A Volkswagen Love Story, 3 Years & 45000 Kms Review - VW Polo
I would love to write my experience with Volkswagen, after a 3 years and 45000 Kms journey with this German beauty. Hope this will help anyone who is planning to buy Volkswagen or already own a one and wants to know how others experiencing it.
Decision on Volkswagen. Like everyone else, it was a difficult process for me to decide which car to buy when I started thinking about a four wheeler. As many people suggests, I did not go for test-drives in multiple showrooms since I wanted to do a thorough online review analysis before going to showrooms.
I considered below factors as my 'search filters' to select car within my budget and requirements, people may have different perspectives and the usage..
I did not consider any other factors initially, in fact I wasn’t aware of all other detailed automobile stuffs. With the above conditions I searched a lot of cars in the same segment and short listed two in final list.
1. Volkswagen Polo
2. FIAT Punto Evo
I was confused about these two, it has many similarities by looks, quality and features. We all know there are negative reviews for Volkswagen about maintenance cost, I heard a lot too. However. I compared all specs and online reviews of these two cars almost for a month. Then I rejected Punto for few reasons, we don't have enough service centers for FIAT, even in the metro cities. I'm from South India and I have done a quick analysis on the number of service centers (accessible) in my home and work locations. Also I heard that new local mechanics may not touch FIAT engines as it’s complicated for them.
Minor Issues Faced, I have seen only one warning light yet, basically engine fault notification which everybody would have faced at least once in their VW ownership.
This warning light was on for few days and I visited service center, they have told me that it might be dirt under engine area, a cleaning would solve as they couldn't find any issue with the sensor or engine. They have done a cleaning for no cost and the warning never came back.
Additional Accessories - I have not installed much additional accessories in the car except a dashboard camera that records continuously for 10 hours and do loop recording.This is a suggested accessory that helps you during any accident situations or an unexpected scenario where you can prove your side. I have used this once when I found the valet parking guy did a rash drive with my car, I sent the proof to the shop owner as I wanted this not to happen again with any customers.
Driving Experience, Just amazing as my Polo never disappointed me in both city and highway travel. I used to visit my hometown in Kerala which is around 700+ Kms away from where I work in Chennai. I plan the trip once in every 6 months that gives me the most amazing experience always. It takes around 11 to 12 hours of drive with adequate stops. Sometimes I do continuous 5 hours drive too that never makes me tiring. Also driven in different climatic conditions in the same trip as you may know that Chennai and Kerala has entirely different weather and road conditions.
We can maintain a decent speed of 100+ (in allowed highways) without any fear. I would not recommend, but still I have done a stable 160 Kmph speed as well with this German engineering power in a 6 lane road for almost 2 to 3 minutes.
Here is a video of the top speed trip,
Decision on Volkswagen. Like everyone else, it was a difficult process for me to decide which car to buy when I started thinking about a four wheeler. As many people suggests, I did not go for test-drives in multiple showrooms since I wanted to do a thorough online review analysis before going to showrooms.
I considered below factors as my 'search filters' to select car within my budget and requirements, people may have different perspectives and the usage..
- Hatchback
- Petrol
- 1.2 ltr and above engine
- Must be good for city drive
- Capability for long drives
- Good leg space for average build persons.
- Better boot space
- NO AUTO Gear Shift (As it kills the driving experience in Indian roads)
- Good design
- Of-course good NCAP rating
- Mandatory 2 airbags (rest optional for me)
- Good inbuilt audio system with at least 4 speakers.
- Annual maintenance should be below 15,000
- Mileage - Above 17 kmpl in highways and at least 14 in the city.
- Alloy Wheels not mandatory or required as I do drive in off-road at times and alloy wheel damages requires full replacement.
I did not consider any other factors initially, in fact I wasn’t aware of all other detailed automobile stuffs. With the above conditions I searched a lot of cars in the same segment and short listed two in final list.
