[aaggoswami]

As Vishy76, Romil.Shroff, Porshce_guy have already mentioned, the experience was below par.

1. DSG is too slow, after a particular speed breaker, there was lag, so much so that a Qualis (yes, you read that right, Qualis) went past by and I had floored the pedal, no response, had to lift off to let qualis come into my lane, and same thing happened twice again. Utterly disappointed. My 2014 City Petrol would have zoomed off with such inputs. No point in having a powerful turbo petrol but suffer in urban conditions. Traveling from one city to another where high traffic density is a given, this car would be a headache.

2. Ride quality. Something is really amiss here, the rear suspension wont settle down, felt rather unnerving. Such poor set up is out of the world, more so its absolutely not expected out of VW. May be a particular batch of weak shocker absorbers could be reason but needs attention. Recently I took my City for 750 kms trip with 84K on odo, the rear suspension wasn't this odd despite poor levelling on Madhya Pradesh highways and car loaded up with 3 healthy adults plus luggage.

3. Limited shoulder room at rear means that rear seat is comfortable only for two adults. May be they are targeting enthusiasts, but then in that case the rear suspension should not be so badly tuned. Adding to agony was poor AC. Just not cooling down even adequately.

4. Car looks smashing, has proper bumpers that would take smaller hits without impacting body panels, especially at rear. Brakes are nice and confidence inspiring.

To summarize, the wow factor or excitement once expects after spending so much money wasn't felt atleast in conditions we drove. May be on the highway it would be explosive and fun, but then certainly not an all rounder. Why VW is shying away from a proper Torque Converter for this engine is a question mark. AC and rear suspension are concerns that can be resolved, but living with that lag laden DSG in urban traffic is a deal breaker.

[SSD2122]

A very honest, informative and useful report! The 1.0 variants were a contender in my list to replace my Linea tjet.

However going by the details and especially having read that the Ac is not up to the mark really came across as a dampener.

It would be more prudent to wait for a year till all issues get sorted out.

[Conquistador]

Thanks for the crisp review guys. My first post. Pardon me if it is verbose.

A little background, I had initially booked the blue Slavia style 1.5 dsg on Nov 28, 2021. Recieved no call or confirmation from the Skoda people till April 2022, and they tried to push a white or a carbon steel 1.0 variant till mid may and then offered a carbon steel 1.5 dsg with no timelines of the blue or the red colors. Was not happy with them at all. So decided to drop the whole car purchase altogether, then I got a cars24 link from a friend for a white T-Roc for 21 lakhs driven 15k kms. Finances didn't allow it and I felt maybe I am going too up a budget. Wanted an automatic though and had very few pre-owned options in AP. Then I saw the Virtus online. Immediately jumped on my bike to go see it in person and fell in love with the blue.

I took a TD of a blue GT 1.5 dsg variant on 4th June, booked the same. Let me preface by saying, this is the literal 2nd time I drove in India. All my driving experience was from the driving school here and also a 6yrs in theUS, so might not be able to judge much. I had a 2013 Corolla and a 2010 Camry sport stateside. The 1.5 dsg TD in the city felt more like my corolla. However I like the car, nothing to write home about the interiors or anything but a the engine and gearbox of 1.5 dsg are something to consider. It is a lot better looking than Slavia, glad that it gets the grey-blackish insert on the dashboard than the red one from the red GT. I did a TD of 1.0 style variant of Slavia, and it struggled at Speed breakers, this was the first time I drove in India.

Looks wise, the rising blue is awesome if we can black out the few chrome bits! The rear felt not wide enough for such a big car, felt Ameo'ish. Inside it felt a bit sturdier than the Slavia. The Plastic cladding atop the instrument cluster was very flimsy in Slavia. The screen is integrated into the dash unlike the floating one in Slavia as you might have seen online and also angled towards the driver. This makes it appear smaller than the Slavia's 10.5" screen. From my experience, I wish it had a few simple creature comforts like a Sunglass holder, wider rear seat( can fit 2.5 at best), display brightness adjuster, better sound, better AC and ventilated seats (just felt a tiny bit of cold air at the higher setting) it was 37deg outside.
Felt the steering has a no feedback, it is dead till atleast 5 degrees from dead center both ways. I could turn the wheel left and right like a kid and the car kept going straight till the 5deg or less than 10 deg mark. I thought it would get sharper and true at higher speeds but didn't get to check it in the city drive. The seats are better than Taigun but not as soft as Slavia, although that is nothing too great either. Me being on the heavier side, the Taigun seat's side bolsters did really bite into my back, the Virtus not as much.

