Story & Photos by Patrick P. Tulfo
VOLKSWAGEN (VW), in its continuing quest to be competitive in the market, has overhauled its offerings in the country recently and decided to bring models manufactured in China rather than sourced from Europe.
This brilliant move has helped them lower the price of their vehicles considerably and made it more affordable to buyers, who are looking at the direction of the German company but are turned off by the higher price tags of their offerings when compared to similar models from its Japanese counterparts.
The Santana GTS is the second model from the company’s revamped lineup, I tested its sedan counterpart a few weeks back (the GTS is distinguished from the sedan by its wagon body design).
The exterior design is simple and elegant like its four door brethren, but the hatch styling lends its sporty feel. Upfront you’ll see the trademark grille with that famous VW logo in the middle flanked by a pair of powerful Halogen headlights. The grille seemed to extend below the bumper which is also flanked by a pair elegantly designed fog lamps.
At the rear, hatchback styling sports a pair of large elegant looking tail lamps, spoiler on top with the requisite stop lamp, VW logo in the middle and the Santana branding on the lower ride side of door. VW should be praised for keeping the branding a minimum affair.
Inside is an ergonomic dash like its sedan counterpart with that faux-carbon fiber, lending an elegant yet sporty feel. The Blaupunkt 7-inch infotainment system touchscreen is located just underneath it. It sounded great but takes a while to get used to.
The multifunction display provides all the information about the vehicle. The only gripe I have about it is the lack of temperature gauge, but it warms you though if the temperature gets higher than normal by providing an accurate reading.
The three-spoke steering wheel houses the control for the infotainment system and other functions, and is also height adjustable. The leather and fabric seat materials with red stitching are nice touch. The seat itself is comfortable on the long trips although the driver side seats lower on the floor, a bane for the not-so-tall, but thankfully there is a height adjuster lever on the left side.
The air conditioner is a rotary dial affair and cools the cabin quickly even if the car is left baking under the sun. The sunroof on the other hand, although small, is a welcome feature and not common in this price range.
The GTS is also powered by the same 1.5 liter, four-cylinder gasoline Euro 5 engine, that is found on its sedan counterpart. It is rated at 110 hp and 150 N-m of torque. It is devoid of any fancy enhancements found on its competitors and only features a multipoint fuel injection.
It is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission which features a sports mode. It doesn’t have any manual shifting option but its very eager, especially when on the sports mode.
The front McPherson independent suspension and rear composite torsion beam, semi-independent setup on the rear soaked up most of the road imperfections while the electronic power steering provided a good feedback.
On the safety side, the GTS boasts of front, passenger side air bags, Isofix anchorage points for child safety seats, Electronic Stabilization Program (ESP), antislip regulation and Anti-lock braking system (ABS). The front ventilated disc and rear drum brake setup may disappoint some, but rest assured it provided good stopping power every time.
But what made its mark on me is the vehicle’s fuel consumption. It was very frugal during its entire stay even when driven hard and with the transmission on sports mode for most part. It still was able to return an impressive double-digit fuel average in mixed highway and city commutes.
And for those who are still unconvinced of how good this car is and still has some questions on its country of origin, The GTS just like its sedan brother, felt solid and doesn’t feel any different from previous VW models that I tested in the past that came from Europe. The Santana GTS 180 MPI AT SE with Blaupunkt is priced at P1,029 million with the non-Blaupunkt variant at P929,000.
Image credits: Patrick P. Tulfo