If I were looking for an AT then it would be a tough call between the Laura and Jetta as the Jetta Highline is similar to the Laura Elegance trim which is a lot lesser.

The Cruze is nowhere near in terms of build quality and lacks the premium feel. All the rest of the D segment diesel sedans like Altis and Fluence are equipped with comparatively puny engines.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Guys let's not compare a Superb Petrol with a Jetta diesel.

The Superb is massive and not for the spirited driver.

Whereas I agree that it is not fair to compare a Petrol to a Diesel, but I certainly don't agree with your observation that Superb is not for a spirited driver. It may be massive but it packs the punch of a ballistic missile (The Petrol manual that I have tested, at least). The petrol Superb has a better 0-100 timing than the Jetta diesel (8.56 to 10.02) and a higher top speed too (220kmph to 208). Superb's handling on curves is one of its stronger points.

In the right hands a Petrol Superb Manual will beat the pants out of similarly driven Diesel Jetta.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by dkaile

Whereas I agree that it is not fair to compare a Petrol to a Diesel, but I certainly don't agree with your observation that Superb is not for a spirited driver. It may be massive but it packs the punch of a ballistic missile (The Petrol manual that I have tested, at least). The petrol Superb has a better 0-100 timing than the Jetta diesel (8.56 to 10.02) and a higher top speed too (220kmph to 208). Superb's handling on curves is one of its stronger points.

In the right hands a Petrol Superb Manual will beat the pants out of similarly driven Diesel Jetta.

Yup In that case let's agree to disagree cause I'm pretty sure the Jetta has better dynamics having driven both cars back to back. The superb is fast probably in a straight line but definitely not through a set of twisties. The Jetta's balance and dynamics are really something else only matched by the 3 series. The Superb is not bad and nowhere did I mention that the handling is poor but let's face it no car with a long wheelbase like the Superb's will be chuckable.

Let's not digress in the Jetta thread and bring the Superb into discussion.

[suv100]

Originally Posted by shivasuma

I could probably haggle a little more. I have known the sales consultant for a while now. Also have told him about Skoda horror stories in team-bhp.

The Jetta looks more upmarket and has better quality than the cruze and has better space. I am 6'1 and my dad is 6'2, so backseat in cruze might be an issue, but not a deal breaker. Cruze has all the gizmos and a bomb of an engine, but comes with turbo-lag. I have been promised a straight 50K off on the Jetta (corporate discount) and I am sure I can pull of another 20K or so on the insurance. Let me see how much I can squeeze (thats why I am hoping the jetta sales to taper off). Will get to TD the jetta this week and then will do a TD of the cruze again to see which one suits best.

Why do you want to buy a twenty lakh car which can easily be mistaken for a nine-ten lakh car?
The new cruze is said to be coming with some improvements like a new engine and a redesigned back seat. I'm not sure about the launch date but it could be in June or July. I think it would be worth the wait.

[HotChillyPepper]

Originally Posted by suv100

Why do you want to buy a twenty lakh car which can easily be mistaken for a nine-ten lakh car?
The new cruze is said to be coming with some improvements like a new engine and a redesigned back seat. I'm not sure about the launch date but it could be in June or July. I think it would be worth the wait.

Other than the resemblance in external lines, Jetta is an altogether different beast. The space inside is superb and the way it drives is really different than a Vento. Someone who needs an understated look for not getting noticed much and still want to enjoy all the advantages of a well built car, Jetta will be a good offer.

[Shrek_924]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

...If I were looking for a self drive diesel car with good dynamics my only option would be the Jetta. The Laura manual has the 110bhp engine compared to the Jetta's 140bhp....The Cruze is nowhere near in terms of build quality and lacks the premium feel. All the rest of the D segment diesel sedans like Altis and Fluence are equipped with comparatively puny engines.....

That was exactly my line of reasoning when we decided on the Jetta. Test drove all in the segment (including the hallowed XUV5oo), except Civic & Fluence and found the driving dynamics of Jetta better than others. Also the engine is one of the most powerful and negligible turbo lag as compared to Cruze. Found driving a XUV not enticing enough as compared to Jetta.

Got Black Comfortline and IMHO it is the best VFM among the variants. As far as higher cost wrt Laura goes, got 50k Corp discount whereas discount on Laura was 80k. Factoring in the 40k differential, the difference in cost was 70k. Compared to the dated Laura & better features in Jetta, it is worth every extra penny. Rear leg room is also better in Jetta. Cramped space & lower quality interiors with American service were the negatives for Cruze.

For the people comparing its looks, a darker shade Jetta with DRLs is surely a head turner. The A4esque rear only adds to its elegance. From the feedback received from fellow enthusiasts & mortals, its a way too different beast as compared to Vento!

My advice (having just bought in this segment) is to TD all cars in the segment and decide on your needs as well as how much $ you can spare to fulfill those needs!