What happened on a 350 km solo road trip in a VW Polo GT TSI on a rainy day changed my opinion of the car.

BHPian mandavamanojjr recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I always felt that German cars are expensive to maintain, though I listened to reviews that say they offer great driving pleasure, I did not show much interest in them.

While I was auditing our client’s accounts, I happened to see that a total of Rs. 1 Lakh plus was paid towards the repair of the DSG gearbox for a Polo GT TSI.

It was a complete shock for me, as I had never seen that much repair amount for a car back then.

This was strongly registered in my mind.

In 2015, when we were looking to purchase a sedan, though I was originally fascinated by the Volkswagen Vento, I did not even attempt to test drive it, being under the illusion that the maintenance would be higher.

Further, in 2016, I travelled with one of my uncles in his Polo TDI, sitting in the front passenger seat. My first impression was that the car was too compact with no space at all, summarizing that it was not a proper family car.

But, I still remember that drive along with my uncle, where he was constantly cruising at 100-120 kmph, and the car was rock solidly stable with no sort of vibrations.

It had a low stance and seating position, which felt like it was completely glued to the road, and it gave me a feeling of sitting in a go-kart vehicle.

The car was picking up speed at a good pace, and it was very planted with no sort of vibrations, air & tyre sounds. It was like riding in a superior car.

Years passed

One of my friends had purchased a Polo GT TSI recently, a used car, and I wondered why he was buying it, thinking of the maintenance it requires.

I drove it a couple of times for a very short spin within the town, and my original impressions continued of being cramped with no space, no creature comforts etc.

After a few days, I got an opportunity to travel for about 350 km solo in his Polo. Though I initially felt it was not an opportunity but a necessity.

It was a rainy day, and I started my journey, which completely changed my opinion of the car.

The following are the three driving chapters that I have experienced that made me completely fall in love with the car.

First chapter

I was driving on the single-lane village roads beside farms before getting onto the highway. It was rainy and in some spots on the road, the water was clogged.

Usually, while driving, I prefer not to drive in the water as I have the impression that the car loses its control and stability.

That particular day, since I was solo and bored, an instant thought came into my mind to just splash the water aside by going through it as there were no people beside, and I was also driving slowly.

In my first attempt, I made the left side of the car (the left front and rear tyres) go into the water to splash and kept the right side of the car on the tarmac. Apart from visualizing the splashing of the water, I immediately realized how stable the car was despite being thrown into a considerable water pit. The car did not shake even a little bit, and it was very much in control.

I was fascinated by the way it drove and handled the water pit.

I was still in a dilemma, doubting the capability of the car, presuming that the first pit might be very small, and thus, like any other car, the Polo also performed well. To test my perception of the car, I once again made the car go into the water pit, which is slightly bigger this time.

This time, no words, no thoughts inside my mind, but just a natural smile came on my face.

I completely agreed with the capabilities of the car and never doubted it again.

Now, a younger version of me has been awoken, who wants to experience the same joy of splashing the water again and again, as the car can handle it with utmost confidence.

I repeated it for the next few water pits, and it was a thorough joy, which totally satisfied the inner soul in my heart, who has a true passion towards cars.

I wish that day I had more water pits to have more fun.

The fun, though initially expected from the splashing of the water, has come, but the real and true fun part is driving the Polo through the water.

The fun and joy came to an end as the road ended, and I had to take the highway.

Second chapter

After a few kilometres of highway driving, I was supposed to drive through a city in between, and was slowly moving with the city traffic.

I approached a small junction which is neither big enough to have a traffic signal nor small enough to be left without a policeman. It is just in between.

It is a four-lane road with a divider in between, and I was driving in the left lane on my side of the road. The vehicles that need to take a turn are driving on the right lane on my side.

All of a sudden, the vehicle in front of me stopped due to some forward traffic in our lane, and immediately, I looked to my right, checking for any vehicles beside me. Next, I checked the right side rear view mirror for any vehicle behind me in the right lane.

After having a proper clearance check, I immediately turned towards the right, changed my lane, and overtook the vehicle in front of me in the left lane.

Though this might appear to take a lot of time in action, in reality, it was so quick as it is a 2-5 second decision & execution process, and what was even quicker & faster is the way the car turned its direction towards the steering input.

I was just astonished as the directional change was so smooth and easy, and by the time I was overtaking the vehicle in the left lane, I started to realize and appreciate its agility.

Every car turns quickly, no wonder in it.

But it is the precision with which it turns that matters.

I have driven many cars and handled many traffic situations as described above, but I had never gotten this feeling, and I had never remembered these many days, the way Polo changed its lane that day, which is still unforgettable.

Third chapter

Finally, I reached the outskirts of the destination and was travelling on the Outer Ring Road (ORR). There were some expansion joints and rumble strips in between on the ORR to slow down the fast-moving vehicles.

It was almost 6 hours of driving to ORR. I was a bit tired, and my focus then was only reaching the destination quickly. As part of the usual driving, I slowed down a bit when the expansion joint came and drove across it.

A few kilometers later, another expansion joint came suddenly, which I initially missed to slow down the vehicle, and I approached it with the same speed I was cruising. I was expecting that there would be a considerable movement and unsettledness after gliding through it.

To my surprise, there was no movement at all, either upwards or sideways, and it was the same planted drive making me feel as if the car had not gone through any expansion joint.

Now, I waited for another expansion joint, and I consciously did not decrease the speed and went through it. The same planted feeling repeated with no sort of loss of confidence. From then I was waiting for the expansion joints where all other cars were pressing their brake pedals, for which stop lights were visible at the rear, whereas I cruised through the expansion joints at the same pace with so ease and enthusiasm.

I felt like the VIP on the road with escort vehicles following, as all others were slowing down at these expansion joints, which was not a slowing point for me. The Polo made me feel like the boss of the road.

The same is the case with the rumble strips, where the car felt utmost composed, and nothing was felt inside.

Conclusion: The love realised after the drive

All three chapters mentioned above, though, were experienced while driving; the real love started only after returning the car to my friend.

I went home, had dinner, and was in bed to sleep. Then, these feelings mentioned in the chapters above started to run through my heart, coupled with the experiences picturing in my mind. The real love started then, and the real potential of the Polo was understood then.

This nostalgia continues to date.

I felt that the real fun is not in driving the car at higher speeds, but it is in understanding the true potential of the car and experiencing its abilities. At present, whenever I see a Polo on the roads, I feel jealous of the driver for the reason that he has a good-handling car.

Even today, I feel it’s a high-maintenance car, as my friend also spent a considerable amount on repairs, but if he were the first owner who had taken care of the car very well, then the maintenance cost would be nominal.

Being a lover of the Polo, did I purchase it later? Or just lived through the dreams of purchasing it. A story that will be shared in the future.

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