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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-426.html)

This is good info. Hope they have the offer for the Vento tsi also. About to finish 6 years and was planning to take the 7th year add on warranty. Any discounts will be very welcome. Planning to take for service in the next week. Will check on this.

I've got a more permanent solution. My back isn't great, and I've realised that all seats that have a bucket shape end up being uncomfortable for me. So for this, I got the base of the seat padded up with coir pads to "unbucket" the base. This is basically what the bed sheet solution, the pillow solution, etc lead to.
It is a straightforward job at any decent upholstery place.

Thank you for all your replies.

I usually have my seat in the highest position and then try to adjust it according to my back pain. Today, I lowered it as far as it would go, which made things slightly better. It definetly is possible to find a comfortable driving position in this car, but it is very difficult.

Off topic, I had a doctor's appointment in the other side of the city. As it was a Saturday morning, roads were relatively empty. This was the first time I drove the car a little agressively. This car is meant to be driven hard! It reminded me of my old Ford Figo and that's as high a compliment that I can give to any car. clap:

Traditionally, I like a higher seating position, but that is not possible in the polo, as the RVM is too low.

It's been over a week with Sasha (my Candy White Polo GT TSI Facelift) and I'm loving this experience of owning a Fast Hatch. Here are some initial impressions about the car :

1.) The super-smart DQ200 7-speed DSG is quick to react to your throttle inputs and knows what you want from it at that particular point in time.

2.) The 1.2L Inline-4 Turbocharged Stratified Injection Motor (a.l.a TSI :P ) is a very refined unit and is eager to rev. It's a tough job to run-in this car and it takes a lot of patience doing that.

3.) The interior quality, although has taken a hit over the years still remains to be the best in the business. The interiors feel a bit old but every part on the inside is well screwed together. There are no soft touch plastics anywhere on the inside, but the quality remains good.

4.) The build quality, which remains to be one of the trump card of the Polo; which is what got me over the Jazz (apart from what's under the hood lol: ). The thud which comes from the doors when shut, is very reassuring. The 4-star crash test rating in the Global NCAP is reassuring too.

5.) The car although is right up there with the competition in terms of creature comforts, it still misses out on the smaller bits like the reverse camera (seriously VW?) and the Projector or LED headlamps. Considering the stock headlamps' output is strictly average, the projector or LED headlamps are sorely missed.

6.) The controls feel tactile and good to operate. The quality of switch gear inside the car is indeed very good.

7.) The fuel efficiency. This car has won me over in this aspect. As long as your right foot isn't demanding, the car returns some pretty decent numbers which in turn satisfies the Mathematician in you. The highest what I've seen on the MID is 19.2-kmpl while the least what I've seen is 6.1-kmpl (when my uncle and dad got a bit too agressive with the throttle).

8.) The ride is pretty decent considering this car runs on 16-inch (Portago) wheels. Low speed ride is flat and some small bumps are well-ironed out. However, the same can't be said for the handling. This is the only area where Sasha has lost to Bruno.

While Bruno handled like a leech and kept me hooked to him, Sasha rolls me over around the corner (read Bodyroll) and is a bit too much to handle but I've gotten used to this. It's all down to the crappy OE Gabriel Dampers. Had planned to switch to Sachs but with the extended warranty package in place, I doubt if I'd go for something beyond the OE Gabriels :(

9.) Brakes are decent. They offer the required stopping power but since I've hardly put-on any miles, I'd refrain from commenting on this front.

Have put on close to 300-kms (289-kms to be precise) in all these days and with each passing kilometre, I fall in love with her. Here are some pics in no Particular order for some viewing pleasure :)


































Cheers!

Is 19.2 in city or on highway?
The ARAI FE of this car is about 17 kmpl, which is below Vento TSI. This is a concern for me, and makes me think if I should go for vento.

Fuel efficiency, or consumption as I prefer to call it, will depend far more on your driving style than on any test figures issued by VW. I doubt that you are buying an exciting car to get the highest possible km per litre out of it! ;)

It's not the performance that draws me to the polo, but the smooth DSG and safety. I don't expect dzire diesel like mileage, but having owned an Ecosport petrol AT, I know that 10 kmpl is painful.

Congrats Varun on your latest acquisition and welcome to the GT club!! clap:

This car may may be the only production car in India from the VW Archives (Globally), but it still does not seem like that in reality. With the innumerably updates/face lifts, VW have sort of managed to get this car somewhere in the vicinity of its competition.

Wishing you many more happy and fuss free mile munching.

The BEST part of VW Polo is the plethora of aftermarket add-ons/modifications readily available. If you got the moolah, one's imagination may be the limit. So sourcing a reverse camera or LED headlamps is as easy as confusing your GT for a GTI up front. LOL

Brakes are going to fade faster than you think. VW are so dumb that even after 5000+ face lifts of their most sold hatch, they have still not provided a boot light!! :deadhorse
So expecting them to have sorted the crappy brake discs/rotors would be suicidal. Keep a close watch on those anchors and avoid an OEM Swap when they do fade.

What do you suggest? And the cost, shelf life and implications on warranty?

Difference in the the ARAI is about 1kmpl. But Vento costs about 3 lakhs more! It is better to make a decision based on your need (like, whether you need a bigger boot, more legroom at the rear, which Vento offers).
Both cars have the same engine and transmission and with the Vento weighing more, it should give lesser FE. But if the ARAI figures are accurate, it is possible that the mapping on the Polo TSI is tuned for more performance, which means Vento may not match the Polo in performance.

Vento is better in the corners and more stable on straight lines because of the wheelbase. However, as you said VW has managed to tune the Polo GT TSI in a way that makes it peppier than it's elder brother. It is more fun and chuckable (if that's a word, but get the feeling)

Here are my personal observations that also includes some insights from some of my GT owner buddies:

- VW were using TVS brake pads and rotors in their braking system for Polo (including GT). I have not really observed the ones on the 2019 models, but I really don't think this would have changed.
These crappy components seldom last beyond 20K Kms, and the first thing that tells you they are "Done" is the infamous steering shuddering that happens during high speed (>80 Km/hr) braking.

- Personally, I would invest in good brake pads (Brembo) & rotors (Bosch) and avoid all out performance swaps. The pure performance upgrades may offer slightly better stopping power, but they also last much lesser in comparison.

- One thing I observed in my previous GT was the combination of good brakes and rubber. I swapped into Yoko DBS with 205/R15 section and almost simultaneously upgraded the brakes/rotors. The stopping power had increased immensely and was much more confidence inspiring.

So the cost is entirely subjective. Personally, I am inclined towards VFM stuffs rather than cheap or obnoxiously expensive bargains.

Do share the costs of Brembo pads and Bosch rotors. Do these swap affect warranty? Especially now that VW are giving 7 years, I don't wish to tinker with it.

You can just procure these items from Amazon.in, and they seem to be quite genuine as well.

I am not really sure about the warranty aspect though. I had swapped my brake pads and rotors twice on my 1.6 GT. First time at 20K Kms, and did a big mistake of going the OEM way. These crappy items lasted for just 20K Kms, and the ODO had 40-45K clicks. This was when I upgraded to aftermarket stuff, and my car was also well out of warranty time frame.

As long the specs of the swap remain within OEM offerings, I personally do not see any reason for warranty issues. :thumbs up