[H_Dogg72]

Originally Posted by sameer_vwagner

VW provides the slides with a green tint and it offers a decent heat reduction. However, windshield is the one to be blamed for heating as it does not have any filming. You might want to check Llumar Window Films for the windshield, I have it on my Polo and it is quite good.

I was told by the service center that the new windshield is now green too, this wanted to know about it. I have tints on the sides, but for the windshield would prefer a factory tint

[akshye]

Small things! Yes, the small things that matter!

You are warned about all the big things. You notice them in your first meet itself. But nobody tells you about those small things, ahh, those small things.

Now that you notice them, you can't unsee them.

The cornering lights for example - should glow when you turn the wheel. How else are they termed cornering lights? I confirmed with the brochure, no note/comment says of its absence. Yet, they're not following the steering. And everyone on the forum says, "Cornering lights work like a charm!". Well, if you got MT, the cornering lights are not activated by steering, but the indicator!

"You purist (choose adjective of your choice)! You shall use your hands more! Don't rest it on the lever, use that stick too. Or else - no cornering lights for you tonight."

And then there is the engine. How highly praised gem of small pots! That's highly assisted. No, it's not a purist's thing. The fly-by-wire dominates all. The engine braking is missing - yes, you read it right. Try releasing the accelerator pedal even in first gear, without depressing the clutch - it's difficult, I know, as it's a reflex to depress the clutch; but trust me on this. And you'll be surprised to find that there is no jerk - engine RPM is maintained for a fraction second and then very smoothly and calmly RPMs start dropping. If you're in a higher gear, it almost feels like you have selected cruise control - releasing the accelerator pedal doesn't result in (almost) any RPM drop.

Floor the accelerator on a sharp uphill, when RPM is at or below idle in a higher gear (even 2nd can be higher). Well, nothing happens. The ECU decides not to pump more fuel since the engine can't build RPM to get into the powerband.

The rev-matching is seamless and spot on though.

Result of all that ECU assistance? You get to boast about the mileage figures. "110 HP dude! 22 km/l! What an engine!"

The 6-speed box is just perfect! I initially felt 5th can be skipped, as it's neither power-drive nor over-drive. But no. Every gear is perfectly spaced. 6th is true overdrive and 5th is there to maintain the cruising speed driving up the fly-overs. The slotting is satisfying; has a mechanical feel to it, not like a joystick.

When you use the indicator, you hear a switching sound. That's the relay (electro-mechanical switch) sound, the indicator light contact make-break. With VW, it's synthesized audio emitted from the cluster speaker. Interesting! It's the same speaker that beeps for high-speed warning. Try using the lane change indicator when transitioning to 80 km/h and you'd know. The sound synthesis is spot on; kudos to VW for that!

Then there are trip meters, you find 3 of them. 2 are used to calculate trip time, distance, average speed, mileage over trip distance, etc. But you're not in charge of your trip. VW tells you when they reset (read the manual and explain to me as well if you understand the trip reset logic). And they reset often. No workaround. Even those drcodemyvw folks can't help you. The third trip meter obeys you, but the VW statistics engine won't. "You want to maintain your trip distance, go calculate your statistics yourself! Or you let me do my job. Me Polo, me rulez!"

The lane change indicator blinks 3 times. Who changes lane within 3 blinks? Maybe all Indians who drive like snakes? But when do they get time to slide the stick during all those nasty maneuvers? Do they even follow lane discipline to indicate change? The ones who indicate, won't change the lane within 3 blinks sir (or ma'm). So you sincere fellas, count (one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi) and re-indicate. Attaboy! (Attagal is not a word, sorry ladies)

Yes, the brake lights - fly by wire. Press the brake pedal, lights are turned on, release the pedal, wait, are they broken? Now they are off. Good, the following traffic will keep their brakes pressed longer, even so slightly, but longer. A good way to say, "Stay away when I'm braking".

Did I tell you about stalling the car? If you do, you can't just turn the key to restart. It's a safety feature. But when you stall, especially in traffic, you'd sure look like a rookie, trying to turn the key, all baffled. The key's starter position is locked once the engine starts; you have to switch the ignition off and on again, to activate the starter position. It's a good safety feature. I've absent-mindedly tried starting an already running engine (don't give me the look, as you've never done any stupid thing in your life) and this feature prevented that from happening.

On the attention to detail side, speedometer numbers are 10 km/h apart till 40 km/h and 20 km/h apart thereafter. Similar is the case with the fuel level meter. The quarter tank mark is split into 4, all above are split in half. It's very practical. The RPM and speedometer needles are lit all the time. You notice it only in the dark, kinda looks red hot (pun intended)!

When you lift the spare wheel lid in the boot, there is a lining that prevents potential rattling of the lid. It doesn't cover the entire metal surface, just the contact points - but hey, it's there in the cost-cutting century.

If you press the door lock button when any of the doors are not closed properly, you don't get horn feedback and the cabin light remains on, to indicate the car's not locked. If you leave the headlamp switch on and remove the key, there is an audible warning (the same cluster speaker beeps). The headlights are turned off though, I think.

The blackened B-pillar? That's real cost-cutting. It's a plastic piece. I know it's now first on your list to go and knock on it to confirm. I'm really sorry for exposing them. Not cool VW!

