VW Touraeg: The car that really was the highlight of the show according to me was the VW Touraeg, an SUV which came with all the frills and benefits that one comes to expect with an automobile which costs around 60 Lakhs (Rupees 6Million). It is a unit which is imported as a fully built; i guess the cess and import tax on a vehicle is pretty high. If ever VW decide to bring it in as a partially built unit and assemble it here in India it should become cheaper than its current price tag.
Though i would have loved to have taken a test drive of the car, it was a more touch, sit and feel kind of an exhibition.
Now, sitting in this car was an experience of its own, pristine materials used throughout the cockpit for the driver, nice use of wood and interesting feel for the texture of the plastics. Lots of electronic gadgets and gizmo's, one would feel like they were sitting in an aeroplane considering how many buttoned options there were; like the ability to change the type of drive and suspension settings from all wheel to rear wheel or front wheel depending on the terrain, ability to change from a sports mode to a more soft ride mode. There was an interesting touch screen which was an integrated unit showing all the happenings in the car, it functioned as a Radio, CD player, showed the mileage, temperature, etc etc.
Like we come to expect from an European designed car, the car had a solid build to it, looked muscular and had plenty of chrome all around to it adding to a luxurious look.
The dash had 2 LCD screens, i really would have wanted to look at all the features of the car in detail, but really had to get off as there were enough people out there queuing out there for a sit in themselves.
The rear seats were comfortable, and quite spacious, and there was a split AC there giving some relief to the rear passengers. I really i would have put my money on this one to buy it if i had it. :)
VW Mini: Cute to say the least, i know that this car is going to be a pricey affair and is only for the very affluent.
However what i was most curious about was how the dash was designed, from afar what i saw was just a single dial setup not broad enough to house a Tachometer. Now, this being a sporty small luxury car, it needed to have a tacho.. and i was pleasantly surprised to see this.. very well done if you ask me..as you can see, there the tacho is this really mini dial which is housed below the LCD screen to the right. the temperature and fuel come on the left of it.Fiat Lenia:Need i really speak about this one, The Fial Lenia, nice car.. it looks bigger in the paper ads, it came across as a little smaller that what i had expected it to be, but hey, i m not complaining one bit. it looks gorgeous. It looks like its worth much more than what price it is quoted at. Has a real rich European feel to it. I don't want to speak too much about it, all the auto magazines have been going ga ga over this one the last few months.
But i'll say this much, it has real smooth lines, an interesting roof curve, body hugging bumper which goes around the whole car and head laps which blend into the bonnet and car, very nice rear view mirrors and a very executive looking split grill.
Again, i would have loved to test drive this one. It has the same Diesel engine that is being used in the Swift Dezire, however they have tweaked it to give up to 90+BHP. The car which was being showcased was very obviously the high end version. It had some really neat looking alloy wheels again which added to the look of the whole car, giving it a very expensive car look.
First view of sitting in the car in the drivers seat was that, its all beige and it can get really dirty.. my thoughts stream from the perception that this car is targeted more for those mid to high level management guys aged between 26 ro 35 years. Now, i know that people that age are into pretty sporty activities and long drives which i think will make the keeping the car clean thing a little tough. Unlike the new Ford ikon which has all dark shades, but that's another car and i'll write about it another time.
Ok, here's what i did, i played around with the patented "blue & me" thing which they kept advertising about in the all ads. So i switched on the bluetooth in my phone and pressed a few buttons which had the car search for my phone and detect it. The first question which came up on the display actually freaked me out.. it asked "Import all contacts?".. i was like "Nooo" considering its not my car, i did not want some random guy get hold of all my girlfriends numbers.. if you know what i mean.. he he.
Anyways, back to the car...the "Blue & Me" thing let me read sms's in the dash, and check for my contact list. now i don't know how safe it is to read sms's while driving, i mean most of us dont always send sms's in English... its more Hinglish or regionally oriented. The sales man there told me that the messages would be read out, i really wanted to hear the car read out something in hindi. i guess there will be more accidents with people falling off their seats laughing when a message is read out than any other reason.
The dashboard was nice, well placed switches, easy to get used to, it took me like 5 mins to know which button was where, which meant that i will not even have to take my eyes off the road with a little practice. The only grudge i had was that the buttons were a little plasticky.. I mean why cant you use some Rubber, or soft velvety plastic designing people. These soft rubbery velvety feel plastics come on mobile phones all the time...how tough is it to cover the buttons with them.. makes the tactile experience all the more luxurious.
The highlight of the car was not in the front but the rear seat, it is probably the most comfy seat that i have ever sat in, really plenty if lower and upper back support, good thigh support and over all comfort was great. Plus there is a singe split vent out there, which meant that there's AC for the rear people also, this feature does not come in some more expensive D segment cars.
There are a few more cars which i would like to write about, but that will be in the next post.
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