Drive with a light foot and the DSG quickly upshifts and one shouldn`t be surprised to see the engine spinning at 1500 rpm and the MFD reading 6th gear at 60 kph! Mash the accelerator pedal and DSG quickly drops up to 2 cogs and lunges forward as the TSI motor unleashes its horses in a flurry. Living with the D mode, hence is never boringly dull whatsoever.
If the D mode is still slow for you, stick the DSG into the S mode where the basic instruction for the DSG is to upshift just short of the rpm redlines. That’s not all, the DSG also down shifts enthusiastically to keep the motor on the boil at all times. In the S mode the TSI dispatches 0-100 in sub 11 seconds given a clear stretch the speedometer can read up to 190 kmph.
The M or the Manual mode, as the name suggests – lets you swap gear ratios manually with the fore and aft movement of the gear selector lever and the DSG will intervene if you try to drive in unacceptably higher gear rations at low rpms or vice versa and this is an important inclusion considering the stratospheric repair costs associated with the complex DSG mechanism. As in the Vento TSI, the Manual mode would have been really involving and enjoyable with paddle shifters which neither of the cars is equipped with and this mode remained unused most of the time throughout the test.
Owing to the turbo charging and direct fuel injection, high torque output at lower engine speeds results in effortless in-gear acceleration with 30-70kmph taking under 3 seconds which is impressive. So while the power has been taken care of, the small displacement of the engine also helps in the fuel economy department. While VW claims 17.2 kmpl as the ARAI tested figure, in real world driving we TSI returned close to 11kmpl within the city and 14 kmpl on the highway. These figures coupled with the term “hot hatch” make the car quite irresistible.
There are however, a few bits which spoil the party marginally and the small list is topped by the brakes. The slightly spongy feel of the brake pedal also exhibits lack of initial bite and signs of brake fade are evident upon some spirited driving. The brakes on the TSI are merely adequate considering the performance which the TSI motor is capable of belting out. Good news is that, the TSI also comes equipped with electronic driver aids such as the ESP (can be switched off manually) and ABS with EBD. The TSI also lacks any extra visual flair which would set it apart from the other variants offered by VW. We have loved and discussed the handling of VW cars in the past and the TSI is no different.
The TSI costs Rs 8.56 lakhs ex-showroom in Mumbai and comes with most of the bells and whistles along with boy racer genes and fuel efficient engine. Considering the lack of any direct rivals, the TSI remains the much sought after hot hatch on sale in the currently at the moment. While the DSG is the prime reason to drive the cost of the car up, if offered in a MT version it could possibly be an attractive proposition to many petrol heads. If you have the cash, the TSI easily remains the most desirable hatch on the market right now!
Next page for Images of the car’s interior followed by a gallery>>