My new car: VW Polo 1.6.

[TSiVipul]

@A Sethi:

If you are ready to wait for the new Fiesta then its brilliant,else:

If you drive yourself and don't too much bother about the FE,then just get one Fiesta S,its simply the best handler an even more exciting then a segment above Skoda Laura Tsi.

The FE is also decent about 9-10kpl in city and 13-15kpl on highway with a lot of fun to drive and and responsive enough to shame even my Laura,what is the best part of Fiesta is its handling(carving corners is always an occasion in the Fiesta-S and engine response is simply the best) which in my views eclipse everything in the 20 lac price basket.

Else,I'd recommend you to go for a fully loaded Polo 1.6(For its sheer handling and punchy performance,believe me IT CAN PLANT A SMILE ON YOUR FACE WHENEVER YOU PRESS THE ACCELERATOR) or an i-20 Asta(1.4).Vento is okay but only when it is a highline variant because in my views ABS is the least bit a car must have and why to get a featureless car only for its shape?You must either extend your budget or wait for some new models to arrive,it may help you get some really big deals.TSiVipul2011-03-13 03:39:35

[itssanguine]

Vento IPL also missed two important things vis-a-vis Vento Highline: ABS & Airbags.

At 7.24 ex delhi' date=' one should not expect these features.[/quote']

See you completely missed my point. We are not discussing here what features Vento IPL edition should have. We are discussing here the appropriate car for @asethi.

If one is investing 7-7.5 Lakh and is not concerned about snob value (so called) of a saloon then Airbags & ABS should be in his priority list. There is no point compromising in safety if you can afford it.

As TSiVipul summarized: "why to get a featureless car only for its shape?"

I could not have agree more with @TSiVipul.

[asethi919]

I agree with Sanguine and Vipul, snob value is the least on my concern so when by spending a lac less, I can get a hatch with superb features then there is no point going for this version. Even though this is tempting it lacks quite a bit of features that I would like.

[cmayur]

wondering why is noone talking about the Linea 1.4 petrol. its still available and very much in the mentioned budget.

anys issues with the linea?

[itssanguine]

Good point @cmayur:

Linea P Emotion Pk comes in the budget and is a good choice. It comes with all bells and whistle, gorgeous looks and best ride & handling combo.

However @asethi has not considered it in his shortlist. Maybe after sale service and gas guzzling nature of safire engine are turn off factors for him.

[asethi919]

I like the Fiat Linea. The only version I am interested in though is the 1.4Tjet. The normal 1.4L is underpowered. Atleast thats my perception.The Tjet is way beyond my budget at 10-10.5Lacs.

 

Even if it was in my budget I would probably stay away from it because I sincerely doubt there is a bigger TATA skeptic on this entire forum than me. I have absolutely zero faith in them due to a previous bad experience.

 

-----------------

 

Anyways, now I am in a bit of a conundrum. It is either going to be a VW Polo or the new Fiesta's middle varient or whatever I can afford at that time. The problem is we dont have any concrete information on when the Fiesta is going to be launched. Waiting for a week or so before I decide whether to go forward with the Polo or not.

asethi9192011-03-14 09:56:23

[dr_nishu]

@asethi:

New Verna RB is expected to be launched by 22nd March2011.

At present Verna petrol variant retails around 7.5lacs for its top variant, so expect new one to be 30-40k expensive over the latter.

So hanging on till its launch also makes some sense but for god sake it doesn't inherit the Classic Steering rattle trouble from i20 on which it's based.

[5737_1469555599]

I suggest you seriously look at the Polo 1.6 petrol if you want a hatchback(more practicality).

If you want a sedan , then you might wait for 3-4 months since it has a powerful 120 bhp petrol motor, nice features, and a high quality interior(based on mazda platform).

Or, you might think about the Honda city on a strightly stretched budget since that is better than the VW Vento petrol.

[carage]

Hey check this out:

Hyundai Verna Test Drive Held

And even this:

Hyundai Verna Official Site

This car surely looks exciting!

[asethi919]

The car buying has been delayed since I am off to Australia on 21st April. No point booking if I wont be here to collect or drive the car. Its a good thing I guess since this way when I am back the Verna and Fiesta launches will be close or they could probably already be out.

[gego&bones]

whats the expected price for the Fiesta diesel?

