Volkswagen Passat Bluemotion 2.0

Volkswagen is teaching a new lesson on “What it takes to be a world leader” to all the automobile manufacturers. They led the development of European market, have been doing great job in China and now they don’t want to miss the Indian Growth story. Products like Phaeton, Touareg and Beetle will boost the aspiration level of owning a VW brand, while products like Polo, Vento and Jetta will ensure that VW is a big volume player in India. And what about German Engineering? They chose Passat to showcase the muscles of German Engineering.

I must say that VW actions are totally aligned to their vision to become Numero Uno by 2017~18.

Like everyone I was amazed by the advertisements of Volkswagen Passat so thought of reviewing the car. I drove the New Volkswagen Passat and was flabbergasted by the features. Here is the test drive review of the new Volkswagen Passat Bluemotion.

Looking at the exteriors, Passat hasn’t changed much. The major changes that I could spot were headlamps, Rear lights and new chrome front grill.
Headlamps are Bi-Xenon with oodles of chrome (Indians love it!). LED lights add upper-class touch to the headlamps. Two sets of lights below - one act as the fog light while the other acts as cornering light. When one takes a turn at a speed of 10 Kmph or less the requisite side fog lamp glows to give more visibility. At higher speed instead of side fog lamps, headlamps turn to give better visibility to the driver. And to top it all, the driver can also wash the headlamps incase he is facing any trouble after driving in mud. Now that’s what is known as German engineering.
Next feature that I noted was Outside Rear View mirror. Setting the outside rear view mirror is always a time consuming task. In Passat one save the required settings and select any of the saved setting anytime. In case of foggy weather these mirrors can be heated to get a clear view and in night the mirror will automatically adjust itself to give a dimmed view to the customer. Ah!!! Another example of German Engineering.
The car is equipped with Low rolling resistance Pirelli tyres which promise positive impact on improving fuel efficiency of the vehicle.
Overall the car has elegant looks with excellent build quality. The subtle use of chrome adds subdued charm to the car.

Interiors of the car are quite impressive. Luxury is redefined by Napa Leather upholstery (for common man- Napa Leather is best form of leather). Both driver and co-driver seats are 12 way electrically adjustable seats. Air-cooled seats will provide chill to back and thighs in hot Indian summers and in winters same can provide warmth. It is needless to say that seats provide full support to thighs and back.
I was totally impressed by the ambient lighting. VW has used unconventional lighting to highlight its centre console. Red lights are projected on silver centre console giving perfect classy look. White lights behind the wooden garnish on the doors also add perfection to interior lighting.
An analog clock in the centre of dashboard gives “Retro Look” to quite modern and good looking interiors.
The only negative point I spotted was high tunnel height at rear. VW has to do something on this issue or else should brand their cars for four passengers..

The driving experience was amazing as well. The throttle pedal is hinged at floor making it more comfortable to operate. It is made more responsive by the amazing power of the engine. VW brought its most powerful 2.0 Litre engine for Passat. The engine delivers 170 hp power and 350 NM torque which is more as compared to Superb. (same engine family member is in superb as well). 3 digit figure was touched with ease and the maximum that I could touch was 200 kmph and after that I slowed down to reduce my heart beats. The car is equipped with 6 speed Dual Clutch transmission which gives smooth drive across all speed changes. VW has made the feature of cruise control much more usable for the customers.
German engineering has provided many features like Start-Stop, Hill Hold, ABS off, reverse parking sensors to enhance the driving experience.
Reversing the car was experience in itself. A camera is hidden behind the VW logo (just like Bond car). Reverse park assist made me feel as if Ghost was parking my car. After engaging the park assist I just relaxed and tasks like finding parking place and parking in tight location were done by car.
Normally start-stop system that is available in India is in very crude form. One has to press the clutch for 2~3 seconds to restart the vehicle. But this new Passat will start as soon as you release the brake pedal. The car won’t switch off if the battery usage is more than 60%. It just ensures that car will not switch off if there is a requirement of AC.
Normally an AT car will start moving after shifting the gear pedal to drive mode, but this Passat will wait for throttle input to move. It is yet another step to improve driver comfort.
ABS off feature will not stop sporty mood of the driver and henceforth he can try some drifting as well.
I was totally impressed by the German Engineering.

The ride and handling is better as compared to earlier Passat. It is quite good and the vehicle will not loose line on high speed turns. Generally bigger luxury cars are not this stable. Thus there was another reason for me to get impressed.

Ah I guess I wrote entirely about features and am sure that I have missed few. For sure this is a Vehicle of future and is likely to become an extension of the drawing room. It will give all the comfort and convenience and excellent driving pleasure as well. I strongly propose a Test drive to all my readers.

Why Buy: Features, Build quality, excellent NVH, Engine performance

Why Deny: Rear Tunnel, more of self driven car (at this price Indians look towards chauffer driven car)

Hyundai Verna 2011

Hyundai is ready for its biggest launch of 2011. Hyundai Verna RB will be launched on 11th May 2011. Hyundai has started its teaser campaign, promotion activities at facebook, twitter and have also launched a website with the glimpse of the car. The car was revealed last year at the Moscow Motor Show and since then it has been able to attract many people.

The New Verna will replace the existing Verna transform and will give tough competition to Honda City, Volkswagen Vento, Maruti SX4 and upcoming Fiesta 2011. New Verna will come with 4 engine options and henceforth will give ample choices to its customers. 1.4l Petrol and 1.4l Diesel engines will give a frugal solution to its customers, whereas enthusiast customers can choose either 1.6L petrol or 1.6l diesel engine.
1.6l petrol will produce 123 bhp of power nad 154 Nm torque, whereas 1.6l diesel will produce 128 bhp power and 259 Nm torque.

New verna will also introduce some exciting features like push start, Bluetooth, ABS etc. It is expected that new Verna will be priced at 7 lakhs and top variant will be priced around 11 lakhs


Stay tuned for test drive review