New and Used Car Talk Reviews Hot Cars Comparison Automotive Community

The Largest Car Forum in the Philippines

Page 7 of 19 FirstFirst ... 3456789101117 ... LastLast
Results 61 to 70 of 186
  1. Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    96
    #61
    I just saw the Lavida and Tiguan China units at the VW showroom.

    The Lavida has got a lot of hard plastic in the interior, the infotainment is very basic with a LED mono-chrome display. But what's really striking is the lack of cupholders. It has a pair of small sized bin that looks like cup holders but i reckon it will fit only a coke sakto bottle or those small paper water cups. A big letdown!

    There is a stark difference with the Tiguan though with a generous use of soft touch materials on the dash and door panels. It's almost the same infotainment, still no apple carplay/android auto. It has the same 1.4L engine block but with tuned to have higher HP than the Lavida. This one has real cupholders. The boot is small, the ones on the CRV and Forester are substantially more spacious.

    I had really high hopes on the Lavida since I think it is reasonably priced for its class and it sits on the current MQB platform, which the All-new Jetta is now using (Last year's Jetta was still using the old VW platform). But upon seeing the poor Interior quality and lack of "real" cupholders, it just become a no-go for me.

  2. Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    251
    #62
    Quote Originally Posted by tool_46n2 View Post
    I just saw the Lavida and Tiguan China units at the VW showroom.

    The Lavida has got a lot of hard plastic in the interior, the infotainment is very basic with a LED mono-chrome display. But what's really striking is the lack of cupholders. It has a pair of small sized bin that looks like cup holders but i reckon it will fit only a coke sakto bottle or those small paper water cups. A big letdown!

    There is a stark difference with the Tiguan though with a generous use of soft touch materials on the dash and door panels. It's almost the same infotainment, still no apple carplay/android auto. It has the same 1.4L engine block but with tuned to have higher HP than the Lavida. This one has real cupholders. The boot is small, the ones on the CRV and Forester are substantially more spacious.

    I had really high hopes on the Lavida since I think it is reasonably priced for its class and it sits on the current MQB platform, which the All-new Jetta is now using (Last year's Jetta was still using the old VW platform). But upon seeing the poor Interior quality and lack of "real" cupholders, it just become a no-go for me.
    The Lavida they are selling here is the older model which uses the platform of the Mk 4 Golf, which is older than the current Jetta platform. The new Lavida which was released jn China uses the new MQB platform and has all the bells and whistles.

    IMHO, VW made a good move by pricing the Santana low, but somehow misjudged the Philippine market by selling the outdated Lavida to replace the much superior Jetta and Golf.

    Sana hindi bumenta Lavida para ma-force VW to either bring in the new Lavida model, or to continue bringing in the remaining TDI models na hindi mabenta sa US since they are still in demand in Pinas.

    Tiguan has always been a niche product, and not quite in the same market as the Forester/CRV. With the discounts on the outgoing Forester, the Tiguan seems doomed to remain a niche vehicle. Pagpasok ng new Forester, I'd buy that vs the Philippine Tiguan, which is just a long wheelbase model of the old Tiguan.

    Sayang pa naman VW was gaining critical mass. tinuloy nalang sana yung Golf/Jetta and dinagdag lang yung Santana para may laban sa Vios market.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  3. Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    4,785
    #63
    Quote Originally Posted by tool_46n2 View Post
    I had really high hopes on the Lavida since I think it is reasonably priced for its class and it sits on the current MQB platform
    Lavida is using a slightly stretched version of the old PQ34 platform of the VW Bora/Golf/ Skoda Octavia etc.

    The Santana on the other hand uses the fairly modern A05+ platform (Skoda Rapid/ Seat Toledo), an extended wheelbase version of the PQ25 platform used by the outgoing Polo.

  4. Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Posts
    1,186
    #64
    I was able to test drive the Santana Trendline 1.4 MPI sedan earlier.