Did just drive Virtus GT for only 3-4 km, as a slight accident cut our TD short. While at a speed breaker, we felt a huge gust of wind and it pushed a few metal road divider barricades onto our TD car. It felt as if a 2 wheeler had bumped hard into us from a wrong side. The car got scuffed up on the driver side doors and a dent-ish on the hood. On checking closely the dent was rather a cut in the paint and exposed the sheet metal. This has one thick paint job must tell you. Have to appreciate the Mody VW sales people who recognized that it was unavoidable and just wanted us to turn around so that they could go back. They even specifically told their bosses and the owner perhaps, that it was not our fault, however it was a mood spoiler. But nevertheless Blue GT 1.5 dsg is the one for me. The car does seem a bit slow at the speed breakers and city traffic but that is coming from a totally different driving experience from the US and also I was taking it easy due to the incident and also as I have not driven in India much.

I have been promised a delivery date between 15-20 June for the Rising Blue GT, fingers crossed . Carbon steel was to be on the 9th or 10th June immediately after price launch. But Carbon steel got ruled out at home and by friends, The blue does look more premium with smoked tail lamps and if we black out the grill, handles etc it would be far better looking.

[Guite]

Originally Posted by porsche_guy

The Virtus definitely was in passive consideration as a replacement for my Vento. But just 10 minutes with the car and I knew this isn't the one.

But it's still no match for my now 8 year old Vento and that's that for the Virtus for me.

That's disappointing news for another Vento owner who wanted to stick to VW. Now I have started looking at other brands, even second hand car of higher segment. I never thought VW would compromise on quality so much. I feel let down. When i bought the Vento I knew the feature set was less than competition, but build quality was solid. That USP is now gone. Functional AC in Delhi is not even a feature; it is basic functional requirement.

[gururajrv]

Perhaps, either Slavia / Virtus would impress a new VAG customer (like me), but not the ones who have already experienced their offerings from yesteryears, be it a hatchback, sedan or an SUV, as they were the originals from the VAG group.

Believe, VW / Skoda will continue to survive with whatever numbers these cars from 2.0 strategy would do, regardless. This is where companies would become thick skinned to customers’ feedback because they expect customers to buy what they sell and not ask what they won’t sell!

Nevertheless, I like the looks of both cousins i.e. Virtus (1) and Slavia (2).

[Olympal]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

Thanks vishy76 for the short, crisp report

Although I haven't yet driven the Virtus (scheduled for a long drive next week), but all the reports flowing in for the 1.5 liter DSG resonate a very quick off-the-blocks performance.



Surprised to read this. Has the DSG been dulled down from the previous Vento? Or does it respond like it is more unpredictable?
I had been driving the Vento DSG for the past few years (albeit with diesel engine) so curious to know this development.



Again, bit of a surprise since the official review says this about the air-con:



Could it be an issue related to that car specifically?

I took a test drive of about 5km. Initially, in very slow traffic, the start- stop system forced the car to switch off everytime the Virtus came to a dead stop. The AC too stopped working for a few seconds each time, making the cabin sweaty. When I pointed this out to the SA, he switched off the Start-stop system and asked me to drive in Sport mode. The AC then started cooling efficiently. The ventilated seats helped too.

[black.beauty]

I really wanted the Virtus to do well. The smashing looks had me rooting. The drawbacks on the DSG, flimsy plastics interiors, poor suspension setup and handling makes me feel this won't really be the car for Vento or Rapid upgraders. This will most definitely be overlooked by City or Verna owners as well. Their 2.0 investments seems to be staring at loss.

[Indepth]

Originally Posted by black.beauty

I really wanted the Virtus to do well.

I, on the other hand, wish these 2.0 products to fail. I think if they succeed, it will open the floodgates for poorly engineered products. We shall become a market for trial/poor products without giving any thought to niche customer demands. Car manufacturers will just launch feature-laden products without the necessary amount of testing as such.
VW has clearly not taken into consideration the loyal customer base. In fact, almost every car buyer now talks about build quality. It's a strange fact that VW provided products like the Polo and Vento when hardly anyone knew or cared about good engineering. Now that consumers have relatively become aware, they have come up with these so-called "IN" specific products.

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by Indepth

I, on the other hand, wish these 2.0 products to fail. I think if they succeed, it will open the floodgates for poorly engineered products. We shall become a market for trial/poor products without giving any thought to niche customer demands. Car manufacturers will just launch feature-laden products without the necessary amount of testing as such.
VW has clearly not taken into consideration the loyal customer base. In fact, almost every car buyer now talks about build quality. It's a strange fact that VW provided products like the Polo and Vento when hardly anyone knew or cared about good engineering. Now that consumers have relatively become aware, they have come up with these so-called "IN" specific products.