1. Volkswagen Polo
2. FIAT Punto Evo
Pic Courtasy: FIAT
I was confused about these two, it has many similarities by looks, quality and features. We all know there are negative reviews for Volkswagen about maintenance cost, I heard a lot too. However. I compared all specs and online reviews of these two cars almost for a month. Then I rejected Punto for few reasons, we don't have enough service centers for FIAT, even in the metro cities. I'm from South India and I have done a quick analysis on the number of service centers (accessible) in my home and work locations. Also I heard that new local mechanics may not touch FIAT engines as it’s complicated for them.
So with no surprise my decision was the eye catchy, beautiful Volkswagen New Polo 1.2 Petrol - Red colour - Comfortline
Out of my excitement, I visited the Volkswagen garage in Chennai and met my dream car even before delivery and registration, here is a picture I clicked then,
Bought the car from Chennai in January 2017 and now I have spent 3 years with this German. Lets have a look at the journey overview with my Polo.
Make Year - 2017
Model - Volkswagen New Polo 1.2 Petrol Comfortline
Color - Red
Kms driven - 45000 (in 3 years)
Major complaints - None
Breakdowns - None
No. Service Center Visits - 4 times (in 3 years)
Warranty - Extended to 4 years with a cost of Rs. 14,000
Total amount spent on service - Rs. 9000 (@15k Kms), Rs.1100 (@28000 Kms during general refresh camp), Rs.12000(@30k Kms), Rs.12500 (@45k Kms)
Daily Usage - Yes (25 Kms per day)
Types of Road Driven - 80% City drive, 10% Highways, 10% off-road
Parts Change History (wear & tear excluding usual service replacements)
Tyre Change - None
Wiper Blade Change - Once (front wipers) - Replaced with BOCH at 40,000 Kms (Rs.450)
AC Vent - Left and middle AC vent due to damaged knob (Its very fragile unfortunately)
Battery - Changed at 39500 Kms (replaced with Amaron for Rs.4200
Mileage (Always driving with windows up and A/C at 1 speed) - 12 to 14 Kmpl in city and 17.5 to 21 Kmpl in highways.
Out of my excitement, I visited the Volkswagen garage in Chennai and met my dream car even before delivery and registration, here is a picture I clicked then,
Bought the car from Chennai in January 2017 and now I have spent 3 years with this German. Lets have a look at the journey overview with my Polo.
Make Year - 2017
Model - Volkswagen New Polo 1.2 Petrol Comfortline
Color - Red
Kms driven - 45000 (in 3 years)
Major complaints - None
Breakdowns - None
No. Service Center Visits - 4 times (in 3 years)
Warranty - Extended to 4 years with a cost of Rs. 14,000
Total amount spent on service - Rs. 9000 (@15k Kms), Rs.1100 (@28000 Kms during general refresh camp), Rs.12000(@30k Kms), Rs.12500 (@45k Kms)
Daily Usage - Yes (25 Kms per day)
Types of Road Driven - 80% City drive, 10% Highways, 10% off-road
Parts Change History (wear & tear excluding usual service replacements)
Tyre Change - None
Wiper Blade Change - Once (front wipers) - Replaced with BOCH at 40,000 Kms (Rs.450)
AC Vent - Left and middle AC vent due to damaged knob (Its very fragile unfortunately)
Battery - Changed at 39500 Kms (replaced with Amaron for Rs.4200
Mileage (Always driving with windows up and A/C at 1 speed) - 12 to 14 Kmpl in city and 17.5 to 21 Kmpl in highways.
Minor Issues Faced, I have seen only one warning light yet, basically engine fault notification which everybody would have faced at least once in their VW ownership.
This warning light was on for few days and I visited service center, they have told me that it might be dirt under engine area, a cleaning would solve as they couldn't find any issue with the sensor or engine. They have done a cleaning for no cost and the warning never came back.
