With a max budget of Rs 15 lakh, I was looking at cars like the Hyundai Exter AMT and the Renault Kiger CVT.
BHPian PatchyBoy recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
I owned a first-batch Linea T-Jet (MY 2010). I took care of her like a child. Clocked 1.3 L Kms on that & she never failed me. What a gem of a car!! With age catching up and spine-related issues, my DIY days were behind me. After moving to Goa, I simply couldn’t care for her any longer. There are no authorized service centres or trustworthy & knowledgeable FNGs for the Fiat here. With a heavy heart, decided to sell her.
The day before she was sold
Final goodbye
Started looking for a replacement. Was torn between new or used. Did not want to take out a loan & also did not want to plonk a big pile of cash for a car. My drives have reduced a lot & I only needed a car to take us for the occasional outings, shopping & hospital visits. Only requirement, it has to be some kind of AT. My budget was 15 L max. I was looking at cars like the new Exter AMT & the Kiger CVT. Then a very close friend from Kolkata came home for a vacation. Was chatting with him about the car. He spontaneously decided that I should have his VW Virtus GT. One year old. Done 12000 km.
Asking price
The plan was for me to drive (with the missus, of course) to Bangalore, hand over the T-Jet to the buyer, fly to Kolkata & drive the Virtus back to Goa. But once we got to Bangalore, my wife had a fall & hurt herself. My friend immediately decided to drive down to Bangalore & hand the Virtus over to me. Two days later, he was in Bangalore with the car.
Drove the car from Bangalore to Goa yesterday. Here are my first long-drive impressions of the car –
- Good highway car with plenty of power on tap, especially in sports mode
- Very comfortable seating. I drove for more than 12 hours & got home with almost no fatigue
- Cabin is definitely noisier than the T-Jet. So is the engine.
- No dedicated phone buttons on the steering wheel. Outgoing calls only possible with voice commands. The OK button on the RHS doubles up as an answer or hang-up button
- Reads out messages aloud, including WA & Signal messages. Downside – you have to touch the HU screen to read the message. This is a feature of Android Auto
- The wireless phone charger sucks. The phone heats up badly. The charging is also very slow. I have decided that I am going to simply connect a cable to the conveniently nearby USB port & not use wireless charging at all
- Good handling, but the Jet was in a class of its own in that department
- AC was good enough for me. Ventilated seats are nice too
- Music system is definitely better than OE T-Jet. I am no audiophile, but the kind of music I listen to sounded better in the Virtus
- Bottle holders in the door pads & useable cupholders near the handbrake – finally
- Armrest has a deep storage pocket, but is way too far back for me to use – even when pushed as far ahead as it will go
- Contrary to what I initially thought, after driving a bit in Bangalore city, the suspension is actually slightly softer than the Jet. Over-inflated tyres were the culprit. Oddly, the recommended pressure is a huge range – from 32 to 41 psi, depending on the load in the car
- First time driving an AT in the ghats, so I wasn’t very confident when descending. However, the Virtus stayed in D3 mostly & did not just start rolling down like a loose rock
- Zero swelling of my feet after driving the whole day. The legs were really thankful for the DSG
Was surprised by how frugal the car is (this is from Nelamangala to Hubli – 100% 4/6 lane highway) –
All-in-all – A good filler for the Jet. Cannot be considered a replacement, though. The Jet’s shoes are way too big for this one to fill
PS: KA govt guys ought to be loaded in a KSRTC basic bus & driven up & down the roads between the border & Ramnagar – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
PPS: Will drive to the KA border & back one of these days, in the daytime, just to experience the Virtus in the ghats in a relaxed way
Keyword: Bought a used VW Virtus GT as a replacement for my old Fiat Linea