The wipers are auto but there is no marking of auto position. Keep it in an intermittent position and it acts as an auto wiper. Why again? Didn't the wiper stick guy (or gal) attend the 'attention to detail' class?

The cabin light is so far ahead that it's almost useless. The front seat headrest is the boundary, everything behind is in the dark. Good luck finding footwear the rear passenger removed.

When reversing, the sensors keep complaining 'audibly', not visually. So you keep guessing where the obstacle would be, behind that bumper. I never get such half pass features; what are you trying to prove? Ah, and my parking is wide enough to accommodate a Fortuner, but these sensors don't like those side pillars. My son keeps asking, "Why is she complaining? And why don't you listen to her, to shut her up?" And while we're on the subject, my 3 years old son does a better job warning me of obstacles when reversing (standing on rear seats, looking backwards). Also, I would have liked it if the infotainment volume is reduced when in reverse.

The suspension of this car exceeds expectations. Take inspiration from Altroz and maybe in the next review, you'll be considered for an 'outstanding' rating. (I promise this is the only comparison, but you need someone to look up to. BTW, Altroz doesn't get Outstanding either, we'll ask her to look into Polo's engine performance. And don't list all flaws in a single review, you need to leave out some for the next review. There is always 'room for improvement'). The Polo's suspension is very well composed, with a really good balance between ride and handling. The smaller profile tyres cause some hard hits, on broken patches, at speed. But one quickly adapts to such behaviour. I must say, this car does great, especially on the highway.

And before I forget, I just love this car! I'm not the one to pull MG with a donkey. After spending a million and more, I better love my buy, or my better half will bury my less than average ass (again, pun intended) in it, making it a million rupees coffin. You know what, Flash Red is not a colour for a coffin.

P.S. All are my personal views, don't hold me against your belief.
P.P.S. If I've left something out, VW should be glad, or not; anyway, they're pulling the plug, so what the heck.

[fluidicjoy]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

First road trip post tyre upgrade and repairs.

Enjoyed every bit of the drive. The climb from Mussoorie to Landour was done with ease with 4 onboard. Switched to Manual mode for uphill and downhill. Hill hold is such a good feature to have, not even once it rolled down or struggled to climb. AC was a bit of a downer and it took sometime to cool the cabin in peak afternoon.

Covered 600 KMS total. Greater Noida-Dehradun-Landour and back!

[/center]

Sir you should really consider starting your own ownership thread for your car and ownership experiences. It is always a joy to see updates on your car and your drives, that I really feel it would be nice to see them on a separate thread. Glad to hear that Hill Hold works brilliantly on your car as it should.

Originally Posted by akshye

Small things! Yes, the small things that matter!

Now that you notice them, you can't unsee them.

The cornering lights for example - should glow when you turn the wheel. How else are they termed cornering lights? I confirmed with the brochure, no note/comment says of its absence. Yet, they're not following the steering. And everyone on the forum says, "Cornering lights work like a charm!". Well, if you got MT, the cornering lights are not activated by steering, but the indicator!

"You purist (choose adjective of your choice)! You shall use your hands more! Don't rest it on the lever, use that stick too. Or else - no cornering lights for you tonight."

Automatic Cornering Light functionality needs inputs from the Steering Angle sensor, which works with the ESP feature provided only on Automatic cars. Without it, the indicators and your hands as you mentioned are the right way to make use of this feature. An ESP retrofit can improve your car's handling and also add this much added feature of steering input based Cornering Lights and a lot more like Indirect TPMS. It would be a good add-on for you since you love driving your car.

Originally Posted by akshye

Then there are trip meters, you find 3 of them. 2 are used to calculate trip time, distance, average speed, mileage over trip distance, etc. But you're not in charge of your trip. VW tells you when they reset (read the manual and explain to me as well if you understand the trip reset logic). And they reset often. No workaround. Even those drcodemyvw folks can't help you. The third trip meter obeys you, but the VW statistics engine won't. "You want to maintain your trip distance, go calculate your statistics yourself! Or you let me do my job. Me Polo, me rulez!"

Not sure if I've experienced this same thing that you mention. The first trip meter as expected does reset a short while after the ignition is turned off, while I've actively used the second trip meter during my trips, to plan group trips when I specifically wanted to see how efficient, how much distance the particular trip was. I've been on a few 2-3 day road trips with friends and always successfully used the second trip meter. Not once has it failed me or been weird on my car. The third one works fine as you said.

Originally Posted by akshye

The lane change indicator blinks 3 times. Who changes lane within 3 blinks? Maybe all Indians who drive like snakes? But when do they get time to slide the stick during all those nasty maneuvers? Do they even follow lane discipline to indicate change? The ones who indicate, won't change the lane within 3 blinks sir (or ma'm). So you sincere fellas, count (one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi) and re-indicate. Attaboy! (Attagal is not a word, sorry ladies)

Thankfully, you can change it to upto 5 blinks using VCDS or a dealer level adaptation in the Central Electronics module. This should not take more than a minute once you have a VCDS cable and a laptop. You can go to a dealer and request it to be made to 5 blinks as well. It is referred to as Comfort Turn Indicator Blink or somewhat on these lines if you'd be searching for an adaptation at the dealership.

