Re: Sporty Yet Elegant: My Candy White Volkswagen Polo TDI
2 years completed, 2nd service done, 20,000kms mark breached
Second service report
I completed 2 years with the Polo a few days back. The car sits currently at an odo reading of 20,700kms. It was due for its second service which was due at 2 years or 30,000kms which ever was early. I had got my first service done at Volkswagen Chandigarh service centre and had a pretty decent experience. This time too I was going ahead with them only for the service when one of my friend said that he has had better experience with Volkwagen Mohali. I thought I should give them a try this time, though they were far from my house by 7-8kms as compared to Volkswagen Chandigarh which is pretty close by.
Rang them up and got an appointment fixed for 12pm on 28th April. Gave the car to them at the given time. The service bay area at VW Mohali is not as big as the one in VW Chandigarh but its still quite big enough. SE was a courteous man and explained me what all will be done in this service. I had asked him to check for wobbling while accelerating from 60-80kmph. This happens once in a while but when it does its a little annoying. No other issue I had regarding the vehicle.
I was dropped back home in their Test drive car which I had requested them before hand and I didn't have to wait unnecessarily there. The SE gave me a call at around 1pm saying they did extensive running of the car and found out that the wobbling was because the front right tyre was running on just 3 bolts as compared to 5.
![[surprise]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Surprise.gif "Surprise [surprise]")
This was something I had not imagined but was happy they got hold of it and he asked if he could add these 2 bolts and I gave him my nod immediately.
Again got a call at 5pm that the car is ready and I could come and collect it. I was busy with some work that time and asked till what time is their workshop opened & he said till 6pm. I requested the SE if he could wait till about 6.15pm. He obliged and I was at the workshop at dot 6.15pm and was surprised that he had the mechanic & the receptionist also waiting for me. I checked the whole car and it was nicely washed and cleaned inside out. He explained to me what all had been done. They had checked the break pads and they looked perfectly fine. The mechanic who had done the alignment and balancing told me he got the tyres rotated but one of the alloy rims is slightly bent which maybe causing slight wobbling but most of it has been tackled by adding those 2 missing nuts.
The SE had got a few paint touch-up's done as well at the rear bumper which I had forgotten to inform them about. So got a few brownie points from my side.
![[clap]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Clap.gif "Clap [clap]")
Coming to the bill, it stacked to about the same as my previous service at Rs 8,663. Pretty satisfied with the work done by them and will give a good rating to Volkswagen Mohali for this.
Long term 2 year report with my Polo TDI
The Good Bits
1.
Reliability - The car has been absolutely reliable till date. Not even once I had to crank the ignition twice to get the motor rolling. Even at days when the temperature was below 0 degrees, absolutely no fuss. No break-downs what so ever till now.
2.
Niggle-free - The VW ownership for me has been absolutely niggle free for me as of now. No irritating/ unwanted noise from any corner of the car. No lose nuts, no issue with any functioning of the car. No fuse bulb anywhere till date, no rusting issue anywhere.
3.
Maintenance - Yes it might come as a surprise to many that I've put it in the good bits, but I've been extremely happy with the service costs as well as the long 1 year interval duration for the car. I've spent about Rs. 17,400 in total till now in 2 years which is less compared to my cousin's Punto and a friend's Hyundai i20 for a similar duration. All are diesel fueled vehicles. But astonishingly my Ford Fiesta Classic's service bill for the same duration were almost 30% less as compared to the Polo's. Its nowhere as cheap to maintain as maybe a regular Maruti, but even the Swift diesel these days has high service bills.
4.
Quality - It has lived upto my expectations of a well built vehicle. It feels solid inside out. Nothing flimsy about any part of the car. No rough edges anywhere. The external paint shines as good as new even today and I have never waxed the car or got any sort of other external treatments done. It just gets washed regularly with water and a soft cloth. Nothing more.
5.
Driving dynamics - I've pushed the car to its limit on various occasions and it has passed with flying colors. The steering wheel is light at city speeds and is easy to nimble around tight spaces. The steering weighs up just about adequately at highway speeds and gives a more confidence inspiring feedback to the driver. Ride quality is pretty good, though Fiat Punto is one hatchback which just takes this one to the whole new level I feel. But even with Polo, cruising at speeds not worth mentioning here, you never feel nervous and the ride is absolutely composed. No sorts of foul play from the suspension.
6.
Fuel Efficiency - Overall if I were to sum up the exact fuel efficiency over the course of 20,000kms, it would be around 17.5kmpl. This would be with 70% city and 30% highway runs. On highways I've got a figure of 22kmpl also and the worst I've got till now is about 15kmpl when running with-in the city all the time. The fuel-efficiency does take a nice dip while the AC is running but during winters I was getting pretty exceptional figures when it was not in use.
7.
Stunning Looks - This is one hatch with over 4 years now in the market and there is still no match for it in the looks department. It maybe a subjective opinion and I maybe getting a little biased having falling in love with it 4 years back itself when I had seen one for the first time. But there is no denying the fact, it is one of the most beautifully crafted hatchbacks we have in our country at the moment.
8.
Boot space - It was not even a factor when I bought the car in the first place but its decent sized boot-space for a hatchback has come very handy & practical for me at various occasions.
Not So Good Bits -
1.
Engine - 1.2TDI 3 cylinder engine is sluggish to say the least. It doesn't exactly runs out of breath at even insane speeds, but the turbo lag during the lower RPM's in quite noticeable. But over the period of time, I've learnt to keep the car in right gears and at right revv range and one can easily nullify the turbo-lag. But yes, this is one area which needs improvement and I'm happy the refreshed Polo is coming with a new 1.5TDI engine soon. I hope I don't get too tempted to swap my 1.2TDI.
2.
Space - The car is cramped at the rear bench. Although my running is mostly alone or with 1 or 2 people more on board. But there are times when you have a huge built person sitting in the rear, (not that tough to find here in Punjab)
![[:D]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Big%20Smile.gif "Big Smile [:D]")
and you do find themselves a tad bit uncomfortable specially with the rear leg-space.
3.
NVH level on the outside - The 3 pot engine is fairly noisy on the outside. Though I'm happy the noise doesn't creep inside the cabin and its well insulated but it could have been dealt with a little more for my satisfaction.
4.
Beige interiors - Though they make the cabin look a little more airy, they tend to get soiled so very easily. My car goes for an interior dry clean almost every alternate month because the beige fabric seats are stain magnets and look ugly if they become even a little dirty.
5.
Headlamps throw - Although I'm still running with the stock headlamps, I'm not happy with the throw they have. It becomes a lot difficult to drive out on the highways at night. Though I hardly do any night driving out on the highways, but a stronger set of bulb is an absolute requirement.
Its been over 2 years now with the Polo and there hasn't been a single day where this car hasn't made me smile a little more than the usual. This is all what you want in return when you spend so much of money. I hope my love affair with this beautiful machine continues for as long as possible.
![[:)]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Smile.gif "Smile [:)]")
Just my cents.
![[frustration]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Frustration.gif "Frustration [frustration]")
And the application and procedure to get these plates is extremely haphazard atleast here in Chandigarh. Would have preferred if they had outsourced it to some private firm.