I owned a first-batch Linea T-Jet (MY 2010). I took care of her like a child. Clocked 1.3 L Kms on that & she never failed me. What a gem of a car!! With age catching up and spine-related issues, my DIY days were behind me. After moving to Goa, I simply couldn’t care for her any longer. There are no authorized service centres or trustworthy & knowledgeable FNGs for the Fiat here. With a heavy heart, decided to sell her.<\/p>\n
The day before she was sold<\/p>\n
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Final goodbye<\/p>\n
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Started looking for a replacement. Was torn between new or used. Did not want to take out a loan & also did not want to plonk a big pile of cash for a car. My drives have reduced a lot & I only needed a car to take us for the occasional outings, shopping & hospital visits. Only requirement, it has to be some kind of AT. My budget was 15 L max. I was looking at cars like the new Exter AMT & the Kiger CVT. Then a very close friend from Kolkata came home for a vacation. Was chatting with him about the car. He spontaneously decided that I should have his VW Virtus GT. One year old. Done 12000 km.<\/p>\n
Asking price<\/p>\n
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The plan was for me to drive (with the missus, of course) to Bangalore, hand over the T-Jet to the buyer, fly to Kolkata & drive the Virtus back to Goa. But once we got to Bangalore, my wife had a fall & hurt herself. My friend immediately decided to drive down to Bangalore & hand the Virtus over to me. Two days later, he was in Bangalore with the car.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.team-bhp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/pictures2023-09\/Virtus%20GT%201.jpg\")
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Drove the car from Bangalore to Goa yesterday. Here are my first long-drive impressions of the car –<\/p>\n
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- Good highway car with plenty of power on tap, especially in sports mode<\/li>\n
- Very comfortable seating. I drove for more than 12 hours & got home with almost no fatigue<\/li>\n
- Cabin is definitely noisier than the T-Jet. So is the engine.<\/li>\n
- No dedicated phone buttons on the steering wheel. Outgoing calls only possible with voice commands. The OK button on the RHS doubles up as an answer or hang-up button<\/li>\n
- Reads out messages aloud, including WA & Signal messages. Downside – you have to touch the HU screen to read the message. This is a feature of Android Auto<\/li>\n
- The wireless phone charger sucks. The phone heats up badly. The charging is also very slow. I have decided that I am going to simply connect a cable to the conveniently nearby USB port & not use wireless charging at all<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- Good handling, but the Jet was in a class of its own in that department<\/li>\n
- AC was good enough for me. Ventilated seats are nice too<\/li>\n
- Music system is definitely better than OE T-Jet. I am no audiophile, but the kind of music I listen to sounded better in the Virtus<\/li>\n
- Bottle holders in the door pads & useable cupholders near the handbrake – finally<\/li>\n
- Armrest has a deep storage pocket, but is way too far back for me to use – even when pushed as far ahead as it will go<\/li>\n
- Contrary to what I initially thought, after driving a bit in Bangalore city, the suspension is actually slightly softer than the Jet. Over-inflated tyres were the culprit. Oddly, the recommended pressure is a huge range – from 32 to 41 psi, depending on the load in the car<\/li>\n
- First time driving an AT in the ghats, so I wasn’t very confident when descending. However, the Virtus stayed in D3 mostly & did not just start rolling down like a loose rock<\/li>\n
- Zero swelling of my feet after driving the whole day. The legs were really thankful for the DSG<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Was surprised by how frugal the car is (this is from Nelamangala to Hubli – 100% 4\/6 lane highway) –<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.team-bhp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/pictures2023-09\/Virtus%20GT%20FE.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nAll-in-all – A good filler for the Jet. Cannot be considered a replacement, though. The Jet’s shoes are way too big for this one to fill<\/p>\n
PS: KA govt guys ought to be loaded in a KSRTC basic bus & driven up & down the roads between the border & Ramnagar – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week<\/p>\n
PPS: Will drive to the KA border & back one of these days, in the daytime, just to experience the Virtus in the ghats in a relaxed way<\/p>\n
Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.<\/p>\n