I call it Verruckt!

I call it Verruckt!

Jetta TDI MT Comfortline Stats: KM Covered-55000 Parts Changed So far: 1. Second Set of tires (Changed the Stock Goodyear NCT as preventive measure to Michelin Primacy LC) 2. Second Battery (Changed Under Warranty) 3. Second Set of Brake Pads   Car Hunt: So I was looking for a car which is Safe, Comfortable and Fun to Drive. (efficiency was considered but it was not a deal breaker) After coming from the diesel Hyundai i20 I knew that this time I have to test drive the car thoroughly and on different road conditions. Reason You ask? I bought i20 just after a short test drive on Yamuna expressway and it was a big mistake. Because i20 is it fun to drive car, but it was horrible on an uneven or broken tarmac. It takes only a small pothole or small speed bump to unsettle it.   Cars Considered (All Diesel) 1. Toyota Corolla 2. Hyundai Elantra 3. Chevrolet Cruze 4. Skoda Octavia 5. VW Jetta   There are no. of pros and cons of each car but I will tell you the reason why I rejected all of them except Jetta. 1. Toyota corolla a. First and foremost reason to reject is the lack of safety features, I mean only two airbags and ABS? that's it! b. Puny little 1.4L 89 Hp diesel engine. So the result is Ultra boring to drive. c. New Generation launch was around the corner     2. Hyundai Elantra a. Like all Hyundai Elantra also suffer from the poor Suspension Syndrome (We can leave Santro and Terracan out of it) b. 1.6 L engine is same as Verna`s hence the performance is just adequate.   3. Chevrolet Cruze a. Excellent engine`s performance is ruined by the poor suspension setup. b. Lack of safety features.   So this leaves the near Identical Newly Launched Octavia and Jetta (identical in brand value and technically)     4.Octavia 1. Offered with fewer safety features. Only Two airbags and ABS. No ESP and TCS in a base variant which was in my budget. 2. Inferior rear suspension setup. Jetta comes with Better Multi-link setup at rear and Octavia   So, Why I chose Jetta over every other car in the same segment and nearly identical Octavia.     Safety: Built to last like a Tank! Jetta is the only car in the segment which comes with loads of safety features. Like.. a. Six airbags b. ABS and EBD c. Traction Control System (TCS) d. Electronic differential lock (EDL) e. Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) f. 5 Star Euro NCAP crash test rating Standard across the range. g. All four power windows come with one touch up and down along with pinch guard. (while closing the window if it detects the obstruction it will bounce back) Very few people know that Jetta is the only car in the segment with comes with multi-stage Cabin air filter. Which Improves the air quality to a great extent. It removes large dust particles, pollen ( a common allergen), Soot particles of diesel exhaust, VOC fumes, nd odor. (Cost reference here: My i20 Cabin AC filter cost RS 1475/- and it is a very basic one with just one layer of filter media and Jetta AC filter costs only 1175/-) Though I have ordered a Bosch HEPA filter from the US as well to tackle the Delhi Pollution. (Your high-grade home air purifier have. This filter removes the 99.97% of small pm2.5 particles from the air).   Drive: The drive of Jetta is phenomenal. After all, it`s an Audi A4 Disguised as Jetta and at half the cost. It has got the same driving dynamics as of Audi A4 and same engine in a different state of Tune (Pre 2012 A4 was 144BHP and post-2012 was 177+) One small Glitch here. I can bet, that if you drive Jetta for the first time You Will Stall it. Now matter how much driving experience you have, trust me you will stall it. Because it shuts the engine without any warning. One wrong shift and boom the engine will go off with a loud thud. It took me good 8 months to master it completely and I have a driving experience of more than 2 Lac KM.   The power delivery of the diesel engine is just great.All you need to do is keep the revs above 1100 RPM and no matter in which gear you the car will respond to even slightest tap to the throttle. And the fun starts above 1800 RPM. The car just picks up speed quite rapidly all the way to the 4500 RPM beyond that there is no point revving the engine till the redline.   Even at triple digit speeds, the cabin is relatively silent till 160kmph. Wind noise and road noise is not much (especially after changing the tires to Michelin)   Comfort and Convenience:   When I was scouting for the car. I came across a UK version Jetta review and I am quoting "If you are not comfortable in Jetta then you cannot be comfortable anywhere" and its soo true. The ride quality over the rough patches and on the uneven road in Jetta is really good. Its suspension tuning is on the stiffer side yet it absorbs medium size pot holes silently. Plus I have rarely scrapped the underbelly of the car on medium speed breakers.The ground clearance is good enough to tackle most of the stuff Delhi NCR roads throw at you.   The leg, Shoulder space, and the headroom is more than adequate. Move the driver seat to the person with the height of say 6.4 and there will still be enough room at the back for a person with the average height of 5 10" or so.   It comes with dual-zone climate control. Driver and co-passenger can adjust the AC temperature setting individually. (Trust me it is very useful when your wife sitting on co-driver seat is feeling cold and you are feeling hot or vice versa)     Fuel efficiency: When You have car wich clocks 0-100 under 10 sec and with loads of power and torque to make you grin ear to ear then who think about 'Kitna Deti hai?' But it feels nice when you come to know that you are getting above 13 kmpl (approx) in Delhi Gurgaon start-stop traffic. It`s an icing on the cake.   Now the Reason Why VW (or any European Brand) is known for ?   High Maintenance cost!   Trust me it is not that expensive. Maintenance cost of a car depends on more on the dealer Intention. True cost of maintenance for a car is never too high (as per service manual). It is the dealer who charges you more by offering and executing the unnecessary jobs on the car. I always stick to the work mentioned in the service manual. And I pay somehwere around 11000 for Each service. The company recommended interval is 15000 kms or 1 year. But I make sure I get the service done at 10000 kms. Because the life of the engine oil and filter also depend on the no. of hours engine is running, not just on km covered. I travel 30 Km a day and spend a good 2-2.5 hour is traffic with car and AC on. This also reduces the life of engine oil. Hence the early service.   I only get the a. Oil and Oil filter change b. Engine air filter c. AC filter d. Paid service charge.   Never ever let the dealer do unnecessary things on every service unless required like 1. injector cleaning 2. Wheel Alignment 3. Wheel Balancing 4. Wax and Polish 5. Any sort of fuel or oil additive 6. Others.       Now the negatives 1. Very thin dealer network. A visit to the dealer wastes the entire day. 2. Some nonrunning parts take 2 or 3 days to arrive. 3. This is very big. If you have any disconnect with the dealer and you write a mail to the company. They don't intervene and route you again to the dealer who was unable to help you in the first place. 4. Resale is very low. But to me this is irrelevant. I prefer my life and my loved one life more than the resale value of the car. Plus I will use the car for next 7 or 8 years. Either way, the car will be rendered useless after 8 years being a diesel car.   This is all I have to say about my car. Just one thing. If you are planning to buy the car in this segment then do go by anyone suggestion. GO take a test Drive you will know why I wrote all this.   Keep revving.....