Sporty Yet Elegant: My Volkswagen Polo TDI (2 Years & 20,000 Kms Completed)

[Rightnow]

Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI

.. No more wet seats and no bad odour in the car.

That's really nice to know.

 

[ToughGuy]

Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI

Today morning had a lucky escape on the highway. It was raining heavily around 6.30AM.I was driving in my Polo on the Chandigarh - Ambala National Highway. Wasn't driving very fast just around 70kmph as it was raining. Ahead of me were two cars one Linea and a Santro Xing driving at similar speeds as all of us were waiting to overtake a bus from the left lane. Suddenly the Linea guy applied brakes in the middle of no where as a dog had come in the way and because the distance between the 3 cars was very less the Santro guy couldn't apply the brakes in time or he must have over hit the distance due to rains and banged into the Linea's rear. I too did some panic breaking and managed to just stop the car well before the Santro's rear. Luckily for me no one was coming from behind. The car didn't sway or anything while hitting the brakes hard but i did feel some kind of a jerky movement from the break pedal. Don't know why that happened.
Linea had a rear left tail lamp broken and the rear bumper had fallen down. Santro too had a major impact and the front bumper, grill and bonnet got damaged. Luckily no one was hurt in the incident.

Thank god you are safe, quite scary to read all this drive safe!

Had a little stupid experience right now. Last night I had not checked if all windows were rolled up. The rear passenger side window was only partially up and it rained all night yesterday here. Just took out the car in the evening for a spin and had put some shopping bags on the rear seat. While taking them out saw a small pool of water in the rear and the rear seat was all wet. Have been drying it for past 1 hour now with a dry blower. Finally all clear. Will see it properly in the morning though.

Same incident happened to me, but that night rain was quite low but got my seat cover wet of co driver seat! Now i check everything twice before bidiing goodbye to my baby in evening :)

 

[GM88]

Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI

Thank god you are safe, quite scary to read all this drive safe!



Same incident happened to me, but that night rain was quite low but got my seat cover wet of co driver seat! Now i check everything twice before bidiing goodbye to my baby in evening :)

Yes that incident was a little scary. I've been driving really cautiously after that specially on the highways.

Good to know someone else too had a similar experience. The water getting inside was a total mystery at first but then I realized one of my friends was sitting in the rear seat the previous day and must have forgotten to roll up the glass. Now even I've made a habit to check all windows before I go inside my house.

 

[GM88]

Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI

My Polo would be going this weekend for a month as Dad plans to take it with him and he is dropping down the Ford Fiesta Classic with me as the car needs some minor repair as the underbelly of the car was hit by a stone sometime back and a few parts need replacement which shall be done in Chandigarh itself. He has just come for the weekend and the parts will take good 5-6 days to arrive at the Ford workshop so he'll be taking back the Polo instead.
Although I'll be missing my Polo all these days, but on the upside I shall get to know the well known driving dynamics of the Fiesta Classic even better. Haven't really pushed this car to its limit as everytime I've driven it ,my parents have been alongside in it. So a little excited about that prospect. An ownership review shall be coming soon by somewhere next week.

 

[GM88]

Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI

6 MONTHS UPDATE

Completing 6 months with my Polo today. So thought of sharing the experience of owning this gorgeous machine.

If i were to sum up the experience with the Polo in one word, it would be JOYFUL.
I dont remember anything in life that has made me happier than sitting and driving this beautiful machine has done for the past 6 months. Firstly it being my first personal car and the one I always wanted to have made me go bias while the buying decision came. I am a person who listens to his heart rather than going for what the head keeps calculating and comparing. And for that matter , even today i keep peeping out of my bedroom's window to get a glance of this gorgeous beauty standing outside. Its been kept like a baby and pampered to its full glory and it has returned that love and affection thrown by me by giving me a broad smile on my face everytime i drive it.

Now enough of my romance with the Polo. Coming back to the car aspect of it.
Things I Like

1. Have done 4-5 long highway trips in the Polo. The longest of them was covering close to 1700kms from Chandigarh to Sonmarg and back in 5 days. Its been an amazing highway cruiser. Does 110-120kmph very easily without even showing any signs of cruising at three digit speeds. Very composed ride and handling.

2. Though the engine seemed to be a little stressed up during my initial ownership days, it just needed some getting used to it. Now it works like a charm and i know perfectly when i need to downshift or upshift. Can easily keep up pace with the fast moving city traffic too.

3. The light steering has spoiled me a lot. Its butter smooth and makes driving in the city a lot more easy and peppy to drive. Weighs up nicely at higher speeds and gives a nice feedback to the driver. Now i feel the hydraulic steering of my Ford Fiesta Classic's a tad little heavy in the city traffic. The nice thing about Polo's steering is its light and weighs up enough at high speeds and is not completely vague and lifeless all the time like that of the Hyundai Verna.

