Team-BHP - Volkswagen Polo 1.2L GT TSI : Official Review

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Originally Posted by samyakmodi (Post 4388982)

Hi,

I have just booked my GT TSi in carbon grey. The car is ready at the dealership, but I will be taking the delivery on Monday.

Congratulations. Wish you trouble free miles with this wonderful car

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Here are my few queries to the current owners as well as everyone who is knowledgable.

1. I am made to understand that the car is not suffering from any transmission issues any more - true?

The occurrences have reduced but not completely gone

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2. Does it come with apple play/android auto?

yes from 2017

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3. The suspension niggle which everyone is talking about here - can it be sorted before I take the delivery of the car? Can I ask the dealership to grease the struts before hand itself?

No need to do anything unless you experience the problem.

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4. Any other niggles or irritants I should be aware of?

basically no such niggles. irritants may be the absence of armrest. I had got it fixed the next day itself. Reverse camera would be a good addition

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5. Needless to say since its a VW - I would be taking the extended warranty too - anything else I should consider?

Good. that's peace of mind.

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6. I read in some other thread - that the brakes seem inadequate. Are others facing the same issue too?

the brakes are nothing great. if you have an aggressive style of driving, it's definitely better to upgrade it soon. if you are a sedate driver, change it when the stock setup wears out

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7. How good are the speakers? Would you guys recommend upgrading them? I am not really any audiophile - but I hate it if the system doesn't sound crisp.

I'm not an audiophile and i just love this speaker setup (especially coming from the crappy speaker setup of a Grande Punto)

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8. What are the prime differences between the 2017 and 2018 model?

ICE Headunit is the most important change.

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Your replies are eagerly sought after as I decided to buy the car today morning, the car in the particular color is available too and I would be taking the car on monday - so we have enough time in between to sort out any issues I might face before taking it.

If you have done the PDI with the TBHP checklist, everything would be covered in that.

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Originally Posted by nair (Post 4389022)

I took delivery of the car 2 weeks ago after a waiting period of 4 weeks. At the time of booking I was told GT TSI comes only in red and white. Interesting that you booked yours in carbon grey.

Anyway, congratulations. It is a real drivers car. It is a pleasure to drive.

At least from 2016 the GT TSI has been available only in 3 colours - White, Red and Grey

I did face a jerking issue initially which was fixed (VW said they run a software patch) during my hald yearly check - up, but the issue did recur, esepcially during the downshift from gear 2 to 1. In the first service that was done last month (I purchased mine in April 2017) I raised this again with the service center and they stated they corrected it but the issue persists. Having said that - I have got used to this now and live with it. Barring this and a few minor niggles, the car has been excellent. Braking in my view doesnt inspire too much confidence especially in light of the acceleration that you enjoy on this car.

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Originally Posted by nair (Post 4389022)

They have had 3 colours Red, white and carbon grey even as early as mid 2016. I wonder why they have stuck only to those 3 colours. If they wanted it to be different, it should have been colours that aren't available in other Polo models.

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Originally Posted by nair (Post 4389022)

Buy the white, I bought a carbon black model in Jan 2016 and trust me its a royal pain in the a** to maintain. Bird poop stains set in real fast and even the slightest dust is visible from far away making my OCD act up.

The red is a tad easier to maintain, ( my neighbor has one) but needs just as much maintainance.

Just my 2 cents...

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Originally Posted by samyakmodi (Post 4388982)

Hey ,

I just picked up a March 2018 Manufactured Carbon Steel TSI today . I've driven a few thousand kms in a friends car already so I'm kinda familiar with it.

6. I read in some other thread - that the brakes seem inadequate. Are others facing the same issue too?

The brakes are adequate until they get hot , then they go very soft. Inside the city they're just about adequate. It's just not on the level of performance the powertrain is capable of. I'm hoping the switch to Conti MC5's will save me from having to upgrade the brakes in the near future.

8. What are the prime differences between the 2017 and 2018 model?

On the outside you get the black spoiler which used to come as part of the GT "Sport" package last year .

Here's a couple of bad photos of my new ride :D

Cheers

Thanks a tonne guys for the fantastic feedback. Your feedback has just made me a bit more confident on my selection. Though I still wish I could get my hands on a GTi. Would have been a fire cracker.

As far as the Punto's stock music system is concerned - it was crap to say the least. I had done an extensive upgrade on the speakers, and never changed the HU of my 90HP Punto. Going to experience the car tomorrow - will decide then whether I want to retain the original system or upgrade it.

