[vigsom]

Introduction

I got to experience a VW Virtus 1.0 TSI AT Topline. While there is the official review and a few other ownership reports on the forum already, presented in the next few posts are my few bits that may not have been featured elsewhere.

My first encounter with a Volkswagen Virtus

My first sight of the Virtus was at 11:30pm one chilly night, when, I was waiting to be picked up and taken home. My first impression of the car, finished in Candy White, was that it looked like an attractive candy. I sat inside, and could only appreciate the new looking console, all bright, a fairly comfortable seat, and a door that shut typical VW-like. It was quite late by the time we reached home, and detailed views of the Virtus were reserved for the next day.

[vigsom]

First impressions of the VW Virtus

What I loved

• As only the third VW sedan I've ever driven, it certainly did bring a smile to my face - super smooth, super quick, super efficient. I never felt that this was a three cylinder engine
• Solid feeling doors and a heavy hood
• Simple, yet elegant exterior
• Supportive seats, and an executive like feel when seated in the rear seat
• Large boot
• Pleasing to the eye displays

What I didn't like

• There is a weird lag when the car lifts off from standstill, and just when one presses the throttle a little more, it suddenly spurts
• Before I examined the car, I took a look at the parts catalog, and must say, parts are pricey, and bills are going to be steep
• Coming from Japanese cars, it took me a while to understand German set ups; even a simple wheel nut removal needed the owner, and me to refer to the owner manual
• While the engine bay doesn't look cramped, placement of some bits eg. multi-fuse, intake and exhaust are O&M unfriendly viz. can be tiresome to work on for a technician
• Not that it matters, but the driveshaft solid forged bar ought to have been painted black instead of just being left unpainted

Here are a few sample good bits (G) and not so good (N) ones

G - Executive like rear seat


G - Boot


G - Close up view of the boot space


G - Chrome insert on the door handles - looks class


N - Multi-fuse on top of the battery; could have been better placed


N - Exhaust gas system - doesn't look well put together

[vigsom]

Exterior

Look at the Virtus from any angle, and you see just one thing - simple yet classy!

Front view


Rear left view


Rear right view


Rear view


Side panel crease - one straight line


Chrome inserts in door handles


The Roof - Sunroof extends to just above the front row seats


Shark Fin Antenna


Alloy wheels on the Topline - Elegant


LED Headlamps


Halogen Foglamps - these sport the old H8 bulbs

[vigsom]

Exterior (Contd.)

Doors open and close in a tight three step action as shown below

Front left door full open


Front left door - Step1


Front left door - Step2


Front door stopper


Rear left door - Full open


Rear left door - Step1


Rear left door - Step2


Rear left door stopper


Rear wheel cladding


Front left suspension


Front left - driveshaft and steering tie rod - note the surface oxidation on the driveshaft forged bar. While taking a pic, the QR code also got scanned

[vigsom]

Interior

Inside as viewed from the driver door


Passenger seat power adjust


Rear Seat


Rear seat with the armrest down


Twin roof lamps for the rear passengers


Roof liner with a view




Dashboard - VW welcomes you!


Center console


Start Push button placed low on the console - not good in my view. Also seen are the ventilated seat buttons and the Auto Start Stop button


Inner door handle - finished in Aluminum; a tweeter and a woofer on each door in this variant


Front armrest in the forward max position


Rear AC vents, and front armrest at ease

[vigsom]

Engine Bay

Engine bay housing the 1.0L TSI engine


Some free space up there in front of the battery as this is the 1.0L engine


The 1.5L TSI engine with its air filter occupying that space in front of the battery (Image Courtesy: Omkar and the Official Review)



Engine bay - as viewed from the left side - the starter motor assembly can be seen there right above the gear box housing


Radiator fan


Charge Air Cooler




Coolant Reservoir


Elec Vacuum Pump


Exhaust gas system

[vigsom]

The most neglected item aka Toolkit

When I went to explore the Virtus, I asked the owner what those wheel nut covers were and how they needed to be removed - No answer. I asked him what he'd do in case of a flat tyre - he knew what to do but didn't know how to do it on a VW Virtus.

