The car AC system is not a chiller like my Tata Manza but it’s good enough after the update.
BHPian isotope729 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
10 Months and 6000 Kms Update
The new car bug hit me last year and me and the wife went window shopping across various showrooms to see what’s available. My previous car is a Tata Manza MY 2012. We looked at Kia Sonet/Seltos, Tata Nexon and Mahindra XUV 300. Dropped all of them as none of them clicked with both of us.
I wasn’t too keen on Honda City as both my uncle and best friend have it. I briefly looked at the MY 2022 Verna but ruled it out as another friend remarked that it was the same car I had shortlisted (but later dropped) when I bought the Manza. “If it’s a new car, see if you can get something different and not tie back to your old aspirations.” I agreed with his wisdom.
On a hunch, went to check the Kushaq but fell in love with the Slavia. Had shortlisted the white Slavia but decided to wait for the Virtus to see what other options I had. Checked the Virtus in July and immediately fell in love. I couldn’t finalize the colour, I wanted blue while the wife wanted red. We finally decided that we will take whatever colour was readily available or had a minimum wait time.
We took our parents for the booking as we wanted to surprise them. I bought the 1.0 Topline model. The cherry red colour was immediately available and that’s what we booked. We still looked at the other colours that were available. At the showroom, there was a white Virtus ready for delivery in all her glory. The parents (mine and in-laws) fell in love with that car. When we came home, mum kept on talking about that white Virtus and finally confessed that she loved that colour the most. We both love our whites, and I called up the SA to see if the white was available. It would be available in a week, and we finalized that colour.
I was hesitant about maintaining the white, but after talking with several knowledgeable people all of them advised white is the least maintenance heavy. Unfortunately, the delivery was delayed due to a medical emergency at home and we finally got the “White Light” home on 20th Aug 2022. The only accessories we took were sun shades (rear), rubber mats, mobile charger, and waste bin.
“It was just an inchident” (If you know what I mean)
A month later, the car had a rodent infestation – sadly discovered during the 1st-month service visit. The rodent had chewed through several wires, and the dashboard had lit up with multiple warnings. Took it to the SC and was advised the said part could be repaired but some harnesses were not available. The issue blew up significantly, as the manager called me 2 days later stating the car would be immediately repaired since some VW management guys had come for a surprise visit and had their tempers flared due to a brand new Virtus sitting in the garage without parts.
He agreed to give me a replacement car if my car wasn’t repaired within 48 hours. The next afternoon, got a call from him stating the car is repaired and ready. Apparently, some parts had been flown in from Germany/Europe. VW didn’t want the bad publicity associated with this incident and had taken an exception. I salute BU Bhandari for handling this incident very professionally. I was even called a few weeks later to check if the issue had recurred. We have had a car since the 90s, parked at the same spot and never had this happen. I put this down as a once-time incident.
Now let’s go to the good parts of this story
The car is fantastic to drive, the looks are killer and is a mile muncher on the highway. Several people have commented it looks like an Audi from certain angles; it does look Audi-esque from the rear 3 quarter. People still turn their heads to look at the car, almost a year after it was launched.
I have taken the ‘White Light” across Maharashtra – several trips to Lonavala, Mahabaleshwar, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur and Nashik and the ride is so pliant and comfortable across all road types. The power is always available, and when the turbo kicks in, the car shows it’s wild (or veiled) side. The massive GC means I don’t have to worry about speed-breakers. If you have ever driven on the Nashik highway, you will know there are several bumps on the highway; often clubbed in 3 or 4 sets together. I observed several other cars swaying and swerving on these bumps, while this car remained planted to the road. My 5 year old niece became motion sick while on a ghat section, and we moved her to my car and which minimized her sickness significantly.
It’s been very fuel efficient too; city drives return me anywhere between 12 to 14 kms to a litre, while highway it goes up to 17 to 20. On the Pune-Mumbai expressway, it once returned 22 km!
For those complaining about the poor/average audio, I found it to be very good. Tune the audio settings per this screenshot, and see if it makes any difference. It doesn’t compete with the Slavia with its subwoofer, but it is not bad/average in any way. I love my music (have studio quality headphones) and the audio doesn’t disappoint at all.
The wireless AA has been a boon and I used it almost always. The car connects to Bluetooth first and then switches to Android Auto. I found the Bluetooth volume to be louder than AA, but the music sounds dynamically better on AA.
VW sent a message for the AC update, however, I later confirmed that this update was already done during the 6-month servicing. The AC is better than before – I kept the temperature at 18 degrees previously for cooling and now I keep it at 20. It’s not a chiller like my Manza but it’s good enough now. The ventilated seats are a boon in this heat and have allowed me to keep my head cool. I use the sunroof to blow out the hot air inside the car, and keep the shade open when driving at night. It makes the cabin look roomier.
Other Accessories
I have wrapped the car in ceramic coating from 3M, and the hydrophobic properties mean the car is now cleaned without requiring much water. A fairly damp cloth will clean the surfaces easily, so I don’t take a bucketful of water for cleaning.
I also put in the transparent sun shield film from 3M on the front windshield and the side 4 windows, and this has allowed the car to remain cooler when parked in the sun. I don’t and can’t have a covered parking at home, so this was a necessity.
I’m not bothered by the lack of engine insulation, as the sound is never loud enough to be disturbing. I would have preferred more underbody protection though.
Parting thoughts
I’m of the opinion that instead of a gazillion features that would be rarely or infrequently used, give features that would be used most often while driving. This isn’t a reflection on feature-heavy cars, but just a philosophy that I follow in my regular life. I would rather have fewer but high-quality shirts for example than have dozens of street-quality shirts. Most features and functionalities available are high quality and are most likely to be used. I can’t find the use-case of the reverse camera that can be turned on while driving straight ahead. I have realized VW competes on engineering and not features in India.
Things I love
- Great ride and handling
- Luxurious, spacious and comfortable cabin
- Killer looks
- Powerful but efficient engine
- 5 star safety rating
- Ventilated seats
- Large but nimble, can take any twists and ghats incredibly well
- Hill-hold assist
- Wireless charging and AA/AC
- High GC
Things I dislike
- A better rear camera. It’s just about average
- Front parking sensors (all variants) or 360 degree camera (at least for top-end variant)
- I would have preferred that VW would have proof-read their warnings on the head unit.
- More functions with the mobile app such as remote locking/unlocking, start/stop the engine, switch AC on/off, show FE in the trips screen, service reminders and so on.
I have been invited to a VW organized meet-and-greet event on 24-Jun. I’m hoping to hear more and provide my feedback during this session. I’ll keep you guys posted.
Keyword: 10 months with VW Virtus: Rat bite, fuel efficiency, likes & dislikes