Originally Posted by akshye

The cabin light is so far ahead that it's almost useless. The front seat headrest is the boundary, everything behind is in the dark. Good luck finding footwear the rear passenger removed.

When reversing, the sensors keep complaining 'audibly', not visually. So you keep guessing where the obstacle would be, behind that bumper. I never get such half pass features; what are you trying to prove? Ah, and my parking is wide enough to accommodate a Fortuner, but these sensors don't like those side pillars. My son keeps asking, "Why is she complaining? And why don't you listen to her, to shut her up?" And while we're on the subject, my 3 years old son does a better job warning me of obstacles when reversing (standing on rear seats, looking backwards). Also, I would have liked it if the infotainment volume is reduced when in reverse.

You can easily upgrade the cabin light by switching to one with more convenient lights and this has been done by plenty of BHPians with quite a few tutorial videos available on YouTube as well. If you need proper lighting at the rear, you can refer to BHPian TheLizardKing's tutorial linked here (VW Polo DIY: Installing the OEM Rear Dome Light).

As for the reverse sensors not being super helpful, upgrading the Parking Module to one that supports OPS (Optical Parking Sensors) will let you see guidelines to interpret the beeps better. This is again, not a tough upgrade with quite a few tutorials on TeamBHP. If you ever need help with this, I would be more than happy to help.

I like how most things in the VAG world do have a potential upgrade or adaptation which can help us get over most of the small but significant things which one may desire. Happy to hear that you're otherwise loving your car! There's so much to love about the Polo, that I can't say this enough

[akshye]

Originally Posted by fluidicjoy

Automatic Cornering Light functionality needs inputs from the Steering Angle sensor, which works with the ESP feature provided only on Automatic cars. Without it, the indicators and your hands as you mentioned are the right way to make use of this feature. An ESP retrofit can improve your car's handling and also add this much added feature of steering input based Cornering Lights and a lot more like Indirect TPMS. It would be a good add-on for you since you love driving your car.

Thanks for the info.

Originally Posted by fluidicjoy

Not sure if I've experienced this same thing that you mention. The first trip meter as expected does reset a short while after the ignition is turned off, while I've actively used the second trip meter during my trips, to plan group trips when I specifically wanted to see how efficient, how much distance the particular trip was. I've been on a few 2-3 day road trips with friends and always successfully used the second trip meter. Not once has it failed me or been weird on my car. The third one works fine as you said.

Well, I've never reset the 2nd trip meter after realizing the auto-reset thing. I've reset the 3rd trip meter 7xx km back. But 2nd trip, which I definitely haven't reset since 3 trip reset, currently stands at 4xx km. I think the 2nd trip meter resets if you don't crank the engine within 24 hours.

Originally Posted by fluidicjoy

Thankfully, you can change it to upto 5 blinks using VCDS or a dealer level adaptation in the Central Electronics module. This should not take more than a minute once you have a VCDS cable and a laptop. You can go to a dealer and request it to be made to 5 blinks as well. It is referred to as Comfort Turn Indicator Blink or somewhat on these lines if you'd be searching for an adaptation at the dealership.

I did ask the SA, but he said, they can't do it. drcodemyvw folks charge 6k, which I'm not willing to shell out yet for some random small modifications.

Originally Posted by fluidicjoy

You can easily upgrade the cabin light by switching to one with more convenient lights and this has been done by plenty of BHPians with quite a few tutorial videos available on YouTube as well. If you need proper lighting at the rear, you can refer to BHPian TheLizardKing's tutorial linked here (VW Polo DIY: Installing the OEM Rear Dome Light).

As for the reverse sensors not being super helpful, upgrading the Parking Module to one that supports OPS (Optical Parking Sensors) will let you see guidelines to interpret the beeps better. This is again, not a tough upgrade with quite a few tutorials on TeamBHP. If you ever need help with this, I would be more than happy to help.

I like how most things in the VAG world do have a potential upgrade or adaptation which can help us get over most of the small but significant things which one may desire. Happy to hear that you're otherwise loving your car! There's so much to love about the Polo, that I can't say this enough

I'll definitely contact you once I recover from a million rupees deep hole in my pocket. We'll spend some fraction of a million more on this car. It sure is a keeper!

[kedar_GT]

Polo to end it's run in India.

“The Volkswagen Polo is an iconic carline that has evoked various emotions amongst consumers. From its market introduction till date, the Volkswagen Polo has enjoyed the privilege of being the first car to a family, an enthusiast’s dream and the preferred choice for a mother owing to its timeless and sporty design, safety, fun-to-drive experience and strong build quality. The Volkswagen Polo has been the brands’ much-loved product that deserves a grand celebration. For this, the brand is introducing the celebratory limited ‘Legend edition’ for the enthusiasts who will take pride in owning the last limited units of the iconic Polo.”


Source : RushLane
https://www.rushlane.com/volkswagen-...-12429720.html

[sarang.vaidya]

Hello Everyone,

I have booked a VW Polo Highline Plus Automatic a month back and that time the dealer told me that he would be able to deliver the model with no issues.
Last week, I received a call from the dealer saying that the highline plus automatic cannot be delivered as the production of the same has been stopped by VW.
I need to change my booking to the GT limited edition and they will be able to deliver it.
I was keen on the highline plus as it comes with rear seat AC/Blower and armrest and both central locking keys which.

