The car isn’t as nimble as the VW Polo but it still grips the road nicely.
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Review of my Virtus GT Plus MT
Got the delivery of my first car on the 1st of July from Volkswagen Goa Mody Group. It’s the 2nd Virtus GT Plus manual delivered in Goa. I was the first to book one but a white GT MT was delivered in the morning. The delivery experience was great. It was scheduled for the 3rd of July but since I had to drive to Bangalore on the 4th my SA managed to get the registration done just before they closed shop on Saturday.
I was eying the Virtus since its launch but the DSG was a dealbreaker for me. Not because I’m concerned about its reliability but only because I wanted my first car to be a manual. The DSG is a great gearbox but not as fun as the manual on mountain roads. I was set on getting the 1.0 TSI manual in 2024 but then they announced the 1.5 manual and I just couldn’t wait any longer.
The 1.0 TSI is great and compared to my parents’ Suzuki Swift is a significant upgrade in itself. The only thing I hated about it is the sound. It sounded like our old Wagon R and even the Swift sounds amazing compared to it.
Coming to the car itself here are some of my thoughts after 1300km of driving.
Pros
- Amazing engine! I cannot believe how powerful this feels compared to our old car. I usually do not like turbocharged engines, especially diesels, since they have a sudden uncontrollable burst of power but the 1.5 TSI is so linear in its power delivery that you do not miss much of that NA control. The way it builds speed without drama is astonishing. And it just keeps pulling beyond 120.
- The handling. I had driven a Polo once on the Charmady and Shiradi ghats and fell in love with it ever since. The Virtus isn’t as nimble as the Polo but it still grips the road nicely. I do not agree with the complaints about the light steering wheel. The feedback is what matters, and it is awesome. I haven’t pushed it to the limit yet, but I was not able to get even a hint of understeer on the Anmod ghat. (Mostly thanks to the ESP cutting power and probably the XDS interfering) Definitely corners a lot faster than the Swift.
- The gearbox is fun to use even with the long throws.
- The engine sound. Blown away by how good the 4-cylinder sounds compared to the 1.0 TSI.
- The colour looks stunning in person and the pictures don’t do it justice.
- The ground clearance is phenomenal. I have taken this car over some massive bumps in Bangalore’s inner roads and it has not touched a single one. Even the approach angle seems to be better than the Swift for which I have no explanation.
- Keyless entry and start, auto headlamps, auto wipers all work so well and provide some next-level convenience.
- Hill hold is tuned really well and not intrusive at all. I had driven a T-Roc a few times whose hill hold system usually caused me to stall the car so I turned it off every time.
- The infotainment system and the digital dashboard look great. Very responsive and customizable.
- The interior space. Everyone compliments it for the great legroom and the airy feeling.
Cons
- Long clutch travel and heavy clutch. I was ready for this in Bangalore’s traffic but it’s much worse than I thought it would be. The problem is exacerbated by the long first gear which means you can’t engage the clutch fully below ~10km/h. Plus the lack of torque below 1500rpm makes crawling at low speeds a bit tough. I’m still stalling the car on occasion but thanks to the start-stop system it cranks up immediately after pressing in the clutch.
- Small rear-view mirrors mean you need to keep turning your head a lot more than in other cars.
- The ESP is too intrusive. I was not able to put the power down coming out of corners. Haven’t tried turning off the traction control yet.
- Hissing sound from AC on occasion.
- Sometimes the driver-side window refuses to close all the way on its own and I need to hold the button to close it.
- I had to change my driving style to get above 10kmpl in the city. I even averaged 10.7kmpl on my drive from Goa to Bangalore but I really wasn’t being careful with my throttle inputs and speeds. The car had run just 300km at the start of the trip. Averaged a speed of 70km/h and completed the trip in 8 hours with a refuelling stop of 5 mins and a railway crossing hold of 10mins. I was fresh enough at the end of the trip to directly go to office.
- The black alloys are really difficult to keep clean.
- The headlights could’ve been a bit brighter.
- The front edge of the steering (the one facing the driver) is a bit sharp and hard. One-handed parking manoeuvres are painful.
Overall I am very happy with my purchase and the issues listed are nothing I can’t learn to live with. Fingers crossed for hassle-free ownership.
The day of the delivery. Things were hurried enough that the number plate wasn’t ready, and I had to visit them on Monday to get it fixed. But thanks to them I did get to drive 300km in Goa with my family.
Most of the dirt was collected between Anmod ghat and Dharwad.
Driving data at the end of the road trip.
Car at the end of the road trip.
Had it washed that evening.
Temporary dashcam footage before I upgrade it to a Viofo A129 Duo.
Keyword: Thoughts about VW Virtus 1.5 manual: Over 15 pros & cons