[asethi919]

After seeing the pricing of the Verna and the review by ACI. I am leaning towards the Fiesta. Also if the Fiesta diesel top model is anywhere inside the 10Lac(on road) mark then I might well go for it with some financial help from dad. Now waiting for its official launch.

You guys have coaxed me into waiting so I might as well do it properly.

[asethi919]

Recently learned about Ford opening used car service. I forgot who posted the link in which thread but its given below. I always was interested in 2nd hand Endeavour. I might just call or visit the place.

 

http://autocarpro.in/contents/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsCategoryID=1&NewsID=827

[asethi919]

Was tired to waiting so have made a very impulsive decision. I am not sure if it would be appreciated by the experts but its done now. Stay tuned.

[raj_srini]

My budget is a lower, so I'm planning to buy the Manza. But I must be honest about one thing. The current Ford Fiesta 1.6 packs a punch. It's a drivers car with an amazing responsive engine.

IMHO, if you are running out of patience, in the given budgets, nothing will work better than 1.6 Ford Petrol.

[Durango Dude]

@asethi: You seemed to have gone silent after making an "impulsive decision". Let us know what it is.

[asethi919]

Car has been bought. Finalizing things. Details to follow tomorrow. Building interest, you see.asethi9192011-06-09 13:55:15

[dr_nishu]

Excerpts from another thread at this forum;

My experiences with ASS of Hyundai and Honda have been great so as far so I will stick to them. Lets see how it goes with the new company.

IMO, You've probably bought Volkswagen Vento ! !

I'm i right dude.dr_nishu2011-06-09 19:42:58

[TSiVipul]

Car has been bought. Finalizing things. Details to follow tomorrow. Building interest' date=' you see.[/quote']

No details have came yet.

Any ways my heartiest congrats to you for the buy and wishing you happy miles.

[asethi919]

Here are the details: I bought a Polo 1.6L Petrol. Pepper Grey colour.

As most of you know, I have been planning to buy a car for almost 3 months now. I originally had a budget of around 7-7.75Lacs. Dad had suggested that had I wanted a better car, he will chip in with the rest of the required funds. Also as suggested by the forum, I decided to wait for the new Verna and Fiesta. Considering how these cars are in and around 2Lacs more than the Polo, I decided to stick with my original choice and not borrow money from dad. It serves all my purpose. There is an equal division of the Highway-City driving and am mostly traveling along and hardly ever do I have any luggage. Running is around 1200Kms a month.

Finally on wednesday evening I decided to book the car. I called up 5 different showrooms of VW in India to ask if any one of them had a Polo 1.6L readily available in the colour of my choice. Lucky no.5 i.e. Frontier Autoworld VW, Saket confirmed that they do. I straight away called their sales guy to come over and collect the booking amount of 10,000Rs. Scrambled the next day to organize all loan papers and got everything done and approved today around 5PM. Then went over to collect the car.

The car costed 7.24Lacs out of which I financed 5Lacs. I did go for the 'Essential Kit' package. Instead I just got the floor mats, Sun control films and the parking sensors. I think combined they cost something around 7000-8000Rs.

__________________

I have only driven the car a total of 20kms from the showroom to home but here is what I think of the car.

Positives:

- Quality - The sheer quality of everything. The way the doors shut in itself is a treat. The plastics seem top notch too.

- Performance- The performance of the 1.6L engine. It was fast and it was impressive . The engine was not as smooth as the ANHC's 1.5L motor but it was fast and responsive.

- Ride Quality - The ride quality is impressive. Easily at par with the ANHC. Maybe even better.

- Handling - Considering how I am moving up from the WagonR, the handling seems very special.

- Horn- In all the cars, I have owned, I have never heard a horn sound this good. Seems silly but its impressive.

- Boot - Bigger than I expected it to be. I especially love that the boot opening mechanism is attached to the logo. Sheer class.

Negetives

- Music System - Even though the sound quality of the system is very good NO USB, Bluetooth or AUX came with the music system. Very rudimentary.

- Steering Controls - Sourly missed in a 7Lac car.

- Air Conditioning- There is no problem with the cooling. Its good infact. One annoying part of it is that when the fan is turned on, the aircon is turned on by default and you have to switch it off. I doubt it would matter much since I am in Delhi.

- Rear Seat Space - Wont be used much but it still is a little below par. Just a tad bit more than the WagonR.

- Indicator and Wiper controls - THEY ARE INTERCHANGED. It will take me a while to get used to them.

