Jul 25, 2010 12:37 PM
17026 Views
(Updated Sep 23, 2010 08:55 PM)
I had an opportunity to test-drive the VW Polo diesel at the VW Palace Cross showroom in Bangalore. The top-end model (Highline) costs about 8, 25, 000, after a whopping 1, 06, 039 tax - in Bangalore. Although the price is on the higher side, the car is loaded with features such as remote opening/closing of windows, alloy wheels, driver, side airbags and so on. Add to it the extremely good-looking design and bold finishes that tell a thing or two of German attention to detail. Below is what I experienced during my test drive, which was full of surprises :-).
Diesel vehicles generally have a hard clutch - but not this one, which is the 1st surprise for me. The clutch is soft and is easy on your foot (suits female drivers well), the gears shifts are perfect, although the shifts are different from that of a Maruti vehicle and will need little getting used to. Diesel engines tend to be noisy and here is the 2nd surprise - the noise from outside is well insulated and hence the cabin is as quiet, if not more, as that of a petrol car. The 3rd surprise is the pick-up of the seemingly underpowered 3-cylinder engine.
I am no expert with turbo-charging, but the acceleration is relatively fast in almost all gears and I am quite impressed with smoothness of the engine and its performance. Compare this with Ford's diesel engine (used in Figo and in Fiesta) which has a coarse and ill-refined feel. The 4th surprise is the quality of ride, I went over few speed bumps and potholes and I could sense that all vibrations were well-handled by the car, probably the best I have seen so far in any car.
I could not test out mileage (somehow the mileage figures were not visible in the display instrument), the sales agent informed that it will be upward of 20km/litre on average. I noticed that the rear leg-room is not that great, which is a negative of this model. VW could also have offered electronic adjustment of side-mirrors for top-end model, presently it is manual, another negative.
Overall my impression of VW Polo diesel has been a WOW...superb looks andwhat adrive it was! A definite YES for Polo diesel, if you can afford it.
UPDATE AFTER PURCHASE:
First check on mileage: 17.5 km/l (both highway and city)
No extended warranty announced by VW
Pre-paid service contract (2, 3 and 4 years contract) not applicable for diesel Polo models