4. Turning radius is by far the smallest of all cars I've driven till date. Really helpful in taking U-turns in crowded city streets. Though i should'nt be comparing a hatch with sedans but my other two cars - Fiesta Classic & Fluidic Verna both surely have a bigger turning radius than this one.

5. Fuel Efficiency has been spot on from the Polo. Initially during the first 2000kms , it returned about 15.5-16kmpl in city and 18.2kmpl on the highways. From the time I crossed 5000km mark the fuel efficiency has risen giving me about 18kmpl in he city and 21.4kmpl on the highways. Totally satisfied on this front.

6. Niggles - Polo has been niggle free from Day 1 and i am yet to encounter even any lose screw/nut on this one. Totally depicting the German standards. No oil top ups or anything done by me till now. Everything is running like the same since the day it came out of the showroom.

7. Storage space inside the cabin is really nice. Bottle holders can hold 1Litre bottle on all 4doors and there are lots of other storage spaces which are really helpful. The glove box size is good and lots of small stuff can be kept there. Missing in the other two cars i have, specially bottle holders.

Things I Don't Like

1. Headlamps Illumination The illumination from the headlamps is really poor specially when driving on high beam at night on the highways. The range of the bulb is also very poor. Planning to upgrade them with Hella bulbs really soon.

2. Beige Interiors They lsurely do look nice and all but are really not practical in the Indian setup. The weather and the amount of dust we have here just makes it a terrible task to maintain them. Would have preferred all black/grey interiors of the European Polo.


With 6 months down the line , Odometer currently reads at 6700kms. Averaging around 1100kms/month which IMO was enough to go for a diesel vehicle. Very satisfied with the decision i made 6 months back.

 

[visran]

Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI

Just love those Alloy's,any experience with ASS so far?

 

[Akash]

Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI

Well written report, short and crisp.

Your car looks fantastic with those wheels. Somehow, those alloys make the Polo look bigger bulkier than it actually is.

 

[Rightnow]

Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI

Hi GM88

JOYFUL-

I must agree with your experiences and observations which I have witnessed too with my polo. The fun never stops and the feeling of being special never goes away with polo.
Now since you have driven fiesta and polo, we expect a comparison coming along soon especially on handling and ride part of the two machines.

And your lines below made my day...

I dont remember anything in life that has made me happier than sitting and driving this beautiful machine has done for the past 6 months.

 

[ToughGuy]

Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI

Hi GM88,

First of all my hearty congratulation to you for completing 6 months in your wonder car. Fantastic updates above, wishing you and your family many more happy miles in this car.

I dont remember anything in life that has made me happier than sitting and driving this beautiful machine has done for the past 6 months.

Like RightNow said, your above lines make my day too :)

Its been kept like a baby and pampered to its full glory and it has returned that love and affection thrown by me by giving me a broad smile on my face everytime i drive it.

Same pinch!

 

[Gurrala74]

Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI

@GM88

Hey that was a nice & crisp review man. Good to know that your Polo is trouble free so far and you are enjoying it.

Where is that pic taken, it is somewhere Solan,Baddi,Shimla,Kasouni route ??

 

[nitninja]

Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI

nice review there.car looks beautiful in that background.which place is that ?

 

[GM88]

Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI

Just love those Alloy's,any experience with ASS so far?

Thanks a lot. Experience with the Volkswagen A.S.S has been quite nice actually. I got the car from VW Jalandhar but i am settled in Chandigarh. Even today my SE from VW Jalandhar gives a call to ask if the car is doing fine.
Have just taken my car for a regular check up to the VW service station here
once that too without any prior appointment as i had done a long 1700km trip and wanted to see if everything was fine with the car. The guys there were really happy to help and advised me to get the monsoon check up also done that time itself. They did check everything and topped up the washer fluid level. And the car was delivered to me in less than 2hours after all check ups and a nice wash inside out. All that for not even a single penny of mine. So I am impressed with the working style of VW atleast up here in North.

Well written report, short and crisp.

Your car looks fantastic with those wheels. Somehow, those alloys make the Polo look bigger bulkier than it actually is.

Thanks a lot Akash. I am glad you liked them.

Hi GM88

JOYFUL-

I must agree with your experiences and observations which I have witnessed too with my polo. The fun never stops and the feeling of being special never goes away with polo.
Now since you have driven fiesta and polo, we expect a comparison coming along soon especially on handling and ride part of the two machines.

And your lines below made my day...

I am glad if it did because that's the truth. And Yes the fun never stops when your driving this little angel. I am missing it badly as its still out with Dad and he'll be coming back next weekend.
And yes since I am driving the Fiesta these days, a comparison should be coming soon.

Hi GM88,

First of all my hearty congratulation to you for completing 6 months in your wonder car. Fantastic updates above, wishing you and your family many more happy miles in this car.



Like RightNow said, your above lines make my day too :)



Same pinch!

Thanks a lot ToughGuy. I remember reading your Polo ownership thread before i bought my car and to say the least i am really greatfull to you for that lovely review. Thanks a lot for the wishes.