___________________

Except for the music system part, everything about the car seems great and I am very happy. Seems worth the money. My first car bought with my own money and I am proud to have achieved this only a few days before turning 25.    

__________________

Here are some pics. I apologize for the quality in advance since it was dark and all I had was my phone's crappy camera.

Front

Shiny Logo

Have not had time to even remove the plastics

Music system sans the USB/AUX/Bluetooth and the steering controls

Beautiful looking dials

asethi9192011-06-10 19:05:13

[asethi919]

VW Service

Having gotten used to top notch service from Honda and Hyundai, I was extremely disappointed by the service at VW.

Problem 1: I had informed the sales guy at the time of the booking that I wanted the car the very next day i.e. Thursday so he should go ahead and make the preparation. He confirmed that he will and all he wanted me to do was call him to confirm atleast by 12pm if I wanted to collect the car the next day. I had asked him to provide me with a copy of the invoice ASAP since I had to submit it to the bank. He sent over the invoice the next day(Thursday) at 12.30pm. I called him at 1.30pm asking him to get the car ready to collect that very evening. He said since I did not inform him in time, he can not do the same. I told him that had he sent the invoice on time, I would have informed him of the same but it was obviously pointless bringing that up. He said I should collect the car today(friday). I had no choice but the to agree.

Problem 2: On thursday after getting the news that I wont be getting the car before the next day, I asked him to atleast give me a choice of 2-3 numbers, to pick from. He said that they dont have a ''online connection'' with the RTO unlike other companies, hence he will only provide me with a temporary number and get the number assigned to me in a few days. Again, I knew it was pointless to argue.

Problem 3: Today, I reached the showroom at 6.30PM(2 hours later than I had originally informed the sales guy, I would be arriving). He assured me the car would be ready and all I would need to do was sign a few papers and I would get the car maximum in 30 mins. I was happy to hear this but the happiness was short lived. He had two 1.6L Polos in pepper gray colour standing at the showroom and he accidentally got the accessories, I asked for, attached in the other car. To fix this, he simply changed the chassis number of my car papers and assigned the other car to me. That was fine with me but it took him a total of 1 hour 45 mins to do this. So basically I was left sitting there for almost 2 hours waiting for him to correct his error.

Problem 4: I found a half a centimeter long scratch on the rear bumper of the car. Obviously the sales guy had no explaination for it and I decided not to pursue it simply because I was already very tired of the hustle and bustle of getting everything organized in 2 days and it was atleast almost 8.30PM.

In short, I wish VW gave as much attention to their service as they do to their products.

[dr_nishu]

IMO' date=' You've probably bought Volkswagen Vento ! !
I'm i right dude.[/quote']

 

Mine was really a close guess, as; 

Here are the details: I bought a Polo 1.6L Petrol. Pepper Grey colour.

 

Congratulations alot asethi for making Excellent excellent choice for your new Buy. Your colour choice(Pepper Grey) is also a Good one.

VW Polo is just a true face of what we call a 'Quality in an automobile'.

Have a Happy Motoring ahead.

dr_nishu2011-06-10 20:09:18

[Durango Dude]

@asethi: Congrats, you have bought yourself a top of the line German hatch. enjoy the experience and keep us posted.

[TSiVipul]

@Asethi:

Even more than heartiest congrats to you.You have bought the best and the hottest hatch available in the market(nothing comes close).

In fact its my favorite car and i too want to own one.The sheer driving pleasure this car offers(my cousin owns one and I often drive it) is really beyond the words...I don't know why but I was thinking that I'll be finding a new VW Polo 1.6 soon,its a far better choice then all the everything available in the market.BEST GUY-BEST BUY.

Once again:Congrats and wishing you happy miles.

Request:-

Please post a pic of the hottest part of the hatch-The POLO 1.6 badge.TSiVipul2011-06-11 04:12:08

[ashikawa]

Here are the details: I bought a Polo 1.6L Petrol. Pepper Grey colour.

My hearty congratulations for your all new powerful  Polo. As a Polo owner one thing i can say you for sure that  you have got the best of the best. I can imagine the power to your Polo being a 1.2 owner. Yes i admit that VW service is improvable but there is no significant trouble from them till date. Go, get the extended warranty for 7199/- without any fail. Enjoy your Polo. And please post high resolution images of your Polo and give a treat to our eyes.

***EDIT*** Also start a dedicated ownership review or continue here and request MODS to change the topic to a suitable one.

ashikawa2011-06-11 05:19:22