The toolkit in foam packaging and strapped


Press down on the buckle and pull the strap up to loosen








The toolkit - from L to R: Towing eye, pin to remove wheel nut covers, jack with tommy, wheelbrace(wheel spanner), screwdriver with special star head


Position the pin


Lift the pin up and pull the wheel nut cover off, then use the wheel spanner to loosen the wheel nuts. Keep an extension bar for better leverage

[vigsom]

First drive

I enjoyed the drive, and for the stats, the car did 80kmph at approx. 1850rpm. The engine never behaved like a 3 cylinder. Yes, on one occasion, I noticed severe turbo lag while starting off, so much that I thought the car was being held back by something, and as soon as I stepped on the throttle a little more, it shot forward. Other than this, the car behaved very well. FE recorded was as below - this was a mix of city and highway that day

View of the road from the passenger seat


Recorded Fuel Efficiency that morning



Owner feedback on the 3400 kms done so far - "I'm loving it!"

FE achieved at 60kmph on test


and at 50kmph


Summing it up

After a long long time, I enjoyed driving a sedan. This car ticks the right boxes for someone who is more a sedate driver, wanting to eke out performance once in a while. My only concern with the Virtus is around long term maintenance costs.

The owner, has so far been a Maruti loyalist - a 1998 Omni, then a 2004 Zen, then a 2012 Swift DZire ZXi , all sold when the odo reading was past 1,20,000km. This was his first venture outside of the Maruti stable, and although I hadn't recommended this car to him, I guess his heart told him to go ahead.

Signing off with another beautiful pic of the Virtus reversing.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[RGK]

Crisp review Vigsom and indeed with unusual specialized points of interest which one will unnotice.

Had a chance to drive a manual car a few time back. I was exceptionally awed with the light steering feel.

[supernova105]

Amazing thread, comes at the right time considering I've just taken delivery of my Candy White Topline AT on Sunday.
These small snippets and tips will help me get acquainted with the car quickly.

Attaching some amateur pictures taken in a hurry from the showroom itself, since we had to drive back to Pune after the delivery.

Will click more pictures soon, and upload them on the official review thread.

The two tone white black combo makes it look smashing

[Mitadru]

Originally Posted by vigsom

The most neglected item aka Toolkit

When I went to explore the Virtus, I asked the owner what those wheel nut covers were and how they needed to be removed - No answer. I asked him what he'd do in case of a flat tyre - he knew what to do but didn't know how to do it on a VW Virtus.

The toolkit in foam packaging and strapped
Attachment 2709366

Press down on the buckle and pull the strap up to loosen
Attachment 2709362

Attachment 2709363

Attachment 2709364

Attachment 2709365

The toolkit - from L to R: Towing eye, pin to remove wheel nut covers, jack with tommy, wheelbrace(wheel spanner), screwdriver with special star head
Attachment 2709367

Position the pin
Attachment 2709368

Lift the pin up and pull the wheel nut cover off, then use the wheel spanner to loosen the wheel nuts. Keep an extension bar for better leverage
Attachment 2709369

So there's a minor difference with the Slavia. In my car there's a u shaped clip which you insert to pull at the wheel nut cap.

[Taha Mir]

Absolutely appreciated this bite sized technical review.

1) Could you elaborate more on the atrociously priced spares?
2) is that a water to air charge cooler?

[supernova105]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Introduction

Attachment 2709190

Noob question, Can the configuration for "Driving Data" be brought in the middle of Odometer, and Speed data to be put on the Right side view in MID, only be achieved via coding?

My default view currently is Gear indication to the Left, Driving Data to the right, set as per my preferences.

I cycled through the default options via the settings buttons on the steering wheel, where I can only change the right side and left side view, and nothing can be placed in between the Odometer/Speedometer, whichever view we choose.

[dieselOmaniac]

Excellent observations ,came to know many unknowns by going through the complete thread. One difference I noticed w.r.t my ToplineAT (of Dec'23 manufactured), my MID shows Gear# of the D mode (i.e. whether its in D1/D2/D3 etc.) but in your picture I saw only D, is it a software issue?