@GM88

Hey that was a nice & crisp review man. Good to know that your Polo is trouble free so far and you are enjoying it.

Where is that pic taken, it is somewhere Solan,Baddi,Shimla,Kasouni route ??

Thanks Gurrala74. Yes Polo has been absolutely trouble free till now. Have been a completely wonderful ownership experience. The pic was taken on my last trip on the way to Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh. That side of Himachal is a less explored territory IMO and thus it has more natural beauty to offer than the likes of Shimla or Baddi which have become a lot more commercialized.

nice review there.car looks beautiful in that background.which place is that ?

Thanks nitninja. The backdrop is just 20kms short of Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh.

 

[Gurrala74]

Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI

@GM88,

Yeah, Now I remember those roads, I had been there during year 2003 I hope. One of my friend in Ludhiana having a guest house there just beside some Raja mahal. We travelled in a M800 and a Zen, if was really terrific road to drive and bit dangerous too if we are not careful enough with sudden twists and turns and opposite traffic of few trucks.

 

[GM88]

Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI

@GM88,

Yeah, Now I remember those roads, I had been there during year 2003 I hope. One of my friend in Ludhiana having a guest house there just beside some Raja mahal. We travelled in a M800 and a Zen, if was really terrific road to drive and bit dangerous too if we are not careful enough with sudden twists and turns and opposite traffic of few trucks.

Thats nice. Yes the road is terrific all the way from Pathankot to Dalhousie. Though at a few places becomes very narrow and one has to be extra cautious for the oncoming traffic from the opposite side. But i love those curvy tipsy roads there. Perfect for someone like me who loves driving on the hills.

 

[GM88]

Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI

As I've been driving the Fiesta Classic for the past two weeks now, it is a nice time to compare the driving dynamics and performance of the Fiesta Classic with the VW Polo.

The Ford Fiesta Classic is a May 2011 make Diesel Clxi model done 17k kms till now.



So i'l be writing just the positives about the Fiesta.

Positives for Fiesta

The acceleration is quite linear in the Fiesta as compared to the Polo which has a noticeable turbo lag in the first two gears. The Fiesta on the other hand pulls cleanly no matter what RPM you are at. Push the pedal and this car is ready to response in a whisker. The gear ratios in the Polo are on the shorter side and you tend to change gears sooner than usual.Fiesta has longer ratios and you don't feel the need to change gears very often. The turbo spool in the Fiesta is very linear from 1500RPM onward and pulls cleanly all the way till 4000RPM.

Although in terms of power, on paper Polo is powered by 74bhp 3 cylinder 1.2L engine while the Fiesta has only 68bhp 1.4L 4 Cylinder engine. But those 68 horses in the fiesta seem to be well trained and as if running on adrenaline as this car never feels under-power at any situation. Its a revv happy engine in the Fiesta and its been exciting to push the Fiesta to its limits in the last few days.

The Polo's suspension, though good, has a fair bit of suspension noise. The sound proofing is also not as good as the Fiesta and there is some tyre noise which creeps in above triple digit speeds, as does the engine noise when you are in a good mood. The Fiesta on the other hand felt a lot more quieter on triple digit speeds.
I found the driving position is better in the Fiesta as compared to the Polo. The seats provide better lumbar support in the Fiesta and the cushions are on a little softer side which tend to make you sink into them when you sit.

The Ford Fiesta Classic is more of a driver's car. It's fun to drive it hard because of the peppy engine and an excellent clutch. About the steering, which is one of the Fiesta's highlights, it is very precise. The steering is really meaty to hold and gives a little racing car feel. The car goes exactly where you want it to go, inspiring a lot of confidence. I adapted to it very quickly and was soon driving it like I had had it for months. The straight line stability of the car is amazing. I have done 140kmph speeds in both the cars and both feel very very composed at even those high speed.

Fuel efficiency has been excellent in both the cars giving me in plus of 20kmpl on the highway runs and around 18-19kmpl in the city. Fiesta according to my Dad returns close to 25-26kmpl when he drives it constantly at 100kmph on the highways. No luck on this with me as i was pushing it way beyond 100kmph.

One thing which is a little pain in the Fiesta is the Turning radius as i am used to the Polo which squeezes a U-turn from almost everywhere possible.

To summarise, the Polo is a car which oozes quality inside out with its build quality and is just like love at first sight for me. You feel really good about yourself sitting inside the Polo. The plastic quality inside can put most under 10lac rupees sedans also to shame. Very plush and classy looking interiors.

On the other hand, the plastics used in the Fiesta seem really downmarket and even the dash design looks pale and unexciting but it does the basic things excellently which a car is supposed to do. The driving dynamics, ride and handling, steering feedback, suspension set up, everything is just spot on. A true drivers delight. I had read somewhere that Fiesta Classic is still the best Diesel car to drive in under 10 Lac rupee category even today. Totally agree with it.