There is absolutely no proof for your assertion. I know its fashionable to diss cars that have features as blingy, as if not having features is desirable. VW is no different from any other brand, their entire product portfolio is based on more features as you pay. VW's loyal customers liked their diesels, most have just moved on to better products as cost cutting became all too evident. Heavy sheet metal is no stand in for build quality, that's just perception, modern metallurgy has made it possible to build stronger, lighter cars which are just as safe, with the added benefit of fuel economy.

[aniketi]

I saw one red car in person on road, it was top end model with black alloys. Frankly speaking black alloys are very ordinary in looks and actually spoiling the overall cars look. I am never big fan of black alloys & think they look good only if car is black. Design of alloys also is very simple, doesn't match cars looks.

Sad to read AC issues on this car. Not at all expected from VW. Big NO from myside if car has ordinary AC. Hope production cars wont have these issues.

[Indepth]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

There is absolutely no proof for your assertion. I know its fashionable to diss cars that have features as blingy, as if not having features is desirable. VW is no different from any other brand, their entire product portfolio is based on more features as you pay. VW's loyal customers liked their diesels, most have just moved on to better products as cost cutting became all too evident. Heavy sheet metal is no stand in for build quality, that's just perception, modern metallurgy has made it possible to build stronger, lighter cars which are just as safe, with the added benefit of fuel economy.

Of course, there is no proof. I guess it is not possible for anyone to support their views with concrete proof as such.
Regarding build quality, I think it is not fair to benchmark it only against crash test ratings. The build quality scope does not end at crash test ratings.For example, a 5 star rated Mercedes will still have much more to prove in build quality against a 5 star rated Tata.
Most previous VW owners (Polo/Vento) have openly reported lower quality, both in build and fit/finish levels, with 2.0 products. With each new generation, the plastics and fit-finish should improve. This doesn't seem to apply in this case (if we assume these products are successors to Polo/Vento).

Moreover, VW India is in denial mode regarding the initial niggles;*Taigun buyers are reporting them on Twitter.

https://www.rushlane.com/skoda-worki...medium=twitter

Source : Rushlane.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by romil.shroff

3) The base variant is very well loaded. Full LED headlights, 16” wheels, 7” touch screen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, cruise control and rear defogger are standard! This is also because, now the base variant starts with the Comfortline trim (instead of Trendline).

Hi, thanks for the detailed report. It is indeed a great move from VW is they have equipped the lower spec variant so well. The presence of LED headlamps and cruise control on a base spec car is unheard of in the segment. Are you sure about he presence of cruise control? Please see attached images of the steering wheel of the base variant from the Virtus review thread posted by BHP-ian RM_Motorsports, and the pic from Vishy of the top-end GT's steering wheel. The base variant's steering does not seem to have the cruise control button immediately to the left of the center of the steering. It seems like the button console to the left of the steering controls just the audio system on the base variant, while the corresponding buttons control the cruise control in the top variant. It could be that the cruise controls are located elsewhere in the base variant. I have attached both pics.

I hope they price this on well at least at launch, a 9.99 price point for the base Comfortline Virtus would be a killer and allow VW to gather some much needed volumes on their India 2.0 strategy. It would be a perfect car for highway warriors on a budget and tourist taxi operators - robust go-anywhere capability due to high ground clearance, a big boot and excellent rear seat room. Hardly need to add on anything post purchase, as all basics are well covered.

[romil.shroff]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Are you sure about he presence of cruise control?

I stand corrected Sir. Cruise control is absent from the base variant.

[fine69]

Basically one should go buy a slightly used Octavia at 18-20 lakhs instead of the 1.5 top-spec Virtus.

[Livnletcarsliv]

Great review as usual, especially comparing it to Polo/Vento/Jetta/Passat.

Well, going by the Indian product launches and how VAG understands India, my worrisome concern is that VAG's days are numbered in India. Personally, I think none of the current line-up of VAG cars below 20L (Virtus, Slavia, Taigun, Kushaq) are true to the standards of VAG and gives that enthusiasts experience that the VAG cars are crowned for. This VAG 2.0 is more targeted at the volume game than otherwise the VAG cars are known for. None of the VAG cars in the past (Polo, Rapid, Vento, Octavia) were the top sellers. Still were most sought after by enthusiasts, VAG fans and prospects for whom quality and performance was top priority.

However, going by the latest VAG group press release https://www.ft.com/content/431c9f31-...7-ccb4d96d1733, I still hope VW revisits its India strategy in accordance with its global strategy.