Team-BHP - Volkswagen Polo : Test Drive & Review

When the Polo was launched in march , I went to the showroom for a test drive. I wasn't really happy with the smoothness and refinement of the petrol Polo . So I decided to go for another Test Drive .
First of all I was pretty pleased with the Dealership experience . Coming back to test drive experience , I had a chance to drive both petrol and diesel . As I said , I wasn't really happy with the refinement of Polo , this time also , I felt the engine is nosier than the other 1.2's available. Smoothness is acceptable , so is the performance . I pretty much liked , the way engine response is at low rpm . And the engine is far more drivable than the diesel unit. On the other hand , the diesel has lots of turbo lag below 2500 rpm . But post 2500 rpm its fun to drive . Overall petrol unit is better on drive-ability.
When inquired about delivery period , the SE replied , it depends on the variant and colour . When I asked about White Petrol Comfortline , He said, go for the trendline , and if payment and formalities are done, he can deliver the car within 4 days , and I was like :Shockked:
Again asking about CL , he said , it will take about one month .
And for 1.6 , he said , VW has stopped production for a while , and the deliveries will start by Jan 2011.

Quote:

Originally Posted by swale84 (Post 2110860)

Update on Polo 1.6 deliveries:

Just got a call from VW Navi Mumbai (where I had inquired about the 1.6 weeks ago)

For bookings made now, deliveries will be in February 2011!

VW is certainly going to miss out on a fair number of orders if the Fabia with the same engine can be delivered quicker.

How is VW going to miss out on orders if the Fabia is delivered quicker?

This is the same engine, and it has to do duty in the Vento, Fabia and the Polo. The engines and drivetrains are all imported as of now, so where would Skoda get their engines from to deliver quicker?? The Fabia AND the Polo are built at the same Chakan plant.

VW is facing trouble ramping up. There is no other explanation ( even if they want to be quiet about it). As far as customer experience goes, they seem to be doing nothing differently. Are people even getting free dart-boards and umbrellas and cheap paper toys while they wait for 4-7 months after booking these days??

In this case, AFTER the storm comes the silence....

I happened take a test drive of Polo 1.2 today at the Volswagen downtown bangalore at Magrath Road.

Dealership experience:- The people were very courteous and helpful. Since i own a Manza QJD i really compare this with the Concorde Motors.Because concorde people never bother to address customers. The arrogant behaviour and the lack of knowledge about their own cars is not digestible as far as concorde is concerned.

Polo test drive car- Surely a car with a hole!!!!! The most horrible test drive car ever seen. The windshield glass was carrying a big crack.No right mirrors,dirty smell and very untidy car.Didn't feel like holding the steering at all.

Drive experience:- I had a very very short drive. Given the opportunity in that small test drive what i could guage is that the car doesn't out perform in any way.The 3 cyl engine is just a normal city drive car and i feel it may not serve much in the highway. The pickup and running were normal and nothing much to appreciate or complain. Literally i was struggling to adjust driver's seat position because i was 6 feet and wellbuilt. The rear legroom i can never ever imagine. God sake i didn't sit there. Great sigh of relief----ahhhhhh!!!!

The engine when started made me feel that oh sorry i have started a diesel car. But immediately was said by the sales man that " No sir this is the petrol car". Even in an open surrounding itself the car was screaming .I felt that my Manza diesel was much silent than the polo petrol (No offence meant.Just personal opinion)

The waiting period was huge.I was told that it may take 3 mts for 1.2 and 6 mts for 1.6 which is why many of my friends dropped out the polo.

The on road price for the 1.2 comfortline is 5,92,639/- and highline is Rs. 7,05,417 which i feel too pricey and doesnot deserve the same.

Overall i would average polo at 6/10.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sudipc (Post 2071671)

I collected my POLO Petrol Highline in Emotion Blue
Drivers' View
ORVM Surprisingly you get to see the reflection of the air vent near the door in front and the light knob on the right in the window glass overlapping with the view to the OVRM. At night specially you see the dashboard illumination reflected in the same vision angle as the OVRM.
IRVM I think the IVRM is not placed properly other than the fact that the view is restricted due to the rear headrests, in the anti glare position the view shifts upwards, requiring a manual resetting for the driver.

For the Above see the attached pics.

Hey Sudipc,

Congratulations on the new car, it is a beautiful shade that Emotion Blue. BTW is the location of the snaps somewhere in Chittaranjan park?

On the issue with the mirrors well the side window glass does reflect stuff and that gets caught in the convex ORVMs too, maybe you need to adjust the angle a bit to a more acceptable level. As for the IRVM, these being prismatic the view will shift upwards or downwards depending on the initial setting of the mirror in the normal mode. The mirror works on the principle of refraction and while the upward/downward shifting may appear odd during day time it works perfectly at night when the mirror uses the dull background of the roof liner or the seats to cut out the glare. It is the same with all of the cars and in time you will get used to the same.

Now that I have been driving the VW Polo for a while now under various conditions and also visited the workshop once, I guess I can now write in my driving experience.

On the whole it has been a pleasure and extremely reassuring that it does live up to expectations with some minor concerns.

The car is extremely sensitive in the low gears. One needs to move between 1st to 3rd quite often especially on city roads as the power generated in these gears is substantially different. It is difficult to get the car rolling in 2nd gear, I know one is not supposed to do that but at times it is required.