It would be really helpful if someone can confirm if the highline plus automatic production has really been stopped and only GT legend edition would be delivered to the old bookings.

Regards

[sabareesh10]

Dear BHPians,

After years of being a silent stalker on this forum, I've finally gotten down to penning my first post about the first trip with my first car. (Lots of firsts, I know! )

Brief history of my car buying journey:
For the longest time, I was a staunch proponent of the ride sharing + self drive car rental economy and then COVID happened. With that, came the hesitation to share an automobile for fears of safety and sanitation. My wife and I decided to buy a 2 wheeler for personal mobility during the pandemic and all was going well until the day we had an accident due to one of the 65 million potholes in Bangalore! (Yes I counted ). I got away relatively scot free, but she had a hairline crack on her elbow and was in a cast for a month (poor thing!). With this, we decided that while two-wheelers are great for quick trips to the nearby grocery store or to the gym, commuting longer distances in Bangalore definitely requires a four wheeler for the purposes of safety and comfort.

And so started ‘Mission Car Kharido’! This was when I really started my journey into the TeamBHP blackhole and boy was I sucked! Went through hundreds of official reviews, ownership threads, long term updates, travelogues etc. I finally ended up narrowing down my options to two cars, the i20 N-Line and the Polo Automatic. My guiding statement during the whole process was “If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right”. In that, if I was buying a car, I might as well buy a car that I’m going to have fun driving around in! Moreover, my dad is the proud owner of a Skoda Fabia 1.6 and I’ve grown up driving that beauty of a car! The car is a little over 10 years old at this point, but the old lady has still got it! She still pulls like no one’s business and is stable as a rock at high speeds. So these two cars seemed like the best driver’s car in the hatchback segment in India at the moment.

I cued up a test drive for the i20 N-line sometime in January and requested Advaith Hyundai (ORR - BLR) to send over a car home. They promptly obliged and I had a great TD experience with the i20. I was convinced with everything about the car except the sticker price. 15L on-road seemed steep especially for an IC car when the EV revolution seems imminent. I wasn’t able to get a TD of the Polo as VW Whitefield told me that people were picking up the Polos like hot cakes especially after rumours of the halt in production started surfacing. So they’d even sold out their TD vehicles and I wasn’t too sure of buying a car without at least getting a TD. So, the search went cold for a few months.

One fine day in a discussion over drinks with a friend, I gave him the whole spiel that I’ve penned just above. He pointed me towards Spinny. I’d heard of Spinny through the TBHP forums, but then when this friend told me he’d had a great experience buying a used car from them, I checked out their website and found a < 1 year old Ford Figo AT. While I know it’s not in the same league as the Polo and i20 N Line, the Figo was still in line with my mission statement of being a good driver’s car, albeit from a lower segment. And so, I arranged for the TD the next day and again, had a great TD experience with Spinny. They brought the car home and the executive was super patient and friendly. Also, the car was an absolute breeze to drive in the city especially in the traffic of ORR BLR (IYKYK). That evening, I had some convincing to do. Not only was I buying a used car, I was buying a used FORD car. They were spooked about bad used car experiences and Ford having packed their bags in India. And so by the time I was done and had everyone on board, it was late the same night. I was about to put down the booking amount for the car that night, when I found out that someone else had already booked it and the car was now unavailable! None of the other cars on Spinny at that point convinced me and so I was back to square one. I’d called up my dad the following day to vent my disappointment, when he asked me to check with VW again about the Polo.

So I called them again and they said that the TD situation is still the same. There were no cars available for a TD, but there was a Polo Comfortline AT in Carbon Steel immediately available for delivery if I was interested. Once bitten twice shy, I immediately went over to VW and put down a fully refundable token amount to reserve the car. My wife couldn’t accompany me to check the car out when I went to book it and so I wanted to come back with her at a later date for her seal of approval. I am a firm believer of the ‘Happy wife happy life’ theory!

Now the thing with the Polo is that only a driver appreciates the car. For a passenger or non-car nerd, all they see is a 10 year old car without the bells and whistles that cars from even lower segments offer. This is especially true if you’re looking at the Comfortline variant of the Polo. There are no steering mounted controls, Android Auto / Apple Carplay, driver side controls for the rear windows, cornering lamps, push button start and the list goes on. And so, when I came back with my wife to see the car, she was underwhelmed to say the least. It took me all the ‘Negotiation 101’ I learnt at B school to get her onboard, but finally she acquiesced We started the processing and exactly a week after I’d put down the down-payment, I had the keys to our handed over to me by VW Whitefield for our brand new Carbon Steel Polo Comfortline AT. The whole experience with the dealership was pretty smooth; Chetan was my main PoC from the showroom and I had a very pleasant experience interacting with him.

