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-   -   Volkswagen Polo 1.2L GT TSI : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/135550-volkswagen-polo-1-2l-gt-tsi-official-review-186.html)

@Vishyvish sorry, I should have been clearer.. I meant to say that for one of the sides (can't remember L or R) the rear fog/reverse lamp isn't working. Thanks for the 1500km reminder. For me though, given the crazy traffic in pune these days.. I believe the constant start-stop / turbo loading-unloading will stress the engine a lot. I really just want to drive it at 60-80 in D6-7 for the full 1500.. But just won't be able to here. Planning to take it for a long highway ride this weekend.

EDIT:

@Vishyvish oops..my mistake. Yes the rear fog is to the right only while reversing is on the left only.

Guys, got my car back on the same day and as expected nothing is wrong as per VW. I guess, will have to live with this issue.

In the meantime, while I was waiting at a traffic light, a crazy auto started rolling back (he lifted his foot of the brakes) and damaged my front bumper. :Frustrati

The paint has been chipped off and I want to get a touch up job done. Can anyone suggest better alternates to com-paint and touch up pens ? May be a paint brush based solution ?

So I have booked a GT TSI in Candy White from Downtown VW, Prabhadevi, Mumbai and expecting delivery next week. Have been religiously following this thread and have also been speaking to existing Polo GT TSI owners TheSaint, Vinodbollini, Apurv512 etc and of course our distinguished Bhpian akshay1234 on the possible upgrades from day1 as well as later. Here is the list along with a few questions.

1. Tires upgraded to Continental CPC2 205/55/15 (0.58 difference - driving at 70mph is actually 70.41mph) - The car is for my wife (and she will drive it often but thats a different topiclol:) and the idea is to still lean towards comfort than performance. The above ones give a good balance for both and introduces the right amount of heaviness to an otherwise light steering.
2. Rims being upgraded to PCD 5/100 and 6.5j width (stock is 6j) to better accommodate the above tires as well as a cosmetic upgrade on the looks of the car (tossing between Momo, TSW and OZ) - the other options is to paint rims black but its not cheap either (a good quality professional one) so might as well go for rims. Question: Can I take the risk of selling the Estrada 15" stock rims myself instead of giving it to the merchant selling me tires/rims - is there a market for that?
3. Centre arm rest already ordered (Black leather with cupholder) from JJ Motorwerks (Himanshu) for 9k - will get it installed at a local store.
4. 3M Paint sealant treatment from 3M car care and either CR70 3M for windshield (8k) and 3M all over (another 16k) or Llumar all over including windshield (6k-7k)
5. Leather seats - Have gone and met Orchis (14k for leatherette, 40k for pure leather), Stanley (42k for Classic leather and 63k for Scandinavia - Nappa 73k) and Ovion in the neighbourhood (25-30k onwards for genuine leather). Broadly going black with red stitching.Will decide soon on this
6. Being a candy white car, I am getting the roof painted gloss black to enhance the visual appeal of the car
7. Looking for a good IRVM as the stock one is pathetic. Any suggestions?
8. VCDS Tweaks: Lane change indicators, Needle sweep, disabling horn while unlocking, flashing of indicator/lights during emergency braking, rain sensing vipers, XDS settings, coming home lights etc. (Any ideas on what is possible and what not?)
9. Dealer giving Polo rubber mats and mud flaps free. Any improvements here from outside?
10. Not too sure of installing side door protectors - is it worth it?
11. The remap - maybe after the car has done 2-3 months and 2000-2500 kms. Should be ok?


My delivery got delayed as I had asked for a chosen registration number and the Andheri RTO was closed for 2-3 days due to half of it shifting to Dahisar
:Frustrati

Now the delivery is scheduled for Wed/Thursday next week and any further suggestions etc would be more than welcome, especially what I need to change in stock. Grateful for your prompt replies.

I had visited VW Whitefield two weeks ago to test drive the GT TSI. I must say I was very surprised by the overall experience, based on my visit to the VW Hosur Road showroom a couple of years ago, I was expecting ignorant and indifferent sales people but it was just the opposite. VW really has stepped up its game on the sales side of things. I was told a waiting period of 2 months and they even showed me the current booking list.


Today I received a call from the sales rep who informed me that VW has increased production of the GT TSI due to current demand and based on the delivery list from VW they are expecting a few GT TSIs this month. Thus anyone booking now with them will get the car by the end of May or early June.

Rear ended a wagon r today, thankfully, no damage at all to anyone, was a 2-3 kmph impact or lower. First time I'm seeing this ...6 months of ownership. Road was dusty, i was doing bumper to bumper aggressive driving - quick succession of brake-accelerate-brake cycles and then this happens. Scary. Brakes just don't respond!! Need to see if brake assist vcds tweaks help..

Keeping a proper distance and not tailgating or doing bumper-to-bumper stuff is what helps. It is the only thing that helps.

Actually, I always feel the likelihood of running into the person in front is highest in slow, stop/start traffic. I make myself leave a gap, particularly when the person in front starts: he may start, but stop again.