The accelaration in the 3rd and 4th gears are simply awesome, you really get pushed into your seat, I love the feeling. BTW I clocked 120kmph on the DND before running out of DND. I had to look at the odometer to know this as it didn't seem so. The acceleration was extremely smooth and I am sure could have gone more if there was more DND. ABS was awesome at the end of DND.

The baseplate of the rear shockers is really low. The Team-BHP's review also noted this but kind of accepted this on the ground that it would move with the wheel. I have experienced major thud on couple of occasions when I went over potholes or uneven road surface. Shockers are great, as there is no feedback when driving on rough surface. But at high speeds (50kmph+) the baseplate hits the surface on bad roads.

I specially went for the Hiline for the seat height adjustment feature for the drivers seat. I have it on the maximum height and I have barely a couple of inches from the roof to my head. I am still trying to figure out the best driving posture and at the same time allowing for adequate leg space behind.

I feel VW could have done better to include more usable/convenient storage spaces in between the the two front seats. I loved what they did for the Vento with the arm-rest and all. I wonder if I could get it fitted in the Polo too. The storage compartment on the passenger side is convenient to open but a little inconvenient to access the inside. And of course the missing vanity mirror on the passenger side is inexcusable.

On the dashboard, the music system sounded pretty average for FM. But I was extremely pleased when I played my CDs. Again missing USB port inexcusable.
I haven't been able to figure out the digital display as yet. I would really need some help on this one. The Owners Manual is not of much help for this. Furthermore the contents of the manual is completely for the European version and therefore has very little for the Indian variants.

The car was banking to the left for which I went to the workshop at Mohan Cooperative and got the alignment fixed. They have a completely computerised system which is damn good. But now I feel it is banking to the right, could be largely psychological. Delhi roads maybe wide but the engineering is poor or should I say the execution.

I have a concern with the air-conditioning, although it cools very effectively. Lately I am getting a musty smell initially when the AC is turned on. The technician cleaned the filter and it reduce substantially at the workshop but it is back again now (2 weeks). Anybody has any idea?

Service is a concern at this point in time. I visited the workshop at Mohan Cooperative and found it quite deserted of vehicles (a good sign) and therefore had quite a few technicians and the supervisor giving me all the attention. But the technicians have very little clue with the car, a matter of concern. I was disappointed with the supervisor's comment to replace parts at the drop of a hat. This is worrisome! I really advise all to be well acquainted with the problem and its probable solutions before giving in to the technician's advice.

Another point of concern and amusement is that of the display showing the distance to be traveled on available fuel in the tank. On high speeds over long distances the display actually increases suggesting that as the fuel reduces you can travel further. However on low speeds especially city it takes a nosedive, which basically suggests a poor mileage for cities.

More as I face concerns!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sudipc (Post 2168823)

I kept rechecking the pics over and over again but couldn't figure out what was it that suggested it was in Chittaranjan Park. I must congratulate you on your detective work.lol:

As for the reflection, it is on the window glass in the line of vision to the ORVM, so changing the angle of the ORVM doesn't help. As for the IRVM I tried at night also, the problem remains. I didn't have the same issue in other cars like Alto, Palio, City.

I could tell you how I figured that out over a double egg+chicken roll :D and check out your mirrors too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sudipc (Post 2168898)

I have a concern with the air-conditioning, although it cools very effectively. Lately I am getting a musty smell initially when the AC is turned on. The technician cleaned the filter and it reduce substantially at the workshop but it is back again now (2 weeks). Anybody has any idea?

It is because the air conditioning coils remain wet overnight and the smell is due to the dampness. Nothing wrong with the car, it is because of the weather these days. All you need to do is that as you approach your place towards the end of the day switch off the compressor but let the fan run for the last say quarter kilometer. If you are using AC +heater you can even switch to fresh air intake to compensate to make up for the cold air. This run will allow the coils with enough air flow through to dry them out and the mustiness will be gone in a day or two. Also in the morning you could run your car on fresh air intake for the first kilometer or so. This will not only dry out any remaining dampness but also allow the engine to warm up before the air con compressor loads it up.

Another thing to look out for is that the mats in the car are not cleaned with the same water and cloth that is used to wash the exterior of the car and never ever put back inside while they are still wet even mildly so. This is another leading cause for that musty smell and ususally gets covered by the cold air from the air con unit but will build up over time as it gets absorbed by the floor carpet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sudipc (Post 2168898)

Service is a concern at this point in time. I visited the workshop at Mohan Cooperative and found it quite deserted of vehicles (a good sign) and therefore had quite a few technicians and the supervisor giving me all the attention. But the technicians have very little clue with the car, a matter of concern. I was disappointed with the supervisor's comment to replace parts at the drop of a hat. This is worrisome! I really advise all to be well acquainted with the problem and its probable solutions before giving in to the technician's advice.

New product in the market + new dealership = green technicians(majority of them) = concern. However as and when they get trained in the VW way it will be good going. I personally find replacement of parts better than repairs etc as long as it is being done under warranty (read no expense to my pocket). From what I know the VWs are well engineered and replacement of parts is generally a breeze even for the new novices.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sudipc (Post 2168898)

Another point of concern and amusement is that of the display showing the distance to be traveled on available fuel in the tank. On high speeds over long distances the display actually increases suggesting that as the fuel reduces you can travel further. However on low speeds especially city it takes a nosedive, which basically suggests a poor mileage for cities.

The MID gives out instantaneous average and hence the pattern that you see on the same. It is quite in line and not an issue of concern.