Additional Accessories - I have not installed much additional accessories in the car except a dashboard camera that records continuously for 10 hours and do loop recording.This is a suggested accessory that helps you during any accident situations or an unexpected scenario where you can prove your side. I have used this once when I found the valet parking guy did a rash drive with my car, I sent the proof to the shop owner as I wanted this not to happen again with any customers.
Driving Experience, Just amazing as my Polo never disappointed me in both city and highway travel. I used to visit my hometown in Kerala which is around 700+ Kms away from where I work in Chennai. I plan the trip once in every 6 months that gives me the most amazing experience always. It takes around 11 to 12 hours of drive with adequate stops. Sometimes I do continuous 5 hours drive too that never makes me tiring. Also driven in different climatic conditions in the same trip as you may know that Chennai and Kerala has entirely different weather and road conditions.
We can maintain a decent speed of 100+ (in allowed highways) without any fear. I would not recommend, but still I have done a stable 160 Kmph speed as well with this German engineering power in a 6 lane road for almost 2 to 3 minutes.
Here is a video of the top speed trip,
Comfort and Safety, Yes for both. As I do daily city drive for office use in Chennai and it is never being boring or tiring. It has better handling in city traffic and highways. The stability of the vehicle can be felt in steering wheel itself. Also a full boot load and 4 members will never make it under-powered in highways. The breaking and steering is absolutely good and I had to try ABS only few times in this 3+ years of journey.
Cleaning and Maintenance, I would always suggest not to keep your windows down and drive. It wont give you much fuel saving, instead it makes your interior dirty and cleaning them will cost more and its time consuming too. This is not just for Volkswagen, but for all cars. I give the car for automatic wash outside, once in a month or two. Otherwise, I like to clean the car myself. We can use any cleaner spray (3M recommended) and a good micro-fiber cloth.
Fuel Refilling and Tyre maintenance, We should be careful during fuel refill. Do it from the same company always, and never do a full tank which is not required. A full tank (45+ liters) weighs more and you never want to carry that much petrol with you, that reduces the car's performance and mileage. You may fill the tank up to 75% once in a while, may be when you take the car for a long drive.
Tyre Maintenance is also an important thing to do. You need to maintain correct pressure to get real mileage and performance. Tyre pressure to be checked at every 200 to 300 kms. Also check the Tyre damages, punctures etc periodically. Whenever you refill air, ensure that you don't do at petrol bunks, they may damage your Tyre nosil since petrol bunk guys are not experts. Random guys will re-fill the air for you. I would suggest you to got for Tyre shops, and fill NITROGEN air which is good for Tyre life and better performance.
Cleaning and Maintenance, I would always suggest not to keep your windows down and drive. It wont give you much fuel saving, instead it makes your interior dirty and cleaning them will cost more and its time consuming too. This is not just for Volkswagen, but for all cars. I give the car for automatic wash outside, once in a month or two. Otherwise, I like to clean the car myself. We can use any cleaner spray (3M recommended) and a good micro-fiber cloth.
Fuel Refilling and Tyre maintenance, We should be careful during fuel refill. Do it from the same company always, and never do a full tank which is not required. A full tank (45+ liters) weighs more and you never want to carry that much petrol with you, that reduces the car's performance and mileage. You may fill the tank up to 75% once in a while, may be when you take the car for a long drive.
Tyre Maintenance is also an important thing to do. You need to maintain correct pressure to get real mileage and performance. Tyre pressure to be checked at every 200 to 300 kms. Also check the Tyre damages, punctures etc periodically. Whenever you refill air, ensure that you don't do at petrol bunks, they may damage your Tyre nosil since petrol bunk guys are not experts. Random guys will re-fill the air for you. I would suggest you to got for Tyre shops, and fill NITROGEN air which is good for Tyre life and better performance.
- I wish to write more about my experiences, as my journey with this beautiful car continues, thanks for reading. To be continued..
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