Glad to know there was no damage. Bumpers actually dent rather easily.

Spot on Sir.

In bumper to bumper traffic, moment the brake lights go OFF, the guy at the rear is inching forwards without wanting to leave any gap.

Sometimes if we try and maintain a gap, two wheelers or auto's try to swerve in just to fill in the gap thanks to their attitude of impatience.

Certain times the importance of maintaining gap in bumper to bumper traffic is realised when being stuck behind trucks / buses / newbie drivers who may roll backwards damaging the car.

Gentlemen, IMHO, the point is not about about the state of traffic or how to drive well. The point is, even if you replicate this driving in a football field, the brakes won't make the car stop. It never happened on my Accord with ABS. It never happened on any non ABS car i've driven. Hence, there is some fault with the ABS logic in the Polo GT TSI. The focus here should be on the car not behaving as it should in an occasional, but not infrequent traffic situation.

Sorry, d_himan: crossposted.

I do not have a GT TSI (sob), just a 1.6. I have never noticed the brakes working better or worse than any other hatchback/saloon of the class. ABS is not there to reduce your stopping distance (other threads for that topic). If you feel there is a fault of any kind with your brakes, service attention is urgent.

That's another good point.

To add to the possibilities of rear-ending and roll back, there is also the fact that, if the guy in front stalls, or has some problem (like getting out to argue with the guy he has just rear-ended ;) ) if one has no space, one can't just drive around him. I think of this even when stopped.

If one needs to drive aggressively, and we are all in a hurry at some time, then it is my observation that looking, thinking, and planning ahead is the key to making better progress. An example of this is when the aggressive guy behind me gets stuck in the queue behind a turning-right vehicle, which I have foreseen, and made an early lane change for. One can beat even the cab drivers by not actually being aggressive.

Usual disclaimer: Yes, I know this stuff and try to practice it, but we all make mistakes and get stuff wrong, and I certainly get aggressive sometimes. Ask my wife!

I've learnt a few things over the years Thad..

1. Some of these problems are very tough to replicate. I did my first free 6 monthly check up yesterday and there are no error codes. The brakes per se are quite fine. Silly triple digits to zero without drama. Some weird ABS logic it must be. Documented abroad as well.

2. The sharpest technicians in India, especially those who know German cars well, usually start their own business. I wouldn't trust the ASS with anything complicated. Lesson learnt in Honda as well - independent garages are much better than ASS for complex jobs such as AT refurbishment.

So I guess I'll have to modify how I drive in bumper to bumper. It really is SCARY when one presses the pedal and nothing happens at all, even if it's at 2 kmph..sigh.

Yep. Been there, brake failure, and it is very scary. Luckily I was going very slowly when it happened. Hasten to add that this this a while back, and not with my VW Polo.

But let's separate the brake thing from the driving-style thing: tell us more about it, and what other instances are documented?

Please excuse me if this is something well-known to everybody else: this forum is about my only contact with motor-world information.

The brakes on this car are good as long as you have decent speed, once you're under 10kph, it is scary, the abs kicks in for no reason and you feel the noise with the car not stopping but just moving ahead and potentially hitting something/one.
This happens often with me, the car just won't stop, non abs vehicles are much better in this case.
To replicate this issue, drive on a dusty or gravel filled road and brake with full force with the speed under 10kph.
That's the sure shot way of replicating this issue, although it happened yet again on smooth tarmac the previous day.

This is a known problem of ABS on any car. Is it really worse on this VW?

I'm not trying to pick holes in what people are saying. Well, OK, I am, but only out of interest and concern about this and a wish to learn more.

This same thing has happened to me twice now, on my Vento.

Both times I ended up rear-ending the vehicle in front of me, with moderate damage to my car and minor damage to the car in front. Both instances took place on the Trivandrum Bypass on highway quality tarmac with no visible sand or other contamination.

Stepping hard (emergency braking) on the brakes causes the ABS to engage, and then the car just keeps moving forward as though brakes have not been applied, although you can hear the ABS chattering away in the background.

I have been blaming myself for being careless, but now, recalling that the exact same thing happened twice, under identical circumstances (except for location), I am more inclined to blame the ABS.

High-speed braking does not cause the problem to arise.

I am now wondering if there is any way to bring it to the attention of VW India.

As to the statement that it is a known problem of ABS, I drove a Swift VXI/ABS for six years on these same roads and never had this happen even once. The car just stopped, each and every time.

Notably the Trivandrum bypass is the undisputed property of the people living and working alongside it, and they feel they have the constitutional right to take a walk on the road at any time of their liking, so excellent brakes are a must-have.

This is startling! Why should this be a problem if you are doing less than 10 km/hr since the chances of the wheels locking up should not be there in the first place.

I have driven the Vento quite a bit and I found the behavior of the brakes to be unpredictable at low speeds, even though am not sure if the one I drove (Zoomcar) had ABS or not. I felt the brakes lacking in bite on a few occasions while slowing down for speedbreakers on a highway. However, as you say, it was perfect while slowing down from higher speeds.

Would be interesting to hear from other Polo/Vento owners