2011 Volkswagen Passat 'Comfortline' Delivered (Pics Pg.2)


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Hello All,

I have been following these forums for a while and decided it was time for me to post my first thread on our decision to book a VW 'Passat' Comfortline.

We (as in my Father & me) have been in the new car 'market' for a long time and finally went in for the VW Passat.

I am from Himachal and reside in Mandi - with business interests in different parts of Himachal that involve a fair amount of travel both within Himachal and also to Chandigarh, Ludhiana and New Delhi.

On an average our main 'highway' car will clock between 25 - 30K KM a year...currently, our 'highway' car is a 2006 Top end Innova that has now done 115,000 hassle free kms. We still retain the Innova and have a Maruti Ritz (Diesel) for local running.

We sold off our 4 year old 1.6 Optra last year - as it was a bad buy and we decided to get rid off it.

Now the budget was fixed at Rs 20 - 24L and the following conditions were agreed upon....

1) Must be a Car (No Fortuner SuV type as the body roll can get unbearable)
2) Must be a Diesel (But a Silent one - Diesel drone of Innova was too much)
3) German or Japanese (Bad experience with the Chevy Optra has ensured we will never touch a GM car again)
4) Must stand out a bit without being too in your face
5) Must be loaded with modern Gizmo's like ACC, Park Sensors etc
6) Must be an Auto Box (but a responsive one with minimal lagg)

After much study the following were short listed:

1) Skoda Superb
2) BMW 3 series (Corporate edition)
3) Skoda Laura L&K
4) New VW Jetta
5) New VW Passat

Now since none of these companies have any dealers in Himachal - so all reviews and Test drives of the cars were conducted on various work visits that took us to or through Chandigarh.

The Skoda's.

We visited the dealer in Chandigarh. The salesmen seemed disinterested and no TD of the 'Superb' could be arranged as it had gone somewhere.

There was no Laura L&K on display and the salesman did not seem to know exactly what the features were on this version. He just handed us a flyer and sauntered off.

All in all a terrible showroom experience which put us off Skoda...but more importantly, I found the 'Superb' to be a bit loud and crass looking both from the exterior's and interior - so we left that terrible Chandigarh Skoda dealership with no intent to return.

BMW

The BMW dealership in Chandigarh is owned by the same people who have Skoda - but the salesman and dealership in general is far more professional and pleasant (BMW obviously).

The polite Salesman quickly arranged a Test Drive of 3 series Corporate edition for us and its a brilliant car....very responsive Diesel with a superb Auto Box and great handling (a BMW after all)..but we decided against it as the 3 series CE does away with a lot of extra's and leaves you with the bare minimum...plus it is quite cramped at the rear and my father does do a lot of 'rear seat travel'...so we decided against it.

VW's

Now we walked into Genuss motor's - the VW dealer for Chandigarh.

The New 2011 Passat was on display along with the old Jetta - that i knew was being upgraded soon (This visit was in fact about 10 days prior to the new Jetta's launch).

We got busy with the Passat display car and were very impressed with the exterior looks and interiors as well. The Car felt classy, understated and elegant both from the inside and outside - far far better than the 'Superb'.

The salesman attending on us was polite and quickly arranged a long TD of the Passat. The drive was excellent...the engine started smoothly, with very little noise entering the cabin, even when revved hard. The DSG box is a gem with minimal lagg and the car accelerated superbly and confidently.

The ride was excellent - and the car felt planted and smooth even over a pretty bad, potholed stretch of road. Plus the car is fully loaded with every convenience and gizmo one could desire.

The back seat space though not as good as the 'Superb's was adequate.

So now we really liked the Passat but also wanted to know more about the all new Jetta...the salesman told us it was coming soon and he would let us know....

About 2 weeks later...we walked into the showroom again with the all new Jetta now on display....after going over the car - we were a little disappointed with the lack of features in the 18L top end Jetta and our attention again was back on the Passat....we took another long TD and decided to book the 2011 Passat !!

We have booked the 'Comfortline' trim for Rs 24 L ex-showroom in White color and will take delivery of the car on the 4th or the 5th of October, 2011.

The Comfortline trim does not have the following features:

1) No A/C Seats
2) No Self park system with rear camera
3) Quality of Leather seats is slightly inferior to those of the Highline version
4) Spare wheel is not an alloy.

Otherwise its fully loaded and the price difference is rs 1.7 L.

I'll subsequently put up an 'initial ownership' review once I have the car...thanks for reading.
 

350Z

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Re: 2011 Volkswagen Passat 'Comfortline' Booked.....

Many congratulations for choosing a fantastic car and a nice write up of the short listing process too. We shall be eagerly looking forward for the updates and pictures of Passat once it comes to your home. Do keep us posted and also consider sharing those not-so-nice experiences which had faced with Chevy is possible. All the best!

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
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Re: 2011 Volkswagen Passat 'Comfortline' Booked.....

