Search commenced last year (August 2023) after the launch of Seltos facelift. Budget – 20 lakh. Not too fussy about getting a “SUV”.
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Got this Virtus GT Plus last week. A few points on how I zeroed down on the vehicle and preliminary observations after spending some time with the car!
Background
The search commenced last year (August 2023) after the launch of the Seltos facelist. Budget – 20 lakh. Not too fussy about getting a “SUV”. I have always been a sedan lover.
- Honda City top model + Elevate – Did not like the NVH and drive experience [engine grunt vs speed] along with the infotainment system. Seats are also too comfortable for longer journeys.
- Verna 1.5 and Creta Facelift 1.5 – Did not like the way these cars look – interior and exterior.
- Grand Vitara – Have been using the Baleno hatch top end for 7 years and could not see the same switch gear and interior part sharing in a 20L+ car. Also, the 3-cylinder engine after EV mode ends is a let-down.
- Taigun/ Kushaq – Cars look okay and feel smaller. Not 15L+ cars (already not keen on buying so-called ‘SUVs’)
- Slavia – Loved this car a year back. However, as I kept seeing videos and experienced it during test drives, felt that the interior of the car was not durable and had too many moving and creaking parts (AC vents and copper strip) Honestly, loved the placement of engine start/stop and ventilated seat button, wireless mobile charger and storage compartment in Slavia more than that in Virtus.
Also, the exterior is too mature for my liking. Therefore, dropped Slavia
So Virtus and Seltos were the only two cars in the consideration.
To avoid the whole Virtus GT vs Seltos GTX argument and analysis, I started considering Virtus 1.0 TSI as it is significantly cheaper than both GT cars and is the best car at the exact 20L price point.
However, I felt a certain noise when pushed hard from 0. The noise went away once the car picked up a speed above 30 kmph. But once noticed, it was difficult to ignore the noise and it was a tad bit irritating. I also found 1.0 TSI to be a bit jumpy. Also, I was not a fan of its seat color – beige and black.
Therefore, after driving 1.0 and 1.5 Virtus, I could not help but decide on Virtus 1.5. Other factors that helped me choose the Virtus GT were – Black seats, spoiler, back alloys with red brake caliper, and dual-tone roof and side view mirrors.
So now it mainly came to choosing between Seltos 1.5 GTX and Virtus GT Plus as the price points were similar. Seltos did have an advantage on paper by offering ADAS and premium interiors. I have always thought that buying cars now is similar to buying tech and hence, the same should be future-proof. However, after a couple of test drives, it became clear that the engine and drive experience of Virtus 1.5 GT was significantly better than that of the Seltos GTX, especially in the city. Seltos was too sluggish for my liking and did not enjoy the drive at all. I always kept pushing the accelerator too hard and had to adopt an aggressive style of driving. I realised that I could not buy a car just for ADAS, premium features, etc. if I did not like the drivability of the car. I also found the instrument cluster of seltos to be too busy with too many signs and warnings. I had a manual baleno which zoomed when commanded and Hyundai/KIA cars are not known to do that (I have an i20 IVT also) Hence, with a heavy heart had to drop the Seltos.
Virtus GT was finally home last week! I absolutely love the way it looks and it’s a head turner especially at night with the real DRLs are on. It drives and responds EXACTLY the way you want it to.
Handling is precise and acceleration is sporty yet smooth. One extra cylinder does help a lot! A few points:
- Infotainment system: The touch panel is good (not great). You cannot jump from one favourite radio channel to another using steering controls. It scans the radio for the next channel which takes a bit of time and is irritating.
- No call pickup / drop button on the steering
- No car lock/unlock sound (I know can be activated via coding but warranty issue)
- AC is okay. Have to keep the temperature at 22. If you change it to 24 it detects you are in some European country and starts warming up the car Also, there is a slight hissing sound from AC for a couple of minutes once you start the car. I absolutely HATE the touch controls.
- Ventilated seats are okay – too noisy
- Powered Seats – Too good! loved them.
- Back seat – good for 2 adults and 1 kid.
- Interior – Premium and durable. Love the glossy black panel dashboard (looks better than a red panel in red color GT)
- Glove box – Adequate
- Storage Space – lacks one more mobile phone storage place (in Slavia, you can keep two phones near the wireless charger area)
- Wireless charger – Is okay – hit and miss sometimes.
- NVH Levels – The NVH level on this car is too good. You are cut off from the external noise and feels like you are sitting in a tank
- Window roll-up and down noise and Rear view camera – These are most disappointing and embarrassing quality issue for a 22L+ car.
- Instrument cluster – It is basic and it works and looks cool as well. However, would prefer RMP measure on all views. Also, an active TPMS would be great.
- Boot – It is huge and can pack good luggage for 4 people for a week’s trip.
I forget all these issues the moment I step on the accelerator. I keep finding reasons to take out the car for a spin. I just hope VW does not disappoint in service and I don’t regret buying a VW car
Cheers!
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