Volkswagen Virtus tyres and suspension: should you upgrade for better stance?

I am really disappointed that carmakers nowadays are reducing the width of their cars. I understand it’s for easy handling in traffic, but it has made cars look small, a segment lower and ugly. They have forgotten that Indians want their cars to look big and expensive. The latest Alto, for instance, looks like an MG Comet, and the fourth-gen Honda City looks better than the fifth gen. The reason I’ve brought this up is because I now feel the same way about my Virtus. I feel it looks disproportionate, so I got it lowered by changing the coil springs. This made the ride very hard and I went back to the stock ones. Can I drive around with a permanent weight in the boot?

Secondly, I replaced the stock tyres to a set of 225/45-R17 section tyres, but the ride comfort has gone for a toss again and it has already started damaging the suspension. I want to get the stock wheels back again but the dealer from whom I bought the wheels is not helping me.

Raghav Aggarwal, via email

Autocar India says: While the awkward rear stance of the Virtus could make the car look disproportionate from certain angles, its suspension has been engineered to offer the optimal balance of comfort and dynamics. Although the upgrade to wider 225/45 rubber on 17-inch wheels is a good attempt to solve the problem, it would have worked best with lowered suspension.

Since you have already tried lowering the rear springs, and did not find the ride comfortable, it could be suggested to change the tyre profile to 225/50-R17. The larger side profile would translate into over 23mm higher tyre height compared to 225/45-R17 tyres. This would notably improve the stance by filling the wheel wells better as well as offering a plusher ride quality.

However, while this would also translate into a significantly higher speedometer error, in either of these cases an upsize could also have a long-term impact on the suspension and transmission components. The load on the gearbox would increase and it would need to work harder to move the car from a standstill. Therefore, it would be ideal to revert to the original configuration as more experimentation could lead to the suspension getting further damaged.

We would advise selling the 17-inch rims in the aftermarket to procure used/new stock rims of the Virtus, and getting high-quality tyres such as Yokohama Advan, Continental UC6, or Michelin PS4.

Also See:

Volkswagen Virtus review: New Honda City rival is a Jetta reborn

Volkswagen Virtus GT long term review, 12,000 km report

Volkswagen Virtus GT 11,000km long term video report

2022 Volkswagen Virtus 1.0 TSI MT video review

Volkswagen Virtus 1.0 TSI MT review: Owner’s manual