[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by poloman

Unfortunately even members of premium forums like TBHP are not able to come out of typical indian mindsets. How else can we expect to get reactions like this to a product like Polo TSI? VW should be foolish to position this as a mass product in a price conscious country like India? We are forgetting that VW is trying to launch a sporty car in a country where we are made to believe that extra stickering and alloys can form a sport variant? This car is not for an average joe and if there are some enthusiasts willing to part this kind of money let them buy it..!! It is pathetic to compare it to cars like Honda city on price front.I agree VW should have provided more like rear disc brake, body kit etc for this price.

I agree with you, going by the logics posted in this thread against the price of the GT, Mini should see a massive price cut soon. That is also not selling in numbers, and that is even smaller than Polo in length, has much less space inside. Forget talking about Beetle.


Earlier people have criticized the same Polo with smaller engines which was priced reasonably and performance of those engines is also at par (if not better) with other 75bhp cars available and now this brilliant TSI is in talks.

...And yes, VW is a premium brand and seeing cars running around with VW badge gives better brand feeling compared to other cars.

[DRIVE_ADDICT]

Originally Posted by poloman

Unfortunately even members of premium forums like TBHP are not able to come out of typical indian mindsets.

You are right!. I Agree.

In terms of technology, in terms of build quality, yes it deserves a premium price

But only the minority groups like very few petrolheads here in the Mass indian market will accept this, The majority will straight away discard this in their list.

It comes with DSG and a turbo charger. but its still the same Polo in the Indian market language. A normal indian mindset will not agree to pay for technology, for power.

They are ready to pay for Size, Efficiency and Reliability. Innova is the perfect example.

Ok, who will be the targetted customer? How many in India will go for it?

A person who simply needs power and doesnt bother to spend 9 odd lakhs on a Hatch with minimal interior space. Could be a bachelor in his early 20s from a wealthy family which can afford more than one car in a Garage.

I guess VW knew this and they want to position themselves as a Premium manufacture.

[dipen]

Let me play a little spoilsport here. When the Polo 1.6 was around, many here including me complained that the Polo 1.6 was not a driver's delight despite the power. It was not an enthusiast car from dynamics, steering and suspension perspective. Must say that the Polo has one of the nice slotting gearboxes though.

Now suddenly, when the 1.2 TSI is launched with similar horsepower and the same dynamics and that too with an auto box (DSG is auto end of the day); most of us seem to praise this car as the best enthusiast hatch. When did an AT become an enthusiast favorite. Did the steering and other dynamics change from the 1.6 Polo.

For fun driving, I would still prefer a swift or Liva 1.5 as VFM buy. Guess VW will use this only as a showcase of their TSI and DSG technologies to the mass market.

[apurva512]

Originally Posted by dipen

For fun driving, I would still prefer a swift or Liva 1.5 as VFM buy. Guess VW will use this only as a showcase of their TSI and DSG technologies to the mass market.

How do you define VFM? Personally, living in mumbai, an automatic is an immense boon given the traffic characteristics of our city. I cant even think of buying anything other than an automatic if I am going to be driving it myself. The way i look at it, its a car with one of the best gearboxes(when it works ), has the benefits of being compact that helps in parking in the cramped streets, and can give some semblance of a sporty drive. I think that value for money and this is definitely the top contender of my corolla 2003 automatic replacement.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by dipen

Now suddenly, when the 1.2 TSI is launched with similar horsepower and the same dynamics and that too with an auto box (DSG is auto end of the day); most of us seem to praise this car as the best enthusiast hatch. When did an AT become an enthusiast favorite. Did the steering and other dynamics change from the 1.6 Polo.

Enthusiast will prefer an AT if he realities that the subjected AT box is capable of shifting gears much faster than him and that is where DSG shines over other ATs and many MTs. (BTW I also prefer MT and would love to drive MT cars for some more time atleast)

And about other dynamics means the suspension? I recently drove a friend's TDI Polo where VW installed some spacer on the suspension. Those were installed to make the front suspension stiffer so that pitching can be reduced. When I drove that Polo, it suddenly became my favorite handler in the segment because of the reduced body roll and pitching at lower speeds.

Earlier Figo was my favorite in the list of nice handlers because the Polo used to exhibit bit of excessive body roll and pitching at speeds less than 60-70 compared to the Figo, high speed performance of the suspension has always been great in the Polo. Now if spacers can make such change in the behavior then you can assume how the Bilsteins and low profile fat tyre would do wonders in this car. And its obvious that if an enthusiast gets a car, he will also do some or other mods and suspension is one of them.

About steering, I never had complain with steering, its precise and doesn't lose connection with wheels at any speed. Thats enough. Steering doesn't feel lifeless like Hyundai or Honda cars. EPS are future along with smaller engines.

Originally Posted by DRIVE_ADDICT

I guess VW knew this and they want to position themselves as a Premium manufacture.

Yeah, they must have taken this step after their market study. I feel they might have seen some inquiries for AT hatch in the past which saves some money over the Vento AT. At the same time they may have guessed the whispers about demanding TSI heart in the Polo.

Now looks like they saw both type of 'demands' not sufficient enough to introduce two different products for two different type of buyers, hence they mixed both the 'demands' in one product and launched it. Now the car may lose few buyers who want TSI but don't prefer AT, on the other hand they may also lose buyers who were expecting more cheaper AT variant. But still the collective number of real buyers may turn out much higher compared to the total number of buyers in case of two different products.