As far as the color choice goes, I was looking forward to getting the car in their blue color which in my opinion is a beautiful shade. Don't want to pick up the white as for almost good 8-9 years, all the cars in my garage were all white. Quiet bored with it now. I personally don't think I can pull off having a red car as I find it a bit too flashy. And most importantly my father would be the primary user of this car, so needed something subtle. Only option left is grey now. Will see how that looks tomorrow. And if need be - will go with the ceramic type paint protection just so that the car looks good for atleast a few months.

On a different note - are the GTi headlamps compatible with the TSi? I am not very confident on the headlamp of this car, would you guys recommend getting new set of headlamps altogether? Maybe the GTi or maybe the new Vento's? The shape seems identical, so is it possible?

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Originally Posted by a4anurag (Post 4387520)

Did you mention this suspension related issue on the job card during the last service?

If yes you can use that as a proof to escalate to the higher ups at VW.

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Originally Posted by reignofchaos (Post 4387522)

Suspension components are localized and of very poor quality. I'm facing all sorts of suspension noises as well due to the car running on really bad roads in Whitefield area. It'll be 2 years old in another few months and I have a funny feeling I'll have to overhaul the suspension as well.

The car just came back from the overhaul but the problem still exists. I am really furious and got a call from VW Customer Care, told them everything.

Within 5 minutes the ASS called and said " why I raised the complaint even post the road test?"

I had to explain them a 1Km road test didn't show me the exact issues I face which is suspension bottoming out under a hard left turn and on speedbumps, to which I have been told to bring back my car.

I am 100% sure the suspension parts have been half changed, or not changed at all.

Thanks to all who helped me, I am much satisfied with my Elite I20 which has been better in all aspects except for power. This experience has ruined my GT, which was a pretty sorted car till now. :deadhorse

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Originally Posted by samyakmodi (Post 4389266)

And if need be - will go with the ceramic type paint protection just so that the car looks good for atleast a few months.

Samyak

Congrats on the new GT. I have a Carbon Steel too. I got the ceramic coating done the very next day after delivery. Mine is a September 2016 build. The cermaic protects the car wonderfully. I have a Jopasu Duster in the car and it takes all of 5 minutes to brush off dust from the car in the morning. No regular building car wash guy for me. I get my car spray washed just once a week and the paint still shines 1.5 years later.

The building car wash guys ruin the car with dirty cloths and we have boring well water in the building

Happy driving

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Originally Posted by cogWheel (Post 4389471)

A few questions:
1. When was the last time the GT TSI had an “update / facelift”?

This year beginning, the carplay and the spoiler update.

2. When is the next one expected / predicted (I know this is a tough one :))?
Will be coming late june, possibly armrest.

3. Is there any new fun to drive car that could match this ageing model
expected in the next 6 to 12 months (under 12L OTR) that is worth waiting for?
Thanks in advance for your responses / opinions?

None as of now,but the figo diesel is equally fast.

I have replied to you in bold responses, because I need to write 20 letters.

Hello Friends,

I have November 2014 GT TSI with around 5000km on the odometer lol: (I know, thats a crime to have such a low milage on such a gem of a car but circumstances were such I couldn't help it).

The issue that I have is, that during the first drive after an overnight stop or a longish 7-8 hrs stop (which means the engine has sufficiently cooled down to ambient temperature). I hear a noise from the engine compartment whenever I pass over a speed breaker, when the front wheels reach the point where it has completely passed over the speed breaker and the body of the car takes a bounce over the suspension. The same noise is heard when the car passes over some potholes even at speeds as low as 10km/h. The noise is a metallic sound and becomes almost inaudible once the engine has sufficiently warmed up (coolant temperature at 90 deg C for more than 20-30 minutes).

The noise is definitely not from the suspension system as that has been checked and verified by the workshop.

The issue was discussed once with the service facility and I was not happy with the explanation given by them, but yes, they said that it was normal.

I have raised the issue once again with VW but they want to keep my car overnight and do some diagnosis, which I am dead against due to the obvious reasons of the quality and care that these service facilities give to customers' cars and of course I do not want VW to do some trial and error diagnosis and create more trouble for me.

I do have the extended warranty:) which is valid till November this year.

I would like to know from fellow owners here, if they too have noticed something similar with their GT TSIs.

Cheers