    Well, you certainly can't tell that the car was made in China as the build quality is pretty good. Doors close with a thud. Good space in the back and in the boot. I drive an AT daily but I can say the MT of the Santana was positive and didn't leave me looking for gears.

    The in-dash cd/radio did not have navi or bluetooth and had only 2 front speakers, but it didn't sound cheap. In fact, you can turn the radio on without switching the ignition to ACC.

    Decent acceleration from 0-60 km/h and good braking. Didn't get to test how it handled potholes but you can feel the solidity of the car.

    At Php 686k, its a good price considering the Wigo is priced higher and I think it's gonna get a lot of consideration from 1st time car buyers.

    Sayang lang, they don't give discounts for cash buyers.

  5. Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    5,246
    #65
    ^
    How did it compare to base vios?

    Sent from my BLL-L22 using Tapatalk

  6. Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Posts
    1,186
    #66
    Quote Originally Posted by chronicle View Post
    ^
    How did it compare to base vios?

    Sent from my BLL-L22 using Tapatalk
    If you ask me, take away concerns on parts availability and number of dealerships/CASAs to service/repair the VW, I would say the Santana is the better car.

    I can compare since my sister-in-law drives a Vios J and I get to borrow it sometimes for quick errands.

    You don't get a feeling that the Santana is entry-level at all, unlike the Vios J as fit and finish are vastly different.

  7. Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    5,246
    #67
    Quote Originally Posted by KingoftheNorth View Post
    If you ask me, take away concerns on parts availability and number of dealerships/CASAs to service/repair the VW, I would say the Santana is the better car.

    I can compare since my sister-in-law drives a Vios J and I get to borrow it sometimes for quick errands.

    You don't get a feeling that the Santana is entry-level at all, unlike the Vios J as fit and finish are vastly different.
    Thanks. I always liked the vios interior at this price point (700k). Our family also owns one but is the E variant and its just ok. VW might hit a jackpot if they are aggressive enough. Hopefully, this will be frugal.

    Sent from my BLL-L22 using Tapatalk

  8. Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Posts
    1,186
    #68
    Quote Originally Posted by chronicle View Post
    Thanks. I always liked the vios interior at this price point (700k). Our family also owns one but is the E variant and its just ok. VW might hit a jackpot if they are aggressive enough. Hopefully, this will be frugal.

    Sent from my BLL-L22 using Tapatalk
    I was thinking along the same lines...in that at the 700k range, the Vios checks a lot of boxes. That changed when I saw the VW in the metal. I am honestly impressed with the Santana...bang for the buck, and then some. Hopefully they come out with the AT version of the sedan soon as I have some concerns driving an MT daily through rush hour traffic.

  9. Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    5,246
    #69
    Looking at the specs of santana. Im wondering, how will the euro 5 standard engine will perform on our "euro4" gas.

    Sent from my BLL-L22 using Tapatalk

  10. Join Date
    Jul 2018
    Posts
    6
    #70
    Quote Originally Posted by KingoftheNorth View Post
    I was able to test drive the Santana Trendline 1.4 MPI sedan earlier.

    Well, you certainly can't tell that the car was made in China as the build quality is pretty good. Doors close with a thud. Good space in the back and in the boot. I drive an AT daily but I can say the MT of the Santana was positive and didn't leave me looking for gears.

    The in-dash cd/radio did not have navi or bluetooth and had only 2 front speakers, but it didn't sound cheap. In fact, you can turn the radio on without switching the ignition to ACC.

    Decent acceleration from 0-60 km/h and good braking. Didn't get to test how it handled potholes but you can feel the solidity of the car.

    At Php 686k, its a good price considering the Wigo is priced higher and I think it's gonna get a lot of consideration from 1st time car buyers.

    Sayang lang, they don't give discounts for cash buyers.
    Thanks for your feedback KingoftheNorth. I'm eyeing to get Santana. However, I'm being patient and waiting for the GTS variant to have a final decision. 4 months feels like a year waiting.

Page 7 of 19 FirstFirst ... 3456789101117 ... LastLast
Volkswagen Philippines launches 5 new competitive models