Just a month and a half before the Jetta launch in India, the uber-team that handles Volkswagen India operations decided to send Passat long-termers to almost all automotive magazines. You know, the Passat is a Rs 25 lakh car and it does not sell in large numbers as yet. In short, it is not a Hyundai i10 that the carmaker can capitalise in large numbers and send as long- termers to all magazines. So there had to be a method behind the madness that saw eight-odd cars being IMPORTED for the sole purpose of injecting quality into magazine test fleets. Now I know why.
Here I was at Mahabaleshwar at the night halt for the brief yet entertaining test drive organised by VW for the new Jetta. Assorted journos were exchanging notes and it went somewhat like this.
Q: So how’s the car? A: Nice, just like the Passat only.
Q: So, how was it? A: Hey good, this car is like a mini Passat, yaar.
Q: This car is like a Passat, no? A: Seriously man… actually, it handles better than the Passat. You get the drift, right?
And trust me, I am not making this up.
The Jetta is a diminutive Passat and that is exactly the message that VW wants to send to the prospective buyer. And I wouldn’t be saying that if I were not living with a Passat. Look at it, the grille, the headlamp, the tail-lamp, the profile, the features, the heavy door, the ride quality, the options list… down to the lock button and the key, the Jetta gets its DNA from its bigger sibling. So much so that if you carefully cover it in a warm blanket and give it some time, it will grow up to be a full-fledged Passat.
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