[envy]

I am seeing too may opinions flying out here, I'll add mine here.
Was thinking of exchanging my existing Polo for this, still think it's a sweet deal, but then the reality of financial repercussions are holding me back.

Still waiting for detailed test drive reviews and feedbacks.
How does it feel to get 175Nm usable torque at your disposal?!

I am swamped nowadays, will probably get a chance to TD it after a week or so.

[Mpower]

Pricing is where I expected it.

It IS a pricey hatch & the only way to justify it is to look at it as a car.... and not so much as a hatch per se.

When compared to other petrol A/Ts like Dzire,Amaze, Verna, Fiesta, Scala...this car gives away almost nothing ( well, few liters of boot space and an upper-class perception !) .......& is priced cheaper in some cases.

To those whom these things dont matter, this is a great buy !!!

But personally, I would rather have it with a manual and the hottt Euro GTi bodykit!

[Marauder]

I think the pricing is just right from VW,at 7.99l it's not expensive and considering the only direct competitor,i20 1.4 AT,it sounds VFM.For 12k more you get a better engine,a whole lot better gearbox,better driving dynamics,more safety features(ESP,Passenger airbag),better built quality etc

Originally Posted by djay99

in Bangalore will be around 9.5L. Most expensive hatch manufactured in india.

It's also the most powerful hatchback manufactured in India

Originally Posted by dipen

So this is nearly 2.2+ on the road over the Brio AT.

The Mumbai OTR is quoted at 9.5x with extended warranty. We can expect a correction soon. Even with 50k discounts, it is still a 9.00 lakh rupee hatch. I would still prefer the City in this price range.

I think a more apt comparison would be with the Amaze AT which is just about 30k less

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

I agree with you, going by the logics posted in this thread against the price of the GT, Mini should see a massive price cut soon. That is also not selling in numbers, and that is even smaller than Polo in length, has much less space inside. Forget talking about Beetle.

And what about the Fiat Abarth 500,that should be priced in the range of the WagonR

[Ferruccio]

Originally Posted by srgntpepper

Any idea why they'd offer hill-hold in the feature set? Odd, considering cost-cutting is the reason for skipping paddle shifters. Also, I'd rather they threw in an integrated sat nav capable HU rather than a totally irrelevant feature for a car that's never going to go off-road.

Hill hold a no cost add on with ESP which is a boon when traffic is stalled on a slope. Newbie drivers who tend to roll back a few inches (have also been the victim of a few feet) will love this. Look at VW vehicle configurators for Europe - Converting that head unit which you quite rightly identified as Navi capable to show maps costs a fortune - after you convert for currency, multiply by 2.2 for delta ex showroom!

[vyasachetan]

Guys

Need to understand the power of the GT.zero to 100 is not all that great, as a vtec or gtx does it around10 secs.

But if we have to compare numbers only how does it fare with the rapid/vento tdi and the swift diesel which do good 20 to 80 and 40 to 100 timings. Does the GT do better here ?

Chetan

['AL']

Something I read on overdrive : the gt tsi has added rear knee room courtesy carved front seats similar to the ones in brio. It is not available in the regular polo but will be added eventually. So I guess this is another incentive?

[drmohitg]

Pricing sounds decent. Ofcourse no one would have complained if it was a little cheaper. But then its going to be a niche product. VW is not exactly looking for volumes with this car. Waiting for them to launch the Polo with 1.6 TDI now. Hope the demons of the DSG unit do not come back to haunt this car.

[stringbh]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

The price in Bangalore would be near 9.5 with insurance, the Honda City automatic should be a much better deal

No offence, but, it is probably unfair to compare an aging city with a new Hot car@Mpower (okay, hatch)

Originally Posted by anekho

IMO, VW were never really aiming to set sales charts on fire with the Polo GT.

Originally Posted by mobike008

If they were looking to sell volumes (which seems unlikely considering the launch price), they should have priced it 1L cheaper

Originally Posted by poloman

Unfortunately even members of premium forums like TBHP are not able to come out of typical indian mindsets.

+1. Selling volumes like Maruti or VFM has not been their market strategy. There are many players justling for space in that bracket. VW are thinking long-term, building their premium brand image (sans the customer service ), with less compromise cars.

IMO, this is how a European product should look and cost.

Originally Posted by anekho

Oh and that sticker job on the C-Pillar is godawful!

But, they got rid of full VW at the rear, that's a balancing act

[puchoo]

Here's my two bits.

Personally i dont have a problem with the pricing , would it have been more value for money if it was 80,000 cheaper , ofcourse it would have but then there is no end to that. I think VW has made a bold move bringing this car in , if they brought it in thinking mass sales then its a strategic mistake that they have made - if they brought it in to cater to the enthusiasts and have a an additional premium element coming to the brand , then its a right move.

For me the question is more if the price tag warrants or does not warrant certain other things being present in the car - for example paddle shifters , now that would have been great.

Having said that , would i buy this car, probably not - not because of the price but because i dont think there will be that level of incremental fun in driving this car vs my fabia 1.6.

[JishD]

This is the perfect replacement for my i10 AT ! Guess I've graduated from the more metal for my money philosophy and have realised the importance of a small powerful hot hatch in our crowded city streets Where the i10 failed was in terms of a most unenthusiastic drive, prompting me to look for a second car to complement it on weekends but its illogical to have two depreciating assets in a family thriving on conspicuous consumption . Momo corse black alloys, projector headlamps and a remap....get it on ! Its also the cheapest petrol turbo in the market