I’d already trawled through the gazillion threads we have on TBHP about the Polo and so I already had a good handle on the key upgrades I needed to make. I got a reversing camera installed at the dealership itself. I upsized from the stock R15 Comfortline alloys to R16 Momo Massimos. I also upgraded the rubber from the stock MRF ZVTV 185/60/R15 to the Conti UC6 195/65/R16. Put in some 3D Kagu mats. Some future upgrades I have planned, are to swap out the Blaupunkt San Marco 370 to the Blaupunkt New York 750 to get Android Auto / Apple Carplay going and a bulb upgrade for the headlamp.

If you’re still reading, thank you for your patience, presenting to you *drumroll* ‘The Grey Baron’!







Our first long drive

During the one week from booking to receiving delivery of the car, I was researching good debut drives to stretch The Baron’s legs when I got the idea of driving down to Wayanad to surprise my in-laws. We were supposed to visit them in January, when they came down with COVID and we had to push our plans to meet them. My wife was obviously thrilled at the suggestion and we decided to make Wayanad our first road trip destination!

We drove down here through the Kanakpura highway which, frankly speaking, was a very average drive up until Bandipur. The drive through Bandipur and after through to Kalpetta is amazing! Nice twisty sections with smooth tarmac and pleasure to do in the Polo. I highly appreciate the minimal body roll, good mechanical grip, strong engine, connected steering and the butter smooth TC gearbox! The car is a solid 9 / 10! I am going to dock one point for the creature comforts that it lacks like steering mounted controls, Android Auto, driver side rear window controls etc. But then, humans are such that they get used to their situation pretty quickly and I kind of have as well! I still want to get the HU upgraded for AA connectivity but I have made peace with the rest of the omissions.

I haven’t yet put The Baron through its paces till I break-in the engine, but suffice to say I already love what I see! I will follow up this post with a couple of intra-Wayanad travelogues, but until then, here’s me concluding my first post and thanking the community for the wealth of free knowledge they’ve shared and curated here! Wishing you all (and me) thousands of Kms of safe motoring! Cheers!

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by sabareesh10

Dear BHPians,

Brief history of my car buying journey:

Congratulations sabareesh on your latest acquisition

Somehow the Carbon steel is not my favorite shade on a Polo, but boy have you got those rims spot on. Looks really fab

VAG cars are some of the most mod friendly and there is a plethora of aftermarket updates/upgrades you can do. So if you have the time, patience and rokada (money), you can pretty much get everything that OEM did not offer on this variant.

Wish you many happy and high revving mile munching.

[TeaYesEye]

Originally Posted by sabareesh10

If you’re still reading, thank you for your patience, presenting to you *drumroll* ‘The Grey Baron’!

Hearty Welcome to the Comfortline AT family, Sabareesh

Those alloys look fabulous; happy mile-munching!!

You can follow Sujoy's(fluidicjoy) thread for swapping halogen to PHILIPS H7 LED ULTINON PRO 9000. I did upgrade mine and am ever thankful!!

[vedirah]

Originally Posted by sabareesh10

Dear BHPians,

I had the keys to our handed over to me by VW Whitefield for our brand new Carbon Steel Polo Comfortline AT.

Congratulations on your new car and welcome to the Polo family! I wish you a million+ kilometers with this beauty! I have the carbon steel colored Polo myself, and apart from being a dust magnet, it looks absolutely dashing in this metallic paint shade.

I needed advice on something from the forum.

I'm planning to move back to Bangalore in the coming days. The house I'm living in there doesn't have covered car parking, so I will have to park my Polo outside in the elements. I was wondering whether a car cover would be a good idea. Do car covers cause micro-scratches? Is it better to cover the car or just leave it in the open (maybe under a tree)?

How good is the Volkswagen genuine car cover for the Polo? PN: 6C0-061-205

[sabareesh10]

Thank you everyone for the warm wishes and the welcome!

You can follow Sujoy's(fluidicjoy) thread for swapping halogen to PHILIPS H7 LED ULTINON PRO 9000. I did upgrade mine and am ever thankful!!

I did take a look at Sujoy's thread and I plan to upgrade mine to the same ones as well! Glad you liked the upgrade!

VAG cars are some of the most mod friendly and there is a plethora of aftermarket updates/upgrades you can do. So if you have the time, patience and rokada (money), you can pretty much get everything that OEM did not offer on this variant.

Agreed! Some of the mods people have done made my eyes water! I plan to start small and work my way up to more complex mods!

[vedirah]

Hello all!

This is a long time coming thread about my ownership experience over 2500 km with my Polo Highline Plus AT. I had booked the car in November 2021 after going through every thread on TBHP about the car. The booking was done on November 2021 so that I could expect the delivery around February 2022 as a surprise to my long term girlfriend on our anniversary. However, sadly we broke up during the waiting period. What a way to start the year! Naturally, as soon as I booked the car, the first thing I did was register at TBHP to share my experience. I'm glad to be a part of this amazing forum now and a proud owner of the last few of the legendary Polo in India.

Requirements

The primary reason I wanted to buy a car was that I live with a dog, Arya, and it is hard to travel in India with a dog. For most of the car's life it would be just Arya and I going on road trips. Every year, during Diwali, we would also travel 700 km to my hometown for the celebrations. My requirement was a fun to drive small car that can be easy to drive in Bangalore traffic and also be exciting for the highway trips. I consider myself a driving enthusiast and the first thing I look for in any car is how the engine behaves, and how the car handles.

