A वर्ष का Driving The वर्टस

A Year Of Driving The Virtus

I bought my Virtus in Oct 2022 so this is a review after using it for a year and having driven a modest 5500kms. The review has been long overdue but I have been battling it out with VW to fix issues that they believe do not exist. Here's my review: I bought the car from Shaman Motors, Mumbai. I had requested for an inspection pre-delivery and they did not comply saying they forgot about it. On the day of delivery, I noticed a hairline scratch on the door and they brushed it off as irrelevant and used an eraser or something to fix it. This should have been an alert for me but I missed that cause I was in a rush to get to work. A couple of days later I noticed the following: 1. Sharp body noise while driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic. The sound is loud and tops over 100 decibels. I have sent the car to the service station 6 times for this issue and there's no fix to it. They say it's a normal occurrence in Virtus & Taigun, so I asked for a written letter stating that this noise is a standard feature of the car and comes 'complimentary' with it. I have shown the car to VW technicians who agreed that the sound was loud. Service managers at the workshop have told me off the record that VW is working on fixing the issue. The workshop manager, Mr Kunal, showed the vehicle to VW officials in July 2023 and said that they will issue the letter. Since then he's neither issued the letter nor has he answered my calls. 2. The aircon has a loud sound that lasts for the first few minutes you turn it on and then fade. This too is a standard feature as per VW. 3. The low RPMs the car drops speed and must be accelerated hard to achieve a speed of even 15 kmph. I don't know how to describe this issue but it normally occurs when the car is being picked up or running at low speeds. This often leads the trailing car to believe that the Virtus is going to move ahead at a decent speed but it doesn't thereby making it a sitting duck for a rear-end crash. The way to get over it is to accelerate hard and then the VW app sends a "Sudden Acceleration" notification. 4. Virtus has a mind of its own. It chooses to randomly turn on when the auto on/off button is activated. So, you could be at a long signal and the car turns off as desired BUT then it chooses to randomly turn on while the signal is still red and the driver has not made any contact with the accelerator, brake, or steering wheel. 5. Green screen: The central console turns green randomly. VW initially said that it was PROBABLY due to connectivity with my iPhone. Didn't know iPhone users shouldn't purchase a VW car. Also, this has once happened without my phone being present in the car. Maybe like all others, this too is a standard feature. 6. Connectivity: ~ The MyVolkswagen Connect+ app is useless and only provides basic notifications. ~ The apps available for download aren't enough and navigation apps cannot route directions if not connected to your phone. ~ Due to the lack of internet connectivity in the Jio dongle provided, you will have to use your phone's hotspot to access the store or get directions on the Sygic & Waze navigation apps. 7. Fog lamps: yellow fog lamps on a 17 lakh rupee car! Seriously how expensive is a white lamp to match the headlights? 8. The sales executive, Mr Hifzur, informed me that the car is equipped with Harman Kardon speakers as against Slavia's Panasonic. Although not a deal breaker for me, I don't think the speakers on the Virtus are what was told. 9. Although I loved the touchscreen console, it's highly inconvenient to use it while driving. The car drives wonderfully when at high speeds and is very comfortable. There is an overall sense of safety and more so since I moved on from a Hyundai Verna. But VW's attitude to take responsibility for a product that is noisy and deficient is unacceptable. Clearly, I should have opted for the Slavia and hope that the same issues do not exist in that.