Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI
Completed 1 Year with my Polo on 13/04/13
Gave my car for its first service today morning. Had taken a prior appointment yesterday. Went at the service station at 10AM and was promptly greeted by the service in-charge there. The SE name was Lalit Sharma. Very courteous. Explained me what all will be done in the first service and then he got my car on the ramp for general exterior and underbelly inspection. I opted out for wheel balancing and alignment as i had got it done 2k kms back only when the odo reached 10k kms. Rest everything was found to be ok.
Went back home with there car drop service as they told me i can collect my car at 3pm.
Went back at 3pm and car was going through thorough last round washing. Checked everything which was there inside the car from tool box,car manual,etc. Car was looking as new as i got it on the day of delivery.
![[:D]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Big%20Smile.gif "Big Smile [:D]")
First service bill came to be Rs.8877 . Pretty happy with the experience.Here is the bill detail
Few pics taken on the way home after the service
All cleaned and polished up dashboard
Even the seat frames had been polished
The experience of owning this gorgeous machine has been supremely splendid. Can't really complaint even a single time where the car has let me down. Absolutely solidly built, every part still holds together like the day i got the car. Not even a single niggle or weird noises from anywhere around.
Positives
1. Fuel efficiency has been very consistent since the time i touched the 5k km mark. Getting 17-18kmpl in city and 20+kmpl in highway drives. Extremely satisfied.
2. Ride and handling is simply impeccable. Highway road manners of this car are brilliant. Great stability at even very high speeds. Have driven it at 160+kmph also.
3. Steering is simply addictive. Its light and peppy in the city and taking U-turns in crowded street is also like a child play. Weight's up decently at higher speeds and the steering response to the driver is really confidence inspiring.
4. Looks wise i would still rate it as the best looking hatch available in our country. Punto for me takes a close second.
5. AC is an absolute chiller. Have been using it since the summers have already kicked in and within 5 minutes the cabin is cooled. I usually keep it at speed 2 for like 10minutes and then decrease it to speed 1. Its that effective.
6.Love the short gear throws in the Polo. Clutch is super smooth and the clutch travel is also not very long.
7. Service are slightly higher, but not that expensive to maintain as percieved by the common men. Rs. 8.8k for service and that too once in a year is on par i guess with other manufacturers. My cousin paid 8k for his Punto's one year service. Even a friends Swift had a bill of 6.7k for the one year service. So no complaints on that front either. If you have a heart over something like i had on the Polo, i am sure spending that extra 2k on the service once in a year won't hurt at all.
8. Zero dep insurance is a must i would say to have the complete peace of mind. Although i haven't claimed any last year, but still you don't have any kinds of tensions in your head.
Being an owner i need to point out the few negatives also. Though nothing major,but yes they are there.
1. Turbo lag - needs getting used to. But if you have been driving diesel cars, won't take you more than a minute getting used to this.
2. Anaemic diesel engine - 3 cylinder engine surely feels a little strained up at times. Specially on those steep hill inclines. But if you learn to be in the right gear and in the right power band, it pulls even on the steepest inclines without any fuss. Have driven extensively on hills myself, so can vouch for that. I really have no complaints with this current engine also, but i won't mind a more powerful one as the chassis and built of Polo can easily soak in the load of the 1.6Tdi too.
3. Headlamps are simply below par. Specially out on the highway during night drives,they are very ineffective. Will be upgrading to projector headlamps soon.
4. Rear leg room is less as compared to the likes of Vista, i20 and Liva. Comparable or slightly better than the Swift. Its an adequate 4 seater. To squeeze a 5th one, the transmission hump on the floor eats up the leg space. Although i have travelled with 7 adults on board too for a good 30kms. But that's if you have all 20 year-olds ready to adjust.
![[;)]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Wink.gif "Wink [;)]")
Features i feel missed out on-
1. Airbags and ABS - It was a stupid decision not going for the Highline that time thinking i won't be driving this car out on the highway and the other two would be used. Has been the exact opposite. Miss these safety features everytime i'm out on the highway.
2. USB/Aux - in feature not available in the RCD210 system. Although i'm still ok with it as i have my huge collection of CD's. But every time my cousins or friends are in the car,they keep crying as they have to listen to my music.
3. Driver's side Arm-rest - I have it in my other two cars and miss it sorely on this one. Wish there was a way to fit the Vento's arm rest on Polo somehow. Don't like that universal arm rest which is available in the local market.
Odometer reading after 1 year and 10 days is at 12,150kms. So a monthly running of just about 1000kms a month. Some may say buying a diesel wasn't a good choice. Well maybe i've been driving diesels only since Day1 and now i'm addicted to the turbo rush which i get driving a diesel car. Plus the daily savings on the fuel front are big add-ons.
Given a chance to go back one year and change my buying decision, i would certainly would have gone for a Polo Diesel only. But in Flash Red or Metallic Black color and the Highline variant.
But to be very honest, my gorgeous little white beauty is the best thing ever happened to me. It amazes me that its been over an year now and i am still not done admiring her.
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![[embarass]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Embarass.gif "Embarass [embarass]")
Now this time around, i got it renewed and again this new one says Canteen Stores Department as the owner. Now one of the executives from the Oriental insurance from whom i got it renewed called up and said that i won't be able to get a claim in case of one as the insurance is in the name of CSD and not my father.![[frustration]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Frustration.gif "Frustration [frustration]")