My family has owned several cars, starting with a Premier 118NE which my dad and I restored to pristine condition and it served us for five years. Then we moved on to the humble Indica Xeta, which wasn't exciting to drive, but served us well for daily commutes. We had a Honda Amaze iDTEC as well, and then we bought a Mahindra XUV300 diesel. These cars were my reference points in this selection process. The shortlisting process lasted for about six months and was very thorough. Here are the cars I had considered and the reason I chose the Polo over these:

Shortlists

1. Honda Amaze
   
   My dad owned the first gen Honda Amaze diesel a while ago. Naturally, my search started from this rather familiar car. The diesel engine on our Amaze was such a charmer. It had enough grunt, and also had segment leading FE! Sadly, the newer Amaze was a let down in terms of part quality and interior fit and finish (not to say the first generation was any better - in fact, it was even worse). Even though it ticked most boxes, the CVT was unexciting to drive, so we dropped this car from the shortlist.
   
   
2. Renault Kiger/ Nissan Magnite
   
   I was gravitating a lot towards these cousins initially. They seemed to offer everything I needed at a stellar price point. The CVT I felt was better than Honda's offering. The engines were punchy and I never felt the need for extra power. However, overall fit and finish levels leave a lot to be desired. The cars somehow felt cheaply built. How these cheap plastics would fare in the longer term was a big question mark. So we dropped this too.
   
   
3. Hyundai i20 N Line DCT
   
   This was one car that was almost perfect for my needs. It has a competent engine and gearbox combo, drives and handles spectacularly, steering has enough feedback, the car generally feels grippy on the road, and add to that the laundry list of features it comes with. The i20 N Line was spacious and made a lot of sense, but it was overkill for my needs. The car is simply way overpriced for what it offers. I also found that the Polo performs better than the i20 N Line in the drivetrain aspects.
   
   
4. Honda Jazz CVT
   
   The Honda Jazz was another promising contender but I dropped it because it was unexciting to drive and the CVT was sluggish. I also didn't like how the Jazz looked - a matter of personal preference.
   
   
5. Tata Altroz iTurbo
   
   This was an interesting car on the list. Quite affordable, stylish and offers a premium cabin experience. However, it was the odd one out because it didn't have an automatic option at all! So considering the infamous Bangalore traffic, I dropped this.
   
   
6. Polo GT TSI
   
   Weirdly enough, I remember crossing the Volkswagen showroom and spotting a board that said "The all new Volkswagen Polo is here" a couple months before I decided I needed a car. I remember thinking to myself - it looks the same as it did 10 years ago. What's possibly new about the Polo? Who even buys this car these days that its still on sale?! Needless to say, this was the car at the last of my list. In fact it didn't even feature on my list of shortlists. That was my impression of the Polo having never driven it first hand to experience the beauty that is called the TSI motor. Boy oh boy, was I wrong. One test drive and I was convinced this is the car I want to get. The amazing solid German build quality easily put all the others on my shortlist to shame - and that being a 10 year old car! I remember my first impression as I got inside the car was the dashboard and door lining plastics were of such premium quality. Obviously, I was also super impressed with the motor - the way it feels so punchy and eager. At this point, I had made up my mind. It was the Polo or nothing.

The two major contenders on my list now were the i20 N Line DCT and the Polo TSI AT. Here is a quick overview of my observations of both the cars when driven back-to-back:

• Engine - The Polo has the better engine and feels much more sprightly than the i20. The i20 has noticeable turbo lag. The Polo's turbo lag in comparison is not that bad. Both engines can pull the car and keep you interested, but the Polo can bring that smile on your face. The engine note too is better on the Polo. The i20's engine note felt a bit wheezy.
  
  
• Gearbox - The i20's DCT didn't feel noticeably faster than the Polo's torque converter. Which is surprising. The Polo's torque converter does a splendid job. Shifts are nearly imperceptible if driven sedately, and shifts are quick! But hey, you get paddles on the Hyundai!
  
  
• Suspension - i20 N Line wins hands down. Zero body roll around corners and very firm and matured setup. The Polo in comparison feels softer and also has noticeable body roll.
  
  
• Steering - I felt the Polo's steering to be a bit more weighted than the i20's, and felt more solid. The i20 is very responsive but a bit more weight would have helped. The steering wheel of the Polo feels a tad bit better in your hands than the i20's due to the very tight leather stitching. But again, the i20's steering wheel feels softer to the touch. Both are made from excellent material quality.
  
  
• Build quality - Polo has that satisfying European door thud when you close the doors. That is missing in the i20 - the doors feel lighter to operate in typical Hyundai fashion. But Hyundai has definitely come a long way today. The panels feel well put together - there aren't any major panel gaps. The paint quality too has improved.
  
  
• Interior - The i20 definitely felt more modern and upmarket, but the quality of plastics is better on the Polo. In my opinion, both score well in this regard.
  
  
• Features - Do we even have to go here? Of course the i20 wins hands down. But the Polo has auto wipers which in my opinion is more useful than auto headlamps.
  