Congrats on your Passat. I have already booked Passat (High Line) and waiting to get delivery in few days. I have been waiting for fancy number, so it is getting delayed to take delivery. Mostly i will also take delivery next week.

So fingers crossed, we will see who gets delivery first :) (Just kidding)
 
Thread Starter #6
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Re: 2011 Volkswagen Passat 'Comfortline' Booked.....

Congrats on your Passat. I have already booked Passat (High Line) and waiting to get delivery in few days. I have been waiting for fancy number, so it is getting delayed to take delivery. Mostly i will also take delivery next week.

So fingers crossed, we will see who gets delivery first :) (Just kidding)
Congratulations on booking the 'Highline'. i too wanted the H/L but my Father was like 'whatever for? we live in the hills and dont need a/c seats. we have adequate parking in our small town. we don't need self park etc'...so in deference to his wishes - it was the c/l.

Our Passat C/L has already come to the dealer and we have paid about 75% of the whole amount and had the invoice raised (Depreciation purposes). But as I'm extremely busy with a work commitment - so it will either be the 4th or the 5th.
 
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Re: 2011 Volkswagen Passat 'Comfortline' Booked.....

In our case we had paid 100% amount this month being, even the first EMI is due tomorrow. But still not taken the delivery. In my state for number we need to get GO from government, for fancy number. So it takes sometime for that to happen. So the delays.

Also our pervious sedan was Optra, which we had sold few months ago.
 
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Re: 2011 Volkswagen Passat 'Comfortline' Booked.....

Many congratulations for choosing a fantastic car and a nice write up of the short listing process too. We shall be eagerly looking forward for the updates and pictures of Passat once it comes to your home. Do keep us posted and also consider sharing those not-so-nice experiences which had faced with Chevy is possible. All the best!

Drive Safe,
350Z
The only problem with chevy is that huge cost of spare parts. I had spent lot of money for regular maintenance and service, tyre and suspension change in just (36000 KM). But i still love my Optra, it was a good car to drive but a bad for my wallet.
 
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Re: 2011 Volkswagen Passat 'Comfortline' Booked.....

draven646 - crisp and nice write-up! Many many congratulations on the booking. I am sure you would be itching to lay your hands on it. It is a great choice and I am sure that it looks killer in white. Do keep posting regularly about your experiences. I will be amongst those who will follow this thread whole heartedly [thumbsup]
 
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Re: 2011 Volkswagen Passat 'Comfortline' Booked.....

wow new passat!! kudos and congrats buddy..plz post lots of pics after delivery!! [clap]
 
Thread Starter #11
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Re: 2011 Volkswagen Passat 'Comfortline' Booked.....

I was supposed to get the Car from Genuss Motor's (Chandigarh) today (4th Oct) but was informed yesterday morning that the truck carrying my car among others has broken down somewhere near the Maharashtra - Gujarat border. [frustration]

The 'Passat' is now expected to reach the dealership on Wednesday (5th October) evening and I have told them that i will now take delivery on Friday (7th October) as I have a prior work commitment on Thursday.

Very Frustrating - as i have paid the dealership in full and had the final bill raised on the 28th Of September itself for depreciation purposes...and also have paid the insurance in full.
 

350Z

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Re: 2011 Volkswagen Passat 'Comfortline' Booked.....

I suppose that you must have taken the delivery today? We're waiting for some updates. :smile:

Drive Safe,
350Z
 

AMG

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Re: 2011 Volkswagen Passat 'Comfortline' Booked.....

Congrats for the car buddy.

Hope you are putting it to good use already.
 
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Re: 2011 Volkswagen Passat 'Comfortline' Booked.....

Congratulations Draven for booking the Passat. As Vibhor mentioned you must have got the delivery by now. Do share your experience and lots of pictures inside out.
 
Thread Starter #15
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Re: 2011 Volkswagen Passat 'Comfortline' Booked.....

Hello Guys,

Yes - We finally took delivery of our White 'Comfortline' trim new 2011 VW Passat on Friday (7th October) late in the afternoon.

At the outset - I would like to apologize for the quality of the pics I am attaching....I forgot to get my camera and all pics are from my old & battered Nokia E71 mobile phone[surprise].

Delivery Experience

We reached the VW Dealership at about 3 PM (we had fixed up for 1 PM - but got delayed at our end attending to various jobs). The car was all ready for delivery and standing in a small special bay they use for deliveries. Immediately, I checked the exterior for any imperfections and then went onto the interior.

We spent a good 25 mins going over the car and then called in our sales point person. He started off by taking us over the features and how to operate them...the list is exhaustive[clap]

We then spent some time - signing off some final paper's (Just receipts for bills etc) The sales man then got us a small cake (nice gesture) and we took a small slice each and gave the rest to the staff there.

After another safety & features run down - we were ready to move and my father proudly engaged D and drove the car out of the dealership to the fuel pump next door - where we filled in exactly 69 litres of diesel.

All in all a pleasant and professional workman like experience - just the way we like it without too much fuss or drama.

Here come the pics (apologies again)
 

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