So, it has been two and a half months with this fine piece of engineering. The TSI MT has been a good buy, (at least till now). I have clocked around 2700 kms as I write. It has been used mostly for office commute, 80% of the time. Rest for intra-city runs, and a few Yamuna Expressway (henceforth called YEW) breakfast trips. I will not comment again, on the usuals: power, space or technicalities, but, some of my observations, likes and dislikes.
On a sunny day
Likes :
1) Extremely easy to handle, drive or maneuver in the city! Yes, it is long, but you soon get used to it and it is not cumbersome at all. Parking, well, my city has ample parking space, and I usually don't randomly park by the street.
2) Sensors, sensors and sensors: The sensors help me a lot while navigating through dense rush hour traffic. The differently pitched tones, for the various sides and corners, have now become recorded in my brain. I can make out without looking at the TFT, as to which is the location of an obstacle/object too close.
3) The triple zone AC and separate fuel consumption indicator for "convenience consumer". The AC is a chiller. Careful adjustments and not fiddling with it or the vents, make sure you get optimum performance all the while too! The car has very good insulation: the seals are excellent, and there is hardly any dust on door jambs, and the cabin is silent too. This also means better HVAC performance.
4) The sound system: Its MORE than adequate. It is powerful, probably the CANTON is better ( I'm sure it is), but this suits my genre : smooth jazz (Chuck Loeb/Eric Marienthal etc.), classic rock, instrumentals. The key to really sweet sound is to adjust the fader. Exact center sounds meh....set it slightly backwards, 2 notches and you are done. Time shift, actually! For reference, my test track was "I will walk on water" by Marillion, and Mid at 0, bass at 3, treble at 3 and fader at -2, sets is perfect. Just what I like!
5) The MID and tonnes of information : I like data!
6) It is amazingly fuel efficient. Noida/Ghaziabad/NCR runs deliver these figures:
Not bad for a daily drive!
YEW breakfast rides with bursts of really
velocities...this:
Enough!
Now, here are the observations or the "meh" aspects:
1) The beige interiors: finger prints and smudges are easily imparted!
2) The memory seats: there is something fishy with the settings. Either it has a short memory, or it is playing tricks with me.
3) Lots of brake dust: like, LOTS! I must mention, I use engine braking a lot, and my brake usage is minimal.
4) Clutch pedal : Very sharp and predictable bite, but, it is harder than my 7 year old Punto. Travel is as long!
DISLIKES:
1) The suspension : it makes LOUD thuds, not at all proportionate to the obstacle or pothole it has crossed. It does give you a heart ache. Even if the ride is smooth, the sound seems like everything is falling apart.
2) The rear parcel tray and sun shade rattles : I thought I had solved it, but NO! I can pin point to 5 different sources of rattles. Annoying. PLUS, if the car is parked outside in the sun and heat, (real NCR heat) for a while, there are plasticky squeaks from at least 3 locations which subside after cooling down the cabin. Thermal expansion perhaps.
3) Sensors, sensors, sensors: While it has been praised earlier, it is also VERY distracting. A blip here and a ploing there...makes you very conscious. But I like it, most of the times!
4) What's the ideal tyre pressure? I have tried from 32 cold till 37 cold. Confused still. But with 4 adults on board and 35 cold: Magic carpet!
That's all for now folks. Once again, thanks to bhpian friends roy_libran, Biraj, esteemedpunter, and the Delhi BHPIan gang, for helping me in this purchase decision.
The power plant : no dust here! Plus, there has been minimal or no oil consumption. The dipstick measure, is the same! I followed the exact run in procedures as described. Will keep an eye though!
Good bye folks! Will keep updating from time to time! Those sitting on the fence, grab it I say!