  
• Comfort - The bucket seats on the Polo fare a bit better than the ones on the i20 which lack under-thigh support. That's just me nitpicking. But the tables are turned once you get into the back seat, where the i20 is far far better than the Polo. It just has much more space in the back. On the driver's seat too, there is much more knee-room and leg-room in the i20. I'd give this one to the i20.
  
  
• Cost cutting - I could see several areas where Hyundai has cut costs. First, the painting on the door sills and other areas which aren't visible to the naked eye (for example, the inside of the hatch) don't have enough clear coat on them. The quality of plastics on the outside too, in my opinion, feel like a cost cutting exercise. I suspect Volkswagen does a full BIW dip into the clear coat whereas Hyundai probably only sprays the clear coat on top of the base coat from outsides and doesn't bother about doing the same inside (I could be wrong about this).

After a very long thought process, I decided Polo was the way to go. The i20 is a nice and well rounded car. But it doesn't have the same driving feel which the Polo offers. It is let down by that engine. i20 N Line turbo GDI is not as free revving as the Polo TSI and that can be felt. Hyundai would have had a winner only if they had plonked a better engine into the i20 N Line. But alas, that's not the case. And for now, the Polo takes the lead as the enthusiast's car.

Here are some likes and dislikes I found with the Polo:

Likes and Dislikes

Likes:

• The 1.0 TSI motor is absolutely a gem and likes to be driven hard. I even found that it gives me marginally better FE when driven within the turbo's power band! It hardly feels like a small capacity motor when kept within its power band. Acceleration is instantaneous and overtakes are a point-and-shoot business.
  
• I felt the torque converter gearbox can be as quick as a dual-clutch setup! This was surprising. During a back to back drive of the i20 N Line DCT and the Polo TSI, I felt that the shifts were just as quick, but smoother in the Polo.
  
• The suspension setup is firm and compliant compared to my reference cars. It felt more planted than the XUV300 does. However, the i20 N Line has the better suspension setup hands down.
  
• The steering is well weighted and confidence inspiring. It is fairly accurate, but has a small dead spot in the center. The i20 N Line's steering, on the other hand, has less weight but more feedback and is more accurate.
  
• This is a pure driver's car! The ergonomics are spot-on and everything is where you would expect it to be (except the stalks which are mirrored in typical European fashion!).
  
• General fit and finish levels are extraordinary. Dashboard material is top quality and the car exudes quality everywhere. All touch points are made of excellent materials.
  
• Small VW features- such as all windows one touch up and down, rain sensing wipers, cooled glovebox etc. are nice to have.

Dislikes:

• The outside mirrors don't auto fold when locked or unlocked! That is a major miss.
  
• Space is strictly average. This was not an issue for me considering my usage.
  
• Fabric seats were nice, but tend to get dirty and are hard to clean.
  
• Headlights are abysmal. The car badly needs Vento's headlights.
  
• No reverse parking camera! But that's not really an issue as it is a smallish car, and gets reverse parking sensors - which in my opinion should be okay.
  
• The audio system is acceptable. Audio quality is good. The strong point of this speaker setup is its rich midrange. Bass is thumpy but not enough. Highs are disappointing. It doesn't have much in terms of soundstage either. But as far as OEM speakers go, these are acceptable.

Booking Experience

I started enquiring about auto loans with various banks and got a sweet deal from PNB at just 6.8% interest rate. The next day, I went to the showroom and booked a matte grey Polo GT TSI (a limited edition color option) by putting down a booking amount of Rs. 50,000. The on-road price at that time was Rs. 11,75,000 (this was later revised in January reflecting an increase of Rs. 30,000 on the ex-showroom price). The showroom couldn't promise a delivery date owing to spotty supply of the car from Volkswagen. They gave me a timeline of 2-3 months, and I asked them specifically to deliver it in February due to my anniversary. Then the torturous waiting period began. I spent most of my time watching videos on youtube over and over again, reading through all the team BHP threads, and just annoying my mother by asking her twice a day when she thinks the car would come home. My dad tried to push me to buy the Altroz instead multiple times because it was cheaper and also didn't have a waiting period. But I was unswayed. I wanted the Polo and that was that.

Delivery

Sometime in late January I received a call from the dealership saying that they had a Carbon Steel grey Polo Highline Plus in the manual guise. They said I'd have to take delivery of this, as they aren't expecting any other Polo to be allotted soon. I was in a dilemma whether I should go ahead with this or not. We had a discussion for two days at home, and I decided to go ahead with it. I would be sacrificing the automatic gearbox, but I decided I could live with that. Weirdly enough, a day after sharing the quotation with me, the dealer called me again apologetically as the car they had, was in fact, an automatic Highline Plus trim and not a manual. I immediately told him to go ahead with the delivery. The loan process went smoothly (thanks to Mr. Rajesh at PNB Nagercoil branch).

I took delivery of the car on a rather special day - 2/2/22. The delivery was quite eventful. There was cake and some sweets. The showroom staff were all wearing happy faces and were as excited as I was taking delivery of my first car. In fact, they cheered together as I started the car for the first time for the customary lemon squashing. Their excitement was definitely contagious! The bank manager, who was now my good friend, also asked to be present during delivery. My dad quickly made friends with the dealership staff and the bank manager too. Overall, it was a satisfying delivery day. They all waved at me through the rear view mirror as I drove away with my new carbon steel grey beauty.



