POLO GT TSI: A MARVEL OF ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE

I am from visakhapatnam andhra pradesh; I booked the polo gt tsi in first week of dec 2013 with an assurance that the vehicle will be delivered within 1 month but despite 2 months passing the dealership was having no answer regarding delivery; an email to volkswagen elicited a response that the car being of in excessive demand,volkswagen cannot deliver before march; suddenly I got a call from volkswagen visakhapatnam that one white gt tsi is available in hyderabad showroom and that I decided to aquire; the process was smooth with excellent coordination and cooperation of volkswagen visakhapatnam and hyderabad respectively.

the car was delivered in little over 1 hour; with a fully filled petrol tank the journey back to visakhapatnam started, a distance of around 725 kms.

the car went off smoothly in hyderabad city with the a/c on;the test started on the outer ring road of hyderabad; the car was put to S-mode and the speed was allowed to go upto 185 kms/hr.;the car was stable and was glued to the road but slight vibrations and shaking was observed beyond that;

the engine and gearbox responded instantaneously and tremendously; the auto-gear shifting was smooth and without any loss in vehicle momentum; the car remained in 6th gear as the engine rpm was not pushed beyond 6000 rpm;this went up to 60 kilometers and further for a distance of 175 kms is S-mode with speeds varying between 120 to 140 kms/hr; the mileage noted was 10.2.

for the next 400 kilometers the car was put to D-mode and speed was kept around 100 to 125 kms/hr with engine rpm not allowed to exceed 2000 rpm; the mileage recorded was 15.3  !

overall the drive was excellent and the car remained grounded;there was no cabin noise except for light groan of tyres on some patches of grainy road;

the polo gt tsi is a car NOT for adrenalinerian but for a smooth and patient enthusiast who can have a feel for the engine and the 7-speed gearbox;

for maximum mileage from the car, the engine should not be pushed beyond 2000 rpm and that I have achieved a speed of 130 kms/hr at 2100 rpm; this I think is reasonable for a car this size;

secondly the mileage for this car is purely dependent on the rpm of the engine which has  no connection to speed of the car;

thirdly for the question of overtaking on highways or any road, the D-mode is enough in that the techniqe of overtaking is more important than merely relying on excessive engine rpm, higher rpm puts load and wear/tear on the engine/gear box;flooring the accelerator pedal is the single most noticeable detriment to this car;

overall the car performance was excellent;a brilliant engineering feat by volkswagen and the germans and that too within acceptable even if limited, affordability;

the braking is good but would be more effective if rear disc brakes are provided;

the triptronic mode is more applicable in inclines but even for such areas as ghat sections and winding roads the D-mode is sufficient as the gear box keeps in the second or third gear depending upon the load sensed by the onboard computer;

steering is excellent, at 180 kms/hr speed for a duraton of 3 minutes the steering did not give shaky feeling;

five people sitting in the car with the total weight of passengers adding upto 305 kgs the car negotiated a steep ghat road segment (26 kms)(in a different location) in the D-mode effortlessly with the a/c on. 

I think this is the best hatch available in India in an automatic model which enthusiasts in India should ponder over.

 

 

 

great engine response of the 1.2 tsi engine; excellent 7 speed automatic dsg gearbox; climatronic acless than satisfactory rear seat; no rear disc brake;