Initial experience

The first week of owning the car was quite thrilling! I would take the car out every chance I get. At every available opportunity to drive the car, I would take the car instead of our humble Fascino. And I would return home with the widest grin ever. My proclivity of taking the car out every chance got so bad that when I received my Fast Tag, I took the car out for a 150 km drive just to test whether the Fast Tag works or not! The TSI motor does one thing and it does it so well - it just pulls and pulls and pulls! I have to say, even after 2500 km with it, the excitement of driving this car has not dulled one bit.

Day 4 of ownership gave me a harrowing experience. Someone had keyed their way through the hatch and the rear bumper, leaving a nasty looking scratch all across the rear of the car. I couldn't sleep that night. Luckily, the next day I went to a detailing guy and he removed 90% of the scratch at just Rs. 500. The scratch is still visible to a keen eye, so I guess I have to live with it. Here is a picture of the scratch:



Starting Day 6, the accessories I had ordered from Amazon started coming in. First was a 70 Mai dash cam. I installed this one myself, routing the cable through the A-Pillar and then through the rear of the dashboard. However, I was not able to find an opening under the infotainment unit to perfectly route the cable. So now it annoyingly rubs against my left leg while I drive. Then came the 900 GSM SoftSpun microfiber towels, and with it came the Formula 1 car wax. I also bought Meguiar's NXT Gen car shampoo for detailing needs. Then came the Tirewell tire inflator, which I have found quite useful so far. I also eventually ordered a pair of memory foam knee pads to be stuck on the lower sides of the center console where your knee rests while driving. Here's a picture of the car after a nice wash and wax session:



Experience on a long highway trip

The second weekend I took the car on a 500km long drive to Coimbatore. This was when I could thoroughly enjoy the car. Even with a full load of luggage, the engine felt very sprightly and eager at highway speeds. I was careful not to cross 2.5k RPM during the run in period. My first service at 1000 km was done at Ramani Volkswagen, Coimbatore. The staff were very professional and the work was done in a short time. The highway FE surprised me - I averaged 15.5 km/l on this trip. The rest of the 1500 km were mostly spent on city roads in Nagercoil where I got a respectable FE of 12 km/l under sedate driving. However, there were times when it has dropped to 9.5 km/l also.

I have planned to upgrade the headlights (this car badly needs a headlight upgrade) and I'm also thinking of installing the VW flip camera (inspired by BHPian fluidicjoy's thread on the same). I might think of installing a sway bar at the rear to combat the body roll and the understeer at high speeds.

I have spent two fulfilling months with this car and I have to say I am thoroughly satisfied with my decision to purchase this car. It is sad to see VW pulling the plug on this legend of a hatchback. I can't find any car that can actually replace the Polo now in all aspects. Yes, the N Line is competent, but still falls short of driving pleasure that the Polo can give.

Here's a parting shot:



Experience with AutoForm India purchasing seat covers for my Polo

After my Coimbatore trip, it was a nightmare to clean up the fabric seats - Arya sheds a lot of hair! I had to thoroughly vacuum the entire cabin and still there were places where I could find Arya's hair. So naturally, I wanted to get some seat covers installed to make this less painful in the future.

I looked online and couldn't find many promising options. Went down to Nagercoil and looked for good seat covers, but I didn't like the designs on offer. A friend of my dad who owns a 4th gen Honda City spoke highly of Autoform India, so I checked them out. They offer online bookings and delivery. I was very skeptical of this option, what if I book something and when it arrives the quality of the material is bad? They only have an exchange policy and not a return policy. Still, based on reviews, I decided to take the plunge. I ordered a set of black leatherette seats with red piping which cost me Rs. 11,500 including delivery. Installation was to be paid separately.

When I received these, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the leatherette material. What's more? The pattern on the leatherette nicely compliments the pattern on the dashboard. My friends also found the seat covers quite comfy and good looking. I highly recommend AutoForm to anyone looking for good quality seat covers at an affordable price. Here's what I'm talking about:

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by vedirah

Hello

After a very long thought process, I decided Polo was the way to go.

Congratulations, Polo is a better choice overall than NLine with that sweet engine. But the suspension is a bit soft, can be easily fixed with more stiffer dampers. But even in stock, Polo feels much more stable in high speeds.

2 places where N Line really score is the features and back space. But Polo compensates that with much better build quality.

[vedirah]

A parting letter from our beloved Polo:

[AKSarkar1]

Originally Posted by vedirah

Hello all! This is a long time coming thread about my ownership experience over 2500 km with my Polo Highline Plus AT.

Congratulations on your new beauty and it is always great to have another Polo on the forum. I own a Vento is the CS Grey colour as well and even 7 years down the line the colour just looks fabulous!

I am sure that the 1.0 TSI will keep a grin on your face for years and lakhs of kms to come and personally think that you made the right choice opting for the Polo over other options, especially considering the fact that now is probably the last period when you can buy a mint Polo straight off the production line.

Looking forward to more updates and hopefully mod installations too! +1 to your points regarding the bad headlights but they are a quickfix with all the new LED options out there today, from Nighteye to Phillips, there are loads of brands which